Remember when your toddler didn't want to wear shoes and wouldn't cooperate when you tried to put them on the little dear. That is where I am with my husband. I even tried the velcro sandals that open wide. He has no concept of either helping or at least not fighting. HELP!!!
just get some of those non slip socks?? like on the airlines that have rubber so he wont fall in them...my DH still wears house slippers now going to 8+yrs..his feet are too sensitive for hard leathr real shoes. i buy the dearfoam brand, really soft and pliable. try putting them on when hes sleeping =divvi
dvvi I love the idea of putting something on his feet while he's sleeping. I had brought the non slip socks but the facility isn't too keen on them-no foot protection from run-away wheel chairs. It's amazing how dangerous these feeble little people can be, and so devious. You either laugh or cry.
Are foot problems common with AD? My DH had terrible feet to begin with, born with club feet, corrected by surgery. Now, he mainly wears slippers. He also has hammer toes and others deformities now. I did not know that other AD patients also had problems
maryd other that being size 6 1/2 EEE my husband does not have foot problems. The problem is that he has lost the understanding of letting your foot be flexible enough to put on a shoe
My DW has no problems with my dressing her until we get to the shoes. Some mornings, none please her and she gets pretty adamant when I try to put them on. She seems to have some idea about what she wants, but I can't figure it out.
DH wears the Land's End sherling slippers (Xmas gift 3 years ago.) His shoe laces keep getting in knots. He tries so hard to get the laces untangled. I offer to help but he always refuses. Eventually, they get loosened up. When he dresses his feet it takes him a while but he can still get them on ok but it takes him a long time to figure outhow to tie them.
He also has crazy toenails. He's very touchy about having them cut. He can't do it. I can't see properly and the last time I tried, I cut the end of one of his toes and he bled forever. I take him up to a nail salon and they cut them for $10. He has a fit about the $10 and has refused to go again. They are really getting long now.
I'm wailting for them to start hurting him (like they did the last time) then I'll just make an appointment and tell him he has an appointment to keep. Sigh. It's not a big problem like some of the others on this site, but I can see where it's going from reading other posts.
There are some elastic shoelaces available, they work quite well in lace-up shoes. My wife had back surgery a couple of years ago, the physical therapist fitted her Reeboks with elastic laces, it sure makes it a lot easier to get her shoes on and off. A shoe horn helps too!
Yep, works pretty good putting shoes on while asleep. plus my DH loves to wear his soft houseshoes to bed anyway. i leave his feet sticking out the bottom of cover with shoes on, makes for getting out of bed easier as we discussed in another blog. Bluedaze, i highly recomend the soft dearfoams and they wash like new. found them at biglots discount store but they have them online somewhat pricier. (35dol)they could afford some protection from wheelchairs and would not hurt his feet. there are many brands out there the slide in and these i have already got 3pairs they are so nice- i dont recommend slide in mule types, my DH trips up in them more than the full foot ones. i hope you find a solution, Divvi
Life got simpler when I got velcro tennis shoes that were 1/2 size larger than her regular size. Still there is the maddening, daily exercise of puuting shoes on. I'll pick one up and say give me your foot. There's a 90% chance that she will offer the opposite foot. No problem, I'll drop the one I have and put on the other. Then the dance starts. "give me your other foot". There's a 50% chance she will lift the foot that already has a shoe on it. "No, your other foot" results in raising the shoed foot a little higher. Meanwhile, for what seems like a very long time, I am bent over with my back telling me, stand up because I am going to make you pay for this bending. Eventually, all shoes make it to their proper feet. At some level, this process frustrates and amuses me at the same time. Like many of us, I am handling so many things that I never imagined would be in my skill set, and doing them all reasonably well. A simple thing like putting on shoes has become a major event. It even impacts the whole day. If we have to go somewhere and there is no ice, it's the tennis shoes. If we are not going anywhere, there are the slippers, which are prefered by all. DW has edema (swollen) feet. Regardless of sock size, they will bite into her legs/ankles. Putting on socks follow same process as above, but can't be worn for too long, which means we need to be back home within a couple of hours (4.5 hours on chemo days), to get socks off and slippers on. [maybe this should go under the "vent.." thread. I've just returned from footwear war<g>]
Our Doctor told me to get velcro shoes for DH but it hasn't been too big an issue yet. You can find some to order that open up wide. I found diabetic socks at K-Mart that work great for swollen feet. My Mom's ankles swelled and I bought those for her. They have different length. I bought the just above the ankle length for Mom and the med. length top for my DH. They are soft and flexible and easy on and off. Highly recommend them. Pricy but they put them on sale at times. I haven't been able to find them locally anywhere else.
yes we use the diebetic socks which are soft and non binding. Dking they have them at medical supply houses. i got them 13dol i think. they are wonderful and very soft- DH returned to non prediebetic now since we took him off all meds. just the socks are sooo much easier to get on- i also recommend them for daily wear. they also have diebetic footwear that is non binding. divvi
Mawzy, it's not a good idea to clip or cut the toenails of an older person anyway. And you need to be VERY careful taking him to a salon, because he can catch a bunch of nasty infections if they don't sterilize their equipment properly.
What you need is an electric file (sometimes called a drill). I've been looking for one for my husband, who is developing really thick toenails, too. They come in a whole bunch of different styles and a huge range of prices. Some are cordless, some are not. (Be sure you choose something that is rated for toenails! Some products for manicures are not powerful enough for pedicures.)
Dremel makes a bunch of electric files and drills, some of which are often used for dog nails and (on amazon.com) you'll find reviews that talk about using them for human toenails, fingernails, and artificial nails, too. This is a good company, and loads of people like their tools. There are tons of reviews on amazon.com, which gave me good ideas on what to look for in a tool for doing pedicures. My only concern is that they don't come with instructions on how to use them on toenails, which the products specifically designed for pedicures do. I'm sure we could figure it out, though, and they are MUCH less likely to cause damage even if not used quite right.
I did find a very detailed set of instructions on how to use them for dog nails, which can be adapted for humans pretty easily: http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merensjp/doberdawn/dremel/dremel.html
Some links on different products and styles for you to look at:
http://www.hammacher.com/publish/74975.asp?source=Nextag&keyword=74975&cm_ven=NewGate&cm_cat=Nextag&cm_pla=PERSONAL%20CARE&cm_ite=74975 The Precision Pedicure System.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000S17FUO?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=nextag-hpc-mp-20&linkCode=asn Medicool Pro Power 30K Professional Electric Manicure & Pedicure File
http://www.amazon.com/Home-Pedicure-PediNova-III-Electric/dp/B000QT9OP2/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t Home Pedicure PediNova III - Electric Manicure Kit by Heliohealth
http://www.amazon.com/Nail-Care-Personal-Manicure-Pedicure/dp/B000KGRNMM/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t Nail Care Plus Personal Manicure/Pedicure Set
http://www.amazon.com/Electric-Manicure-Pedicure-Pedinova-Medicool/dp/B0007Y83CQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1222722073&sr=1-5 Electric Manicure Pedicure Kit Pedinova Medicool
http://www.amazon.com/NEW-Acrylics-Natural-110-240V-Attachments-Complete/dp/B0006NBM5I/ref=pd_sim_hpc_1 MAXIM Pro Nail Drill, for Gels, Acrylics, Natural nails
My DH also has a problem with socks. The regular athletic socks are okay, no problem. But if we go to church or a wedding or funeral,he puts on black socks, takes them off, tries another pair and is uncomfortable. He also has small,size 7EEE. Many socks are too big. I will try the diabetic socks, thanks.
My wife can't sign her name or put her bra on by herself, but she does wonderfully with the zippered casual shoes that I bought her at the Clark's Store at the Mall of America (I'm not being compensated for this endorsement). They make several different styles. I'm not so sure that my DW would be able to figure out how to close a velcro flap.
I sit next to my husband on the bed to do the shoes; Socks are the HARDEST - just get the biggest softest possible and put them on, if possible, when they're lying down on the bed. THe shoes have an L and an R on the inside sole and so far he's pretty conscientious about matching them up with his feet. Slippers i line up right and he USUALLY gets them right. But for sheer frustration and back-breaking, try putting on a thigh-high compression stocking!!
It's just one, and I use old ones that are easier to get on, but mainly, he's still able to pull somewhat on his own. When he's feeling down, he doesn't pull and if I don't have anything on the agenda, I just let it go. Problem is he can't get the bad foot into the shoe with a lift, so if he doesn't wear stocking he can't wear shoe and if he can't wear shoe he limps and that can throw his back out. THis mattered more when he was walking around more, though. He has internalized, I think, that if I can't get the stocking on, he'll have to go to a nursing home.