My DH is in dire need of having his toenails trimmed. This has been an ongoing problem for the last four years and I have to admit I haven't been very good at keeping up with it. Mainly he has never really liked having anyone touch his feet. He always took care of his fingernails and toenails himself. Now his philosophy is to just let them grow until they break off (yes, I know the reasoner is broken). He likes to walk a lot and I would think the length would bother him, but it doesn't. Of course, if it does he really can't express that. He is receiving palliative care through a local agency and they have given me names of podiatrists who will come to our home. His psychiatrist has prescribed Seroquel which I can give him to make him more compliant, but I need to experiment with that to see how much will make him sleepy.
Yesterday I tried to make a deal with him and told him we would take an extra walk if he would let me trim his toenails. Well, no dice.
If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate it.
Elaine, I would call a podiatrist to come to your home It might be that he will be more cooperative with them than you. I took DH to the podiatrist every 9 wks. and always told him his 'doctor' wanted him to go. It worked for us.
Hi Elaine, It quite common for elderly people to need medical professionals to trim their toenails. I know several people who are visited every other month by a podiatrist who comes to their homes. In our area, there are also specially-trained nurses who come to the Senior Center every other month. And adult day care centers usually have a podiatrist offer this service as well. Since your husband is reluctant to let anyone touch his feet, maybe he would feel better if you took him to the podiatrist's office, which would seem more "official."
I wouldn't think they would be much more compliant with a medical professional rather than the spouse but if it doesn't work, then I would go the Seroquel route. long toenails in shoes can cause ingrown issues very fast and it hurts. they can get to where they don't express pain but rather are in a nasty mood instead to compensate the pain. we have discussed many times how important it is to make things happen for the personal care issues to avoid future worse problems. I hope you find a way to get the nails done. I find with my DH if I squeeze his nailbed a bit harder as I clip it makes it easier on him- maybe he doesn't feel the clip as much. divvi
Elaine, I just recently took DH to a podiatrist due to an ingrown toenail and infection. He is like your husband....doesn't want anyone to touch his feet or cut his nails. Sometimes he let he aide or me cut them, but mostly when they got long he would just tear them off. He's never before had problems with his feet/nails, but I am sure the ingrown nail was caused by not cutting his nails enough.
He was afraid of the podiatrist coming near him, but the podiatrist had a great manner, was able to cut his toenails much quicker and cleaner than we could and helped the ingrown nail. I did explain to the podiatrist about my husband's dementia and he was very reassuring-he goes to several nursing homes, senior centers and developmental centers so he's experienced in dealing with people who are non-compliant.
I find that he is more compliant in a doctor's office so we go to the doctor rather than have him come here. Maybe a small dose of Ativan would work if you don't want to give the Seroquel.
Thanks to everyone for your input. Last night I decided to experiment a bit with the Seroquel. I gave DH 50 mg before bedtime. He got up twice to use the bathroom during the night and I was a little concerned he might be unsteady on his feet, but he got back into bed without a problem. He is wearing Depends for some bowel incontinence problems and this morning they were also wet so he might have been too tired at one point to make it to the toilet. I wanted to take him for a haircut this morning (another problem area -- doesn't seem to like anyone strange invading his personal space) and he was not as irritable or impatient while in the barber's chair. So I think the Seroquel may be the way to go and I will most probably call a podiatrist to come to the house.