Ensuring proper foot care for seniors is a huge part of helping them to stay healthy, maintain their mobility, and remain comfortable. All of these factors play a huge role in allowing seniors to be able to age in place, so it’s important to address anything that could interfere with that goal. Personal care at home can offer some of the help seniors need to keep their feet and other body parts in good condition, especially if they’re having trouble with other hygiene tasks as well. Here’s how they help.
Preventing Complications
Foot care isn’t just about keeping feet looking pretty, especially for seniors. There are the basics of foot care, like keeping feet clean and dry, but there’s more, as well. Proper foot care helps to reduce the likelihood that seniors experience infections and other complications, like ingrown toenails or painful calluses. These can all lead to bigger complications if ignored, especially if seniors have diabetes or other health conditions that affect circulation.
Maintaining Mobility
When seniors don’t have healthy feet, it’s harder than ever for them to remain mobile. Mobility is directly linked to independence and if seniors lose the ability to walk well, other aspects of life become significantly more difficult for them. Home care providers can help seniors to keep their feet healthy and can help address other mobility challenges as well.
Promoting Comfort
Painful feet are simply uncomfortable and no one enjoys that. When seniors have the help they need to properly take care of their feet, they’re less likely to experience pain, have a bad fall, or otherwise experience poor quality of life. Foot care can directly lead back to simply feeling better overall, which is an important part of aging in place.
Foot Care and Grooming Routines
Making foot care a regular part of grooming routines helps seniors to address issues well before they lead to complications. Personal care at home can help by ensuring that seniors have clean feet and that they’re regularly inspected for issues related to fungal infections and slow-healing wounds. Keeping toenails trimmed straight across reduces the risk of ingrown toenails or damage to other toes from the nails themselves.
Watching for Foot Issues
Seniors may need the help of a podiatrist for a medical pedicure in some cases. Ingrown toenails, calluses, corns, and nail fungus aren’t issues that they can afford to ignore. These problems can lead to bigger health issues down the road and are ones that healthcare providers can deal with very quickly. The key is for seniors to have help recognizing these issues, and home care providers can help them to do just that.
Seniors don’t have to feel embarrassed about needing help with foot care or any other personal care issue. Personal care at home is there to offer individualized help with sometimes embarrassing tasks without making seniors feel ashamed or embarrassed. Having the help they need with these types of tasks can keep them aging in place while also remaining healthier and happier.
If you or an aging loved one are considering personal care at home in Almena, MI, please contact the caring staff at Fresh Perspective Home Care today. Call (269) 329-4717.
Fresh Perspective Home Care is a trusted non-medical senior home care provider in Kalamazoo, Portage, Mattawan, Richland, Vicksburg, Schoolcraft, Three Rivers, Gull Lake, Yorkville and Otsego, Michigan.
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