Toenail trimming for seniors
Thick, hard toenails, trimmed at home every four to six weeks
Nails thicken and grow more slowly with age, and reaching them gets harder every year. Debbie is a licensed nurse who trims, thins and files them at your kitchen table, then comes back before they become a problem again.
What a visit looks like
About an hour, and you never leave your chair.
Why nails get thick
Age, slower circulation, old injuries and fungus all thicken a nail. A thick nail presses into the shoe, cracks, and is nearly impossible to cut with clippers from the drugstore.
The trim
Each nail is cut straight across and thinned down with sterilized instruments until it is comfortable and a shoe fits over it. Edges are filed smooth. Corners are never dug out.
Ingrown and fungal nails
An edge that is starting to dig in is eased out and kept from growing back into the skin. Fungal nails are thinned so they stop hurting. If a nail is infected, she says so and points you to a doctor.
Why every four to six weeks
A senior's toenails grow about a millimetre a month. Six weeks is roughly the point where a trimmed nail is long enough to catch on a sock or press on the shoe again, and long before it is thick enough to hurt. Keeping to that rhythm means each visit is quick and comfortable, and the nail never gets away from you.
Most of her clients book a standing day. Families out of state often pay for six visits ahead so a parent is simply on the calendar.
What it costs
The same flat price as any other visit. Thick nails are not an extra.
First visit
- $65 flat, home or facility
- A full look at your feet, then the first treatment
Visits after that
- $50 when residents in one building share a day
- Every four to six weeks keeps the nails from ever getting away from you
- $300 buys six visits paid ahead