My mum has vascular dementia/Alzheimers. She is 83 and in a care home for the last few months. Many personal care such as nsil cutting is left for me to deal aith. Mums naila are ling and regularly get full if dirt. I clean them all the time and she allows me to do this no problem. My issue is the nail cutting and her reactiion is getting worse. Massive screaming bouts whic I am nkrmally prepared for but get the job done. Increasingly I barely get 3 or 4 nails and the screaming us epic. Sge always thinks I am going to cut her hand off. I have tried to make it part of a hand massage routine and everything is fine until the clippers come out. You have to act fast if she gives you a finger. I just wondred if anyone has any tips they could share. Staff at the care hime are rubbish and ask me have you seen her nails? I am the only one who ever cuts them since she has been in care.. Some weeks I just want to visit my mum. I dont want epic screaming so I put it off. I already spend all my time washing her hair, cleaning the conjunctivitus as her face is never washed properly abd now treating her exzema whuch she developed as stff use shower gel rather than soap on her face. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I am sorfy this turned into a rant about care. I hope you alll had a merry christmas. Thank you.
Nail cutting
- Thread starter MK1
- Start date
Hello @MK1 don't apologise about a rant about care, it doesn't sound as though the care home is looking after your mum too well if you are being left to do a lot of the basic personal care and also deal with health issues. It's not surprising that you just want to visit your mum, rather than have to deal with all this yourself, and I think it might be a good idea to have a chat with the manager to make sure that basics such as face and hair washing are included in the care plan. With regards to nail cutting, if the staff are refusing to do this then perhaps try using a nail file/emery board to keep the nails short rather than clippers? Might be worth a try.
Hello @MK1
No, nobody wants massive screaming bouts. You should not have to do things like hair and face washing. It sounds to me as though your mums care home does not know how to manage her behaviour and when she refuses, just leaves her. It doesnt sound to me as though they are able to meet her needs. Is she in an EMI home? You might want to start looking at other care homes.
No, nobody wants massive screaming bouts. You should not have to do things like hair and face washing. It sounds to me as though your mums care home does not know how to manage her behaviour and when she refuses, just leaves her. It doesnt sound to me as though they are able to meet her needs. Is she in an EMI home? You might want to start looking at other care homes.
Hi MK 1 , Mum is exactly the same when her nails need cutting. I have asked the home when the chiropodist goes in for her to cut Mum's nails, but that is hit and miss as to whether Mum will let her anywhere near her. If I try and cut her nails she is usually ok for the first couple of nails but then kicks off with the others so invariably it can take up to a couple of weeks for me to get them done. Do sometimes find it easier if I can distract Mum while a carer does her nails, but again it varies from one time to the next. The carers also do the same - cut a couple of the nails quick and then leave her alone and then do another couple next time and it does work.
From what you have posted about having to do personal care for your Mum I would be concerned about the care home/carers. Washing and treating skin conditions should not be left to you to do
Sorry can't be more help but it does seem to be quite a common problem
From what you have posted about having to do personal care for your Mum I would be concerned about the care home/carers. Washing and treating skin conditions should not be left to you to do
Sorry can't be more help but it does seem to be quite a common problem
My issue is the nail cutting and her reaction is getting worse.
I was wondering about Mother In Law's toenails... I hadn't seen them... Then a member of the care staff told me they needed attention. (I have cut her fingernails two or three times in the last few weeks, she yelps at the first two, then settles in)
I ought to have acted sooner. Foot care doesn't come under the NHS (a bit like dentistry...) Anyway, a chiropodist visited, charged £40, job done, for the moment... And a good chiropodist can identify possible health issues by "reading" foot condition...
Now, being inclined towards the socialist... I think some of these services, if they're outside the NHS' remit, might lend themselves towards some sort of cooperative venture... "Our" chiropodist drove to the care home to perform on MIL, then left... If she had several patients, a day's worth of work, say, her travel to and fro, and setting up costs, could be reduced, reducing the cost to the individuals... A bit like a bulk buying cooperative? I'm not saying £40 is a huge amount for the service, though... Ten or twelve customers, prepared to line up for this service, may be a more attractive prospect for a professional than to travel to one... 12 patients, £300-£360 (say) for a day (£25-£30 each) and no rushing to drive between visits?
It needs someone to organise it, though, and participants just cannot say I don't fancy it, today... Book and pay. Can't make it? Unfortunate! (well organised, of course, there could be a "reserve" list)
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