Senior Foot Care Services in Calgary, Alberta

Your feet are an important part of your overall health. Let us keep them healthy and happy, all in the comfort of your own home.

Foot Care Services

Our foot care services are provided by professional and caring nurses who have received their basic and advanced foot care certifications. Our services are provided at clients' homes, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes.

At Ohana Care, our foot care specialists are here to make things easier for you. We provide you with the best care to avoid serious foot problems. Our compassionate caregivers help you maintain the health of your feet so you can seamlessly perform day-to-day tasks, avoid any reductions in mobility and steer clear of serious foot problems.

Diabetes and foot care for seniors. Managing diabetes can be difficult, especially as we get older. MP Fortin joined Global News Calgary with key areas to focus on.

The Healthy Senior's Guide to Footcare (Infographic)

Image Credit: Paula Casey

Everything you Need to Know about Diabetes and Foot Care

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It Starts with a Professional Assessment - No Referral Needed

On our first visit we will conduct a professional assessment of your current foot health. Each time our nurses visit we will assess your overall foot health and address any concerns from our last visit. We take great care in providing a comfortable experience.

Our footcare specialists can address the following:

Diabetic Foot Care

If you have diabetes, you are at increased risk of foot problems and amputation. Therefore, it is very important that you check your feet on the top, bottom, sides, between the toes, toenails on a daily basis.

Things you should look for:

Bumps, lumps, blisters or bruises.
Cuts, sores, cracked or dry skin. Even the tiniest crack can become infected.
Patches of thin or shiny skin (which can signal lack of blood flow) or areas of redness (especially red streaks, which can signal the presence of infection).
Temperature differences (one part warm, another cold). This can signal lack of blood flow.
Foot pain, tingling, numbness or no feeling at all. These can signal nerve problems.
Ingrown toenails with red, puffy skin along the nail and tenderness or pain.
Loss of hair on foot or leg, which also can signal reduced blood flow.
If you have any of these signs or symptoms, seek medical care immediately. Your foot is at risk.
In addition to doing daily foot inspections, see a foot care professional for regular foot examinations and preventive foot care.
Do not attempt to cut toenails if you have neuropathy or other foot problems related to diabetes. See a foot care professional regularly for toenail care and foot examinations. Never attempt to cut or file calluses or other protrusions on your feet.

Ingrown Nails

Many people have experienced the pain of an ingrown toenail. It occurs when the corner or side of a toenail grows into the soft flesh of the toe, most often the big toe. Ingrown toenails can cause discomfort, swelling, redness and sometimes infection.

When the edge of a toenail grows into the adjoining skin, swelling and redness often occur due to inflammation from tissue damage. Other symptoms may include:

- - Pain that worsens when pressure is applied.
  - Pain when standing or walking, especially if shoes are tight in the toe box.
  - Infection (redness, pus, red streaks, swelling, warm to the touch).

Cutting the toenails too short and/or not cutting them straight across is the most common cause of ingrown toenails. Another common cause is shoes that are too short or that fit too tightly and compress the toes together. They can also be due to trauma or injury to the toe or toenail. People whose toes are unusually curved are prone to having ingrown toenails.

Fungal Nails

Toenail fungus usually starts as a white or yellow spot just under the edge of the toenail. As it spreads, it may cause the nail to become discolored, thicken and develop coarse edges. The toenail fungus can be difficult to treat, persist indefinitely and return after it has been cured. While it is not normally dangerous, it can be painful, cause unsightly nails and lead to foot problems such as ingrown toenails for people with diabetes or other conditions that affect blood flow.

Common symptoms include:

Thickening of the nail
Whiteness, yellowing or other discoloration of the nail
Brittleness, flaking or fragmenting of the nail and separation of the nail from the toe
- Damp socks and warm, humid conditions also promote fungal growth. A fungus can live in footwear and on surfaces of floors, mats, rugs, clothes, and linens for up to six months. It can get under the skin or toenail through tiny cuts or small separations between the toenail and nail bed.
- People with diabetes, peripheral arterial disease or other conditions that affect blood flow to the legs and feet are particularly vulnerable to toenail fungal infections, as are people with weakened immune systems.

Corns and Callouses

The skin protects the body from many threats and stresses. In places where the outer layer of skin is exposed to stress (especially the effects of pressure and shear force or friction), the body adapts by forming a callous a thickened area of skin that protects the exposed location. On the feet, a callous will commonly occur on the toes, the ball of the foot and the heel.
Painful corns often occur on the sides of toes that adjoin other toes, where friction or pressure is present. Although callus formation is a natural reaction of the body to pressure and friction stresses, it is important not to allow them to become too large or painful.
Foot irregularities also create pressure points that contribute to the formation of calluses. For example, hammer toes expose the skin on the top of the toes to pressure and friction, and bunions expose the skin to pressure and rubbing in the protruding area.

Ongoing Treatment for Better Foot Health

We will work with you to develop an on-going schedule of appointments to make sure your feet stay in good health. Generally, we recommend an appointment every 6 weeks. We will also go over ways to keep your feet healthy in-between appointments by showing you the right footwear to use, as well as proper hygiene techniques.

Follow the below three-part process:

1. Daily Foot Care

Wash and thoroughly dry your feet every day. Use mild soap, and wash between the toes. Be sure to dry thoroughly, especially between the toes.
Wear clean socks and change them at least daily. Man-made fibers or blends help move moisture away from the feet, reducing the chances of problems such as athlete’s foot or blisters.
Keep shoes clean, inside as well as outside.
Rotate shoes, don’t wear the same pair two days in a row. Give your shoes time to dry out, especially if you are active or perspire heavily.
Avoid going barefoot, particularly in public areas; if you do, wash your feet carefully afterwards.

2. Toenail Care

Trim toenails regularly (at least every 6 weeks). Cut them straight across, not on a curve, and file down sharp edges using an emery board.
Use clean nail clippers or scissors. Sanitize them periodically by immersing them in alcohol
Do not attempt to cut your own toenails if you have trouble reaching them, cannot see them well, or if you have diabetes and/or neuropathy (loss of sensation in the feet), peripheral vascular disease or other circulatory issues in the feet and legs. Instead, visit a foot health professional.
Seek medical attention for discolored toenails, which could indicate an underlying health problem. Healthy toenails should be pale pink where they are attached to the skin, and the part that grows above the toe should be clear where it is not adhered to the skin.
Do not put nail polish or lacquer on discolored toenails.

3. Daily Foot Inspection

Check the tops and bottoms of your feet, as well as your toes, between your toes and your toenails. Look and feel for the following:
- Bumps, lumps, blisters or bruises.
- Cuts, sores, or cracked skin. Even the tiniest crack can become infected.
- Temperature differences (one part warm, another cold). These can signal lack of blood flow.
Pain, tingling, numbness or no feeling at all. These can signal nerve problems.
Ingrown toenails with red, puffy skin along the nail and tenderness or pain.
Loss of hair on foot or leg can indicate circulation problems.
If you have trouble seeing the bottom or other parts of your feet, use a mirror to help you.
If your feet hurt, try to identify the source and manage it appropriately.
If you can’t tell what’s causing the pain, or if pain does not go away on its own, consult a physician or foot health professional. Remember that minor issues can become major issues if left alone and unresolved.

FOOT CARE CLINICS

Book an appointment at one of our foot care clinics today!

Learn about our foot care clinics at the Grande Avenue Village in Cochrane, and the Evanston Grand Village in NW Calgary.

Hand & Nail Care

The most common problems are splitting and brittle nails. It can happen at any age, if your nails are splitting, there are things you can do to improve them, but there are also common remedies that make the problem worse. Your nails dry out as you age, losing their natural oils which act as a glue to hold the nail layers together. If you have thin fingernails and dry skin to begin with, you can expect this to happen to you. As an added service, we also provide hand care, we hydrate our clients’ nails using a good hand cream on both your nails and dry hands.

TESTIMONIALS

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