(My mom is actually the one who normally cleans under grandma’s nails, not normally me). So mom tried cleaning under grandma’s nails after they both washed their hands but grandma hated it and said mom was being mean! Mom was able to clean some but nails are still not completely cleaned up. Hand washing is of course always important but especially important during the COVID-19 outbreak and we are concerned with grandma’s nails staying dirty. Anyone have any helpful tips on how we can get her to let us clean under her nails? I hate to say it but they look gross and who knows what is under them 😬
hydrogene peroxide ... happy music... Q TIPS... soft nail files..as far as you can until she starts complaining.. then go to the next hand or foot.. and repeat.
warm soft water... warm wash cloth-wrapped around hand ever so softly, gentle pressure around the curves of the palms n fingers, and rub... sometimes.. it looks kind of filthy feeling if they hold food in their hands for snacks...
His hands are curled in pretty badly from the spasticity and contracture. He somehow manages to get really disgusting nails. His lack of coordination meant also that he would gouge his face or ears when just trying to scratch an itch. Pretty gross and god knows what bacteria he was injecting into those cuts.
I would wash his hands then clip the nails but had a real problem with it bleeding. The solution that made me able to safely clip his nails was to do a pre-cleaning under his nails with the slanted end of an orange stick used in manicures. I wrap an alcohol prep pad over it and clean all the gunk out from under the nail, pushing the skin that tends to grow under the nail down. I change the positioning of the pad for each finger, always using a clean surface, and using a nee pad for each hand. That creates not only a cleaner more sanitized nail but also makes it safer to clip since you have a nice white line showing you how far you can clip and not make it bleed. I clip just shy of that and then do lots of filing smooth so he doesn’t scratch himself. Make sure to file the corners of each nail because as they grow out even a little they can be so so sharp for someone who has coordination issues.
Oh yes I also do a pre soak of each hand in a plastic hand basin with a little antibacterial soap added. His hands get horribly mildewy smelling because he keeps his hands partially clenched due to the contracture. Have not found any doctor or nurse who can advise on how to mitigate that. Facility staff won’t do any of this. They categorise nail clipping as a surgical procedure. So I do the above process with his hands and with his feet too. Otherwise he would have nasty dirty talons. They also don’t clean eyes, ears, noses even on patients like my brother who can do none of this himself. I do it but now with the coronavirus lockdown he is going to be a mess.
Good Luck!