Re: Diabetic Neurophathy (was: I am really scared..)
From: Panacea (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 17 Jan 2002 18:44:19 -0600 (CST)
My mom worked in nursing homes all her life and back when she started,
they almost never called doctors in to do things like that. She also
did in-home care, and things like that are part and parcel.
I think that she has my sister to help her, and my sister is an
excellent in-home care nurse and has specialized in caring for diabetics
as well so I am not worried about that. She has helped save my mom's
life several times as well.
At Thu, 17 Jan 2002, Renee wrote:
>
>Panacea,
>
>I'm a stickler for terminology. ;-> To me, constriction is a muscular action
>temporarily making the vessel walls smaller in diameter. Athersclerosis plugs
>up the lumen "permanently" (except surgery, certain diets make the claim to
>reverse, plaques may loosen and move on--bad news). And, it's not the
>circulation loss itself causing the pain. It's the effect on the nerve of
>long-term circulation loss.
>
>For someone who was a med tech for that long, it would depend on the person.
>Are they flexible enough to reach the toes easily and see the entire work
>area? Dextrous enough to control the hands precisely? With retinopathy, that
>would be tough. Being a med tech may give experience in the area, it may not.
> It would depend in what context the person worked. I don't believe med techs
>do much with toenail trimming, though. Even RNs often won't do it because of
>the risk involved. In nursing homes, for example, nurses are not allowed to
>do it, even an RN. They have to have a podiatrist come in to do it. Only
>nurses working with podiatrists, or those in nail or diabetes clinics do it.
>It is up to the individual, though I can rarely recommend it. If you do do it
>yourself, cut straight across, not curved. That reduces the risk of ingrown
>nails and cutting yourself. Also, using an emery board is safer than scissors.
>
>I've seen too many patient with poorly healing wounds, and amputations,
>because of home nail clipping (and home corn/callus removal) to recommend it
>for anyone. Most insurances pay for it for diabetics, so why take the risk to
>do it yourself? Leave it to a professional.
--
Panacea
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