Toe nail clipping for uneven, thick, brittle nails. Any suggestions?

There are podiatrists that make house calls. Toe nail trimming I used to just hate! I think Medicare will pay for this once a month.

Used to work for a Podiatrist, but it was a while ago. Toenail fungus is not pretty, but it is not life threatening. The ointment treatment is not very effective, nor is the oral medication, both are expensive. The oral one can interact with other medications.

Soaking the feet, or a bath prior to trimming can help make it easier. Podiatrists use a Dremel to grind down thick nails, but I would not recommend a family member doing that. You have to have an autoclave to sterilize the bits. And it is too easy to go too far.

I hired a foot care nurse for Dad. He was insistent that he could cut his own nails, but one look at his bare feet revealed that more care was needed. He still balked, so I prepared for his visit. He raved about how wonderful the treatment was and how great his feet felt afterwards.

Both my baby toe nails are like little horns. I have to file them down before I can trim them,

That would be caused by toenail fungus, and I personally believe tea tree oil helps. Of course even if you get the fungus under control it can take years before the thickened nails  grow out normally.

I couldn't bring myself to do this for my father, and eventually found an excellent podiatrist who not only addresses the toenails, but the skin integrity up through ankle and leg as well. And she always checks for pedal pulse.

It can be fungus or calcium deposits that make the big thick nails. Podiatrist can get you the right cream for it. Then get those toenail clippers that are heavy duty. Like horse hoof snippets. Calcium deposits and nail fungus take forever to clear up if ever. Good luck!

The Family Physicians of Canada publication offers a wonderfully comprehensive guide: Can Fam Physicianv.57(2); 2011 FebPMC3038811 - about halfway down, there's a link to a table summary.

Don't read it too soon after breakfast or shortly before lunch.

At their age you should use a foot doctor. My Mom had problems with ingrown nails. Medicare pays for ever 10 weeks. I took her until she got into an AL and NH and then the Dr. went to her. There r fungle OC treatments that work very well. Ask the pharmacist.

Our local nail salon does a wonderful job on a nail trim ($10) and uses a dremel-type tool, except that it's scaled down and specifically for toe nails. I'd love to find one of these .

My mom nails are thick and ugly (yellow). The Dr. told me it's called yellow nails (old age) It's not a fungus. Really not much you could do, but have a Pediatrist cut the nails.

I am very satisfied with toenail scissors for tough toenails. I found them on an internet search. I read that scissors work better than clippers on tough nails. I found that is true.