I went to a new client recently to perform a manicure and pedicure.
Manicure was straight forward but I wanted to ask a question about pedicures.
I was of the understanding that a pedicure is mainly a cosmetic procedure, i.e. exfoliate dry skin, moisturise and finish with lovely painted nails.

This client is elderly and cannot reach her toes, so she asked me to scrape out the gungy stuff from underneath her toenails. I did do this but it was rather unpleasant to say the least! I just wondered where you draw the line between podiatry and pedicure.
Is it normal to have to remove this "stuff" as I have never in all my 5 years working had any requests like this.

When I was there her friend called and she is keen to get me to "do" her feet. I have explained that they may be better with a podiatrist. (the friend is diabetic so I said she would need doc's consent) . I hope I have given the right advice.

I just have a vision of loads of elderly ladies calling me to get there "gunge" scraped!

Could you tell me what you would do in the circumstance.

Thanks

If the gunge was excessive then i dont think i would want to do it. but seams as she was elderly and unable to reach i might have gritted my teeth and got on with it maybe put on some gloves just in case . It hink you need a medal for doing it

Laura xxxxx

Thanks.

I went with every intention of wearing gloves but I always think the client will feel "dirty" if I wear them and don't want to offend them! Stupid I know! I know I should explain it's for their protection as well as mine though.

Next time I will definately wear golves.

when you say 'gunge' do you just mean normal dirt and sock fluff etc, or yellow/white gunge

if its dirt then its up to you, but i personally wouldnt but if its discoloured then that could be the sign of a fungal infection, so you deffo shouldnt treat the toes at all

xx

You know you could be right.
The gunge was thick and creamy white. Also her big toe was a little discoloured.
If she calls again I will have to think of a nice way to tell her to see her doctor, to determine any infection before I can work on her feet again. I did make a point of
throwing away all files I used on her.

i think that would be best hun, just to be on the safe side, make sure you clean (or throw) anything you used whilst treating her , just in case hun

xxxx

with toenails such as you described......NO WAY!!!!

just thinking of it makes me want to hurl.......( wheres the barf smiley when you need it ?) send her to the podiatrist ....and when she comes back with a consent form...wear the rubber gloves and just tell her you are wearing them for hygenic reasons......enough said.....

you could also explain that pedicures are a cosmetic thing and do not replace a podiatrist visit....

mayb some of us have stronger stomachs than others, as i wouldnt see anything untoward with removing what is usualy a collection of dead skin cells and oil and moisture from under someones toenail.
im also a beauty therapist, & removing congestion is part of a good facial, so mayb, i just view this as the same.
if she hasnt had her feet done well for a whie, this problem has probably built up a bit.
if you can do her feet on a regular basis, they wil b much better.
as for mild fungal infections, it is just this trapped dead skin cells that keep the fungal infection going.
you would b doing her a massive favour by freeing her of it.
mayb its a point of debate, but...
in my opinion, keeping the toenails and feet free of excess dead skin etc, is the best servive you can do for a client.
i have had clients tell me that they go to a chiropidist to get rid of their hard skin, and only need their toenails done.
i explain that a luxury pedicure on a regular basis will completely rid them of hard skin on thier feet and keep their toes etc in tip top condition.
in my opinion, pedicure on a regular basis should be preventative, and i will only reccommend them to a chiropidist if they develop problems like huge corns, badly ingrown toenails etc.
which if you do a thorough job, like clearing under the toenails and from the nail folds of the toes, these problems are unlikely to occur.
so.. do u expand your pedicure clientele, or give them to the local chiropidist?

well that a very interesting view liza, and its got me thinking now,
im not squeamish about it at all, in fact i wanted to dig the gunge out of my hubbys toe on fri, (but thats in my other thread lol) the reason i said i wouldnt do it , is because, i have just completed my VTCT and we were told under NO circumstances were we to touch or treat anything that was suspected to be an infection, as
a) we could contaminate our tools and pass this infection on to ourselves and other clients and
b) if infection was to spread or worsen, we could put ourselves in a dubious position , if they decided to take it further

so its an intresting point that you would infact treat this lady, and i can fully appreciate what your saying, as i have a client who frequently uses a chiropidist/podiatrist and comes to me for pedicures, and i do wonder why i couldnt just do the stuff her chiropodist does, as she has said she would just come to me if i cut the nails and dug the stuff out etc, ?? ill watch this thread with much interest now and see what others say

xxxxx

I've only had 3 pedicures so far and sometimes I think they should be going to a pediatrist (probably spelt wrong lol) I've done a few sets of toenail overlays and it always seems the older ladies have fungal toes! I always do them but if they look really bad advise they get checked out by a doctor just to be on the safe side, the only thing with the overlays you can sometimes see the discoloration thru the nail! oops I've rambled on! I dont think it should be a techs job to clean the gunk away! xx

I would also remove it with metal pedicure tools and also gloves if I felt an infection was present. I use disposable liners in my pedicure bowls and then sterilise my tools and wash my towels at 60 degrees.

If it took a long time I would not do nail polish. I would have explained that they would not be able to have polish if it took a long time, before I started the treatment, but that they should come back in a few weeks they could then have the full pedicure. If there was something suspect that needed treatment I would also advise a trip to a specialist-either doctor or podiatrist before they returned to me.

I have a lot of elderly ladies coming to me for toe-cutting only, as the podiatrist only comes to our island 1 day a week and is frequently fully booked.
The ladies usually get toenails clipped or filed and heels creamed and massaged. They are always very grateful, but anything else (including gunge scraping, corns, bunions etc etc) and I advise them to wait until they can get an appointment with the podiatrist.
I have a fairly strong stomach, but there are some things I can live without !

is a pedicure not cheaper than a chiropodist/podiatrist? I have people who cant reach there toes to cut or just cant manage it , and i think a pedicure is a cheaper option, dont
blame them but scraping gunk from under yellow toe nails is not what i had in mind for a career, thats what i did when i was an auxilary nurse, i think pedicure is pampering treatment but sometimes it borders on a medical treatment. I dont like to cross that border, as a chiropodist job is very complex they know the medical implications.I do feel sorry for them i will try and make there feet look better but i couldnt stomach anything too gungy!

We should be allowed to cut skin with a credo on peoples feet, but send them to a podiatrist for crud under their toenails? When I was in beauty school we had to work on the local nursing home patients as part of our training...These people were all elderly and had diabetes and all sorts of foot problems.That taught us not to be squeamish about feet and crud digging. So I guess it all depends on what you are trained to do.
I do several elderly folks,I dig crud and file callous and really give them a good foot and leg rub to stimulate their circulation as that is very important for elderly and diabetic patients.These people are some of THE MOST GRATEFUL clients that I have.If you can put the yuck factor out of your mind, these folks will most likely be some of your happiest customers. I myself love doing pedicures for folks with bad feet as it is a big pay off for you when they say "WOW,my feet haven't felt or looked this good in ages,I will be sending so and so to see you!", not just the run of the mill people that already have decent feet and just say "gee, my polish looks great!" after you give them a pedi.
Look at it this way....Feet are cleaner than hands,I know where their feet have been (in shoes) I don't know where their hand have been Good Luck!!!

mayb this is an experience thing?
i also use only metal pedicure tools which can be sanitised and disinfected after every use.
all this talk of gunge, about 90% of my clients have dead skin under their nails, not rank, smelly pus
if there is a visible bacterial infection, i would advise anti biotics and return when cleared up.
if there is evidence of a fungal infection, i would carry on as normal and as normal, scrupulously clean tools, towels etc.
in my opinion, pedicure means "care of the feet".
i have been well trained by people who seriously know what they're talking about, aka the geek and doug schoon, so i feel confident knowing when to treat and when to send them to a specialist in their field. i.e. podiatrist/chiropidist.
again, as i said b4, it would b interesting to see if the divide between who will treat these clients and who wont, is the same people who are beauty trained or not.
i.e. if you have trained in beauty, you will have been exposed to worse than toe jam!
but, if you have only received manicure, enhancement and pedicure training, mayb you see things differently?
what does everyone think?