Cut cuticle?

[Maryrose]

Hi everyone,
I had a call from a client today, saying that following a pedicure on Tuesday, her cuticles on 2 toes were sore and swollen. She had looked under a magnifying glass and could see a cut on each. I hadn't noticed anything when I did the treatment and there was no blood. She has also now informed me she is diabetic. I told her to put antiseptic on the toes and go to chemist if they are not improving.
Is there anything else I could advise?

 

[deanosnana]

Did she tell you she was diabetic BEFORE the treatment? IF so, I would not clip anything unless it's standing up and waving to me. If not, she should have disclosed that very IMPORTMANT information before the treatment began.

I would recommend she see her physician. Foot wounds are nothing to fool with when you are diabetic.

Hope everything is OK with her.

 

[Maryrose]

Did she tell you she was diabetic BEFORE the treatment? IF so, I would not clip anything unless it's standing up and waving to me. If not, she should have disclosed that very IMPORTMANT information before the treatment began.

I would recommend she see her physician. Foot wounds are nothing to fool with when you are diabetic.

Hope everything is OK with her.

No I didn't know she was diabetic. No mention of it in previous appointments. Now I know I won't be using cuticle clippers again. Im going to call her tomorrow and see how she is. She had a stroke and sometimes she doesn't quite understand what you are saying. She did say that the toes had not gotten worse over the last 24 hours, just wanted advice on what to do.

 

[Bel's Gels]

You must advise her to see her GP.
Also document ALL contact you have with her regarding this matter.

 

[Maryrose]

Thank you for your message.
Spoke to her this morning and I explained she hasn't told me bout diabetes. Interestingly she hasn't seen a diabetic nurse for along time so I advised she must do so urgently. Swelling has gone down but still said she must go. Also bring a podiatrist appointment forward. Giving her a, free treatment next time and keeping record of our conversations and texting her to back up our conversations.

 

[Annia Modlinsky]

Thank you for your message.
Spoke to her this morning and I explained she hasn't told me bout diabetes. Interestingly she hasn't seen a diabetic nurse for along time so I advised she must do so urgently. Swelling has gone down but still said she must go. Also bring a podiatrist appointment forward. Giving her a, free treatment next time and keeping record of our conversations and texting her to back up our conversations.

I was just reading along with all your messages and I must admit I am happy to see this kind of response from nail technicians like you (apologies if you identify yourself as a beautician). I am qualifying next year as a podiatrist and I know the risks involved when treating a patient that suffers from diabetes, this along with knowledge from top to bottom about this condition. Your method of approaching this situation was very good and I am sure your client appreciated your concern over the phone in regard to her condition. I must, however, agree with previous comments about documenting your services right before starting the treatment. Maybe, as a piece of general advice, include briefly a statement that covers the client's medical history? In this way, it gives you an idea of the past/actual condition of the patient/client which I think is crucial when dealing especially with sharp instruments. People who suffer from diabetes are the most at risks of infection due to their inability to blood coagulate at the same rate as somebody who is free from this condition. Appropriate documentation will also back you up from litigation which can easily happen when least expected.

 

[TheDuchess]

Hi Annia

Good luck with completing your podiatrist studies. To reassure you, screening for diabetes is one of the most basic questions that level 2 beauty therapists and nail techs are trained to check for. The issue is that clients are surprisingly uneducated and often don’t mention diabetes.

Any U.K. professional who hasn’t checked for diabetes and then damages a diabetic client’s skin is liable for negligence in fact as well as morally. That’s why we ask!

Recently I’ve been doing pedicures myself (it’s something that my furloughed colleagues usually do). I’ve found that lots of my clients fail to mention diabetes, or maybe mentioned it for a different treatment and don’t mention it again when they booked a pedicure with a different therapist. I’ve been a bit freaked by this discovery and I’m reviewing my internal procedures to see how these can be improved. As a general rule I assume everyone’s diabetic when treating their feet.

Unfortunately, if I injure a client with diabetes, I’m always going to be in the wrong unless I can prove that I asked the question and the client chose not to answer correctly.