Toes

[ailbhe]

I trimmed the children's nails again today - that's almost a week since the last time. I'm really hoping that more regular trimming will help. I've always had very straight, tidy toes and toenails, and fairly ok fingernails. Rob has curly toes and bitten fingernails. Linnea bites her fingernails and both children have weird misshapen toes and toenails, though their toes straighten out every time I buy them new shoes.

They used to fight nailclippings like crazy, and so I slacked off, doing one or two nails each time and hoping they all got done in a random pattern over time. But now I'm tackling the problem head-on.

And I've discovered that a small nailclipper is insulting, because it implies that Emer is Not A Big Girl. I guess that's useful data.

Comments

[supermouse]

I used to strenuously fight having my nails clipped, because my quick grows up in a point under the nail, where it can be invisibly but very painfully clipped off. I would protest that it *hurt* (of course it did!) and be told nails don't hurt.

I deal with it now by clipping my nails to a point, following the natural shape of the quick. Much less painful.

On the other hand, all the non-verbal people I've ever encountered in care, presumably with normal nail beds, strenuously fight having their nails clipped.

[ailbhe]

"Here, let me come at you with these sharp things and do things to your body!"

Can't imagine why they don't like it.

[supermouse]

The odd thing is that, at least where I was working, haircuts, intimate care, stuffing them into a bathtub of water that's too cool to be nice because a proper warm bath triggers fits, putting food into and taking things out of their mouth, ears, nose and eyes, all sorts of things that are really quite freaky are Not A Problem - I had people who could not talk at all but were pretty cool and easy to work with, but *all* of the people who could fight at all had long nails. The only thing at a similar level of refusal was dental work.

Cutting fingernails was a major undertaking, partly through having to force something very unwanted, which no carer enjoys, partly through the stress involved being awful for the poor sod having their nails cut against their will, partly because of the physical danger. I was pretty qualified by the time I left care, but not yet up to a) dealing with the dangerously violent and easily triggered one, b) administering first aid beyond CPR, pressure on wounds and so on that is just basic immediate stop-them-dying-before-the-ambulance-arrives stuff and c) cutting finger nails. Seriously. Fingernails Are A Big Deal.

[k425.livejournal.com]

If by "small nailclipper" you refer to the baby ones, I gave up with them when Jack was tiny - they just didn't cut. I use my own clippers on him and it does seem to get easier. At least, he doesn't run away any more!

[ailbhe]

No, I used one once, they aren't sharp enough to be safe! I mean smaller ones, such as I can keep on a keyring, which are made the same as the huge big ones big enough for Rob's big toe.

[k425.livejournal.com]

Ah, right. We have two sizes here - fingernail clippers for everyone and toenail clippers for grown-up toes. Jack won't have anything to do with the adult toenail clippers and I can't say I blame him - they're very good, but there are times I can't get leverage properly and twist rather than clip. I don't mind doing it to me but I'd rather not inflict that on Jack!

[tiggsybabes.livejournal.com]

Holly has scary nails. She nearly had to have plastic surgery on a fingernail that Kate slammed in a door & fell off. She also has bizarre little toe nails that grow upwards, rather than frontwards. No idea who she inherited that from.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

When I was a kid we had dissection scissors as nail scissors (because my dad started off studying to be a vet before he gave up) and they were the easiest thing to use ever. You could cut them into shapes if you wanted to. I tried nail clippers once and it was like trying to cut cake with a JCB. I'm not sure where one gets such scissors if one is not a vet though.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

i.e. you could cut your toenails into shapes, rather than the scissors. It is National Poor Sentence Structure Day in my head today.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

Elena has always fought nail-clippings with great passion, but eventually relented on the fingernails. Toes were still awful - like, with both of us holding her down bodily. I finally have bribed her with nail polish - if she will sit still and let me cut them all to my satisfaction, she can have fingers and toes polished with any color she wants from my arsenal of nail polish (I have a few conventional colors and a handful of wacky ones). She loves this, of course. This morning, I cut her toenails and she marveled that it didn't even hurt!! Then we painted all 20 nails "shiny blue".