Cutting your toenails

I had a wonderful and properly qualified lady locally, pre covid, but since retired . All I can find now are ‘foot practitioners’, who are useless. The last one looked, did one corn, charged me £26. When I got home there was one on an adjoining toe, ignored. What are the qualifications necessary now for anybody to set up and call themselves ‘practitioners’, does anybody know? And what protection do we have against unqualified people who it seems can chop away at your feet regardless?

Wish I lived closer.
I used to go to the local further education college for hair and beauty treatment, we did pay but it was minimal. Treatment was supervised and it allowed me to enjoy facials massage etc manicure and pedicure etc for very little.
They also had a training restaurant which was reasonably priced where students cooked and served the food as part of their course, it was always very good,

I am very lucky as I live near a training center, the SMAE Institute in Maidenhead and they need people to practice on for free. I go every 8 to 10 weeks and their work is overseen by a professional training person. I have been going for over 20 years here. If you live in this area I recommend it.

I still cut my own with no problems, sitting on the sofa and cutting them over kitchen roll. Right height for me.
The nurse keeps suggesting that I should go to the podiatrist as I'm diabetic. I have no neuropathy, can feel all my toes and have never cut myself. I dread yet another appointment to have to organise and keep every 6 weeks. It's bad enough having to go to the diabetic reviews.
When I did use a podiatrist, she took so much skin off my feet that I ended up with calluses that were painful to walk and took ages to recover. I shall put it off as long as possible.

Thank you for your post, Magenta - I'm off to buy longer scissors - genius idea !

If you have an Age Uk Day Centre near, you may find they have a visiting chiropodist. Our local Centre does every week and you can book and I think it’s subsidised at £10.

I hope I never need a podiatrist on a regular basis as I hate people touching my feet. Had to see one several years ago to advise on my bunions and hated every second. Shouldn't have wasted my time as apparently they don't do anything for bunions any more apart from advising that I buy very expensive (£60-70 a pair) wide fitting shoes 😂

Me again
A podiatrist has a degree. A chiropodist practically disappeared as Podiatry became the term
A Foot Health Professional. Well trained in the practical basic care of feet, without a degree

We had a mobile chiropodist who specialises in older people. She came to the house £15. We’re in the south so could well be less in other places

A bargain indeed Retired, until recently I was paying. £54 . Now after a change it’s £38 .

The Beauty Clinic, in my village, does a special Seniors package, for £15. This includes removal of hard skin on the feet, cutting of toenails and moisturizing. A bargain.

I agree with everyone that have said to soak your feet first. It softens the nails and makes them so much easier to cut.

But if you can afford it go for the pedicure or Podiatrist option.

I have a pedicure every five weeks at £22.00 including nail polish, worth every penny. I'm 84. Just do it.

I can still reach my feet quite well, but I cannot really SEE what I am doing when I try to cut my toe nails.

Yes, these kind of things are sent to try us, as we age, as are thickening toe nails.

Let's make a pagt to both make an appointment with a chiropodist and repeat it at the necessary interval of time.

You really do need to do your research before visiting any health professional…I am an ex health professional. But it is definitely not an even playing field….ask around, search first

If it is difficult as we age…you should spthink about professional help. An FHP can trim them safely, the circulation to your feet gets poor as we age…a little nick as you struggle to cut your own can lead to future problems .i am an exChiropodist

I get the point re there might be the occasional "troublesome" customer and a woman might feel she wants to protect herself against that.

On those lines - if they are going to have a "chaperone" for themselves = they should say so (in advance). Rather than have a customer wondering what the "extra person" was doing there and feeling threatened themselves.

Part of what was wrong with the first podiatrist I saw - in this area - was she just whacked the couch back (when I had never had a foot person do that before and I watch what they are doing obviously - to check) and she didnt ask me. So I was shocked and felt threatened she just put it back without saying a word to me! The other one was her "chaperone" for her sake was a total surprise to me too - and fulfilled no useful function whatsoever from my viewpoint - and was her (big/burly) husband and totally non-medical and me a little/fairly conventional-looking older woman (complete with some "past history" that should NOT have happened to me - ie rape)! All round - I felt threatened by her (and her husband) and that was an accurate perception as regards the very poor standard of workmanship she did on my feet.

I came out with a butchered foot and outraged and upset at her attitude to me.

Elusivebutterfly

Podiatrists and chiropodists are the same. Chiropodist used to be more commonly used in the UK but now it has changed to Podiatrist - I think to be in line with other countries.
Whichever name they use, they should be fully trained and registered with the HPCP - Health and Care Professionals council.
There are always some who seem more gentle or competent than others, just like other health professionals.

It is very confusing - as I've seen a woman here (ie recently) that describes herself as a "chiropodist" and has only done a few weeks training (not years at university) and won't do more complex tasks. She's the one who hurt me when she cut my more "curved-in" toenail - when people usually don't hurt me when they do that.

I think one has to check them all out by seeing what initials they've got after their name and specifically asking them what level of training they've done (ie few weeks correspondence course or years at University).

Another clue that someone really IS a podiatrist is they deal with footwear issues too - eg selling custom-made insoles for your footwear and/or "healthy" type footwear. It is a tendency for some people to want to "big themselves up" and must be hugely annoying to those who are actually top-level genuinely.

"Bigging up" has been going on for decades in various jobs. I saw it happen in my own "line of trade" - ie I was a personal secretary and just after I'd thought "I'm more experienced now and I should be able to get myself a higher level typing certificate - ie RSA instead of Pitmans - and with a thing on it giving my (very fast) typing speed". Cue for I duly got my better certificate - to improve my job chances. But that was followed (only within a year or two after that!) by RSA lowering the marking standards and telling people that are lower-level than myself/slower than myself that they were "top-level" the same as me!!!!! That left (genuinely top-level me) wondering how to get the message over to would-be employers that I was the "real deal" and they were not and their certificate was somewhat of a fake compared to mine - ie all else being equal the job should be mine.

After working as a beauty therapist for about 50years I do have opinions on this subject.
If you haven’t got underlying problems with your health or feet that require a specific treatment only carried out by a specialist then I would go to a salon.
A pedicure takes about an hour including polish, slightly less without. It includes soaking, dead skin removal, cutting toe nails, cuticle work and a bit of massage. Sometimes they will just cut nails but you would have to ask.
Like every profession there are good and bad therapists so ask around for recommendations.
If you are concerned about lone practitioners then find one that works with others. There are plenty around.

Yes I prefer to file my toenails and keep them neat. A weekly routine for me

Typo - "he suggested" should be "she suggested" to make sense.

Cariad People work in their clients' homes (or working in a room in their own home) are vulnerable to exploitation, some subtle, some in-your-face.

For instance, there was a case last year (it may have been in the States) of a young woman working as a beautician in her own home, alone, where someone made an appointment in a female name to have a bikini line or a Brazilian depilation. What turned up was a hairy man, who was very insistent that she not only perform this service, but do it while he/she had a tampon inserted for "her" period. when she said that was not what she had been expecting to do, he suggested that a different beautician who had experience in giving this service to trans women (without damaging their family jewels) would be better, he became abusive and told her he would report her for a hate crime and put her out of business if she didn't comply with this odd request for free AND pay over a large sum of money to him for keeping quiet. She did the reporting! and with the publicity the case received it came out that he had done the same to several beauticians - all of them young and just starting out in a small way in their own homes and afraid of defying him. He wasn't even genuinely trans - just after a kinky thrill and money.

There is always the possibility of a client or patient thinking that the services provided while alone on the treatment couch or the make-up chair in the company of a lone woman include sexual ones. GPs and nurses know that very well, and also the possibility of being falsely accused of abuse themselves. If they have gone to the trouble of booking in the knowledge that she is alone, their sexual preferences might be unusual and not generally welcome.

Podiatrists and chiropodists are the same. Chiropodist used to be more commonly used in the UK but now it has changed to Podiatrist - I think to be in line with other countries.
Whichever name they use, they should be fully trained and registered with the HPCP - Health and Care Professionals council.
There are always some who seem more gentle or competent than others, just like other health professionals.

I have had a podiatrist who was good but I prefer to file my toenails every week myself to keep them as short as possible rather than cut them - just in case I cut the wrong bit!!! They seem to be in all shapes and sizes probably because of the blood flow. I cream my feet every day to keep them smooth and so far so good

silverlining48

There us confusion about the difference between the two but I always thought podiatrist had slightly more in depth training,
I had a friend who qualified as a chiropodist who did a distance course from home, so had no actual experience with real feet other than her own. It was a ll a bit strange….

It's six years at University that the first podiatrist I went to in this area did. She was awful in the event - and hence finding that, in some ways, a lowest-level (ie foot beauty) person was better than her.

I don't know whether it's a thing to do with this part of the country (ie West Wales) or different times to my first encounter with a podiatrist (ie think that was the 1980s).

I've been to all 3 levels here and it gets blimmin' confusing even if someone describes themselves as a podiatrist. There are podiatrist - and that is how it is and they do the lot (up to and including "foot surgery") - ie they'd deal with an ingrown toenail (by removing just the sides of it or the whole of it).

Out of the top level (yep they ARE podiatrists):
- I've encountered one here that will only do the foot beautician level of treatment in one's own home - but will do the full level (ie foot surgery on ingrown toenail) in a clinical setting and with a "chaperone" (for her!!!). Yep the exact same woman.

- I've encountered another podiatrist that operates in a clinical setting only for everything - and wants a "chaperone" (for her) in a nearby room

- I've encountered what I regard as a "proper podiatrist" and he did the toenail surgery in a clinical room in his own home and there wasn't a "chaperone" anywhere nearby I could detect. He's the one I now regard as "mine" - even though he is some distance away - as we both work in the same way (ie I know he speaks as perfect English as I do - because he is English too and I know he's top-level - as he ran a hospital department on this years back and set up on his own when they started restricting how he did things and telling him to refuse treatment to people).

I get very confused by this idea of them (yep them...not us) having a "chaperone" around - who may or may not actually do part of the procedure or may just be her flippin' husband (who is not medical) nipping in for 5 minutes (as was the case with the one I won't go anywhere near ever again) and I was just TOLD he would be coming in and no reason given to me. She's one of the people I've encountered that expect that they make "our" decisions for us - rather than us doing so - and it's a way of working I am not familiar with and strongly disagree with. Where I'm from it's much more common for it to be accepted that, of course, we are the ones that make our decisions and they just do what we've decided on.

Way back when I first had an ingrown toenail dealt with - it was in a local hospital back where I'm from and there was no sign of a "chaperone" for the podiatrist concerned. I suspect they have all been told to be much more "scaredy-cat in politically correct times" since then. Waste of time imo - as it takes two people to do one persons job that way.

But the foot beauty level people do work on their own - usually.