An easy-to-do home pedicure

Put a little shampoo or liquid hand soap and vegetable oil into a basin large enough to hold both feet and stir it around with your hand to raise a little lather. Next place both feet of the stroke patient in this bath and soak for 10 – 15 minutes. After soaking, rub the feet, especially soles, with a pumice stone. It’s also a good time to clean the nails. Get the patient to curl his or her toes in an action of trying to pick something up with your feet. For the affected foot see what the patient can do from his own will power, if he or she can’t then physically work the toes to simulate the action done with the active foot. If possible try and do this for ten minutes every day to strengthen muscles and provide relief to aching feet

Another easy home pedicure

A fast, effective easy home pedicure can also be done using a few (four to five) drops of vinegar or lemon or limejuice in four or five table spoons (40-50 grams) of yogurt. Mix well in a dish. Rub this mixture well on the feet, ankles, heels and soles of the feet especially between the toes. Let it stay on for ten minutes and then wash off with warm water. This process will rejuvenate the skin on the feet, remove dead cells and stimulate blood circulation.

Improving blood circulation

If possible, a weekly massage that involves a rotating and kneading action on both legs will help to stimulate blood circulation and provide relief to aching foot muscles.

Another easy way to improve blood circulation
To give relief to aching feet use a simple hot and cold foot bath. Prepare two basins. Put hot (as hot as can be borne) water in one to which a little (20 ml ) mustard oil has been added. In the second basin, put cold water. Let your feet soak in the hot water for up to 3- 4 minutes and then shift the feet to the cold water basin. Repeat this between 5 to 7 times and then dry the feet thoroughly with a rough dry towel. Now apply some moisturizing cream on the feet after they are dry to replenish skin oils.  

More home remedies and natural foot care tips
To soften rough feet, try this regimen every night before going to bed, for two weeks. Dip the feet in warm water to which a teaspoon of (preferably herbal) shampoo and a teaspoon of baking powder has been added. Soak for 10- 15 minutes. Drying and then apply a foot cream. Of course this could be used by anyone, not just stroke patients!

Treat dry skin on feet and cracked heels as well as hands with this old grandma’s recipe – equal volumes of glycerin, fresh cream and honey, or glycerin and rosewater, or glycerin and fresh lemon or lime juice. Beware, the lemon/ limejuice mixture can sting a little – but oh the relief, once the stinging dies down! Apply this mixture to the feet, especially to the cracked heels and let it stay on for 15 minutes. Some people wash off  this mixture with warm water while others wear clean old socks over the feet and sleep with it on, guaranteed, your patient’s and your feet will be soft as satin.

If you have a tendency to develop cracks on your heels, try this natural remedy once in three days before bed time.  Immerse feet in warm water to which 10 ml lemon juice and 20 ml coconut oil or any other vegetable oil like olive oil has been added. Scrub the heel area after twenty minutes with a pumice stone. Dry thoroughly and apply a foot cream.  The improvement can be seen after the second treatment and it should become a weekly feature after the first month.

The Internet is truly a useful means by which to find appliances, equipment and gadgets to help a stroke victim and his or her care giver. One site which is rich in content is Caregiver Products.com. Although this is a clearly commercial website Here there is a wide plethora of products and disability aids for stroke and other handicapped individuals.

Some of the items that caught my attention were ingenious products like a leg-lifter and a ‘Muff Vest’. This vest was designed by the spouse of a stroke survivor and helps to distribute the weight of an affected arm across both shoulders.

Other equipment like accessories for a wheelchair or a Bed Caddie – a piece of equipment that helps people with a general weakness or decreased back strength to pull themselves up to a sitting position are featured.

Prices are given in US dollars but it’s not clear whether these items can be shipped to India and whether there’s an affiliate supplier in the sub-continent.

The following has been adapted from Stroke Recovery Canada

To any visitor who also happens to be or have been a Caregiver, I invite you to please add any tips you possibly can. 

• Take one day at a time
• Accept your limitations
• Learn to ask for and accept help
• Don’t feel guilty about your position
• Don’t bottle up negative feelings – talk about them to someone you trust
• Have a daily routine and stick to it
• Take time for yourself and stick to it
• Take time for yourself every day
• Keep your sense of humour
• Look after your health – get plenty of rest, exercise daily, eat a nutritious diet, and see your doctor when stress builds up
• Take advantage of local support groups – of any kind, friends, a coffee group anyone
• Develop a caregiver peer support network (SRN)
• Try to remain socially active
• Find a caregiver respite programme in your community
• Consider modifications to the home and assistive devices
• Consider nursing and housekeeping services

*Quotes contained are by participants from a caregiver workshop help in Burlington in 1995, involving the Community Health Services Centre, Burlington SRA, Fellowship of Stroke Survivors and the United Way.

For more information about stroke recovery, contact:

Stroke Recovery Canada
10 Overlea Blvd.
Toronto, ON M4H 1A4
1-888-540-6666 or 416-425-4209
www.strokerecoverycanada.com