PC patients use a variety of power tools to trim and manage their keratoderma.
Some of these products are listed below.
Dremel
Dremel is an American brand of power tools known primarily for its rotary tools. Dremel’s rotary tools are similar to the pneumatic die grinders used in the metalworking industry by tool or moldmakers.
PediPaws
PediPaws is a revolutionary nail trimmer that quickly trims, rounds, and smooths nails with no mess and none of the pain of traditional nail clippers. A precision emery filing wheel gently removes thin layers of nail, while a unique protective cap allows only the perfect amount of nail to be removed and catches all the filings so there’s no mess.
Features: quiet motor, traps filings, cordless, won’t crack, splinter, or break nails, rotating filing head gently files nails, fast, easy & gentle.
Callus Remover
Callus remover gently removes corns and callouses . . . buff away rough patches that snag hosiery. Very quiet and cheap.
TENS Machine
Description
From Wikipedia: “Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, more commonly referred to as a “TENS” is defined by the American Physical Therapy Association as application of electrical current through the skin for pain control (APTA, 1990). The unit is usually connected to the skin using two or more electrodes. A typical battery-operated TENS unit is able to modulate pulse width, frequency, and intensity. Generally TENS is applied at high frequency (>50 Hz) with an intensity below motor contraction (sensory intensity) or low frequency (<10 Hz) with an intensity that produces motor contraction (Robinson and Snyder-Mackler, 2008).
TENS is a non-invasive, safe method to reduce pain, both acute and chronic. While controversy exists as to its effectiveness in the treatment of chronic pain, a number of systematic reviews or meta-analysis have confirmed its effectiveness for postoperative pain, osteoarthritis, and chronic musculoskeletal pain ([1]. Recent clinical studies and meta-analysis suggest that using adequate intensity of stimulation is necessary to obtain analgesia with TENS (Bjordal et al., 2003; Rakel and Franz, 2003).”
Patient comments
K6a patient: “Good old mum borrowed a TENS machine for me to use and have had a go this week with it. Unfortunately I didn’t think it was that good, but perhaps I had the wrong mindset as I thought it was going to take away all my pain plus I have a particularly painful foot at the mo as it’s infected badly. My mum borrowed it for me at this years PC conference. It was mentioned that some people with PC use or have used them so that is where we got the idea from.”
K16 patient: “I’ve tried a TENS machine, but wasn’t sure where to place the pads so I asked at the PSM… I think the ankle was the best place. Didn’t get much joy from it before so maybe I was not using it properly.”
K6a patient: “Ankle? Now that is interesting, as I had it around my waist. I don’t think it has a long enough cable for the ankle, but I will try.”
