Do You Still Use Burs?

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How many of you still use burs? I find them very useful, but know others don't use them for health concerns, etc.

 

Yes.





.....

 

I still use them too.

 

and me

 

Me too!

 

Yes still use burrs, capital "E" essential to provide good service!


My opinion is that if one is to advertise that they offer chiropody services, then you must be able to provide the very best service, and a burr ensures this!

How people say that they can provide a good service without a drill is quite simply beyond me!

 

Thanks to all respondents so far. Has anybody come across any studies that compares/discusses the number of podiatrists that do and do not use burs?

 

Nope.





.........

 

Yes still use burrs and love them! Makes the job easier and I feel I can do a superior job with them.
No to the question on research...

 

Saves hours upon hours of filing

 

I was going to suggest that Craig create a new sub-forum called "Nostalgia" and merge this thread over there - but before I'm accused of being insulting, I'll qualify that by saying I have a fill armoury of the whirring devils! Maybe, I thought, this might lead to another thread called "Do You Still Use ...." just fill in the blank. Like, Friars Balsam. Witch Hazel. Latex dips. Viper venom (for haemostasis). Stropped scalpels...

What do you remember using no more?

 

My father showed me how to reduce a nail using very sharp clippers and a scalpel, I've shown countless pods and podlings how to do this. During my time at Liverpool NSW there were no drills used mainly because of my OH&S concerns, which may or may not have been justified. However since my dads ancient technique worked very well and no staff had RSI I saw no reasons to buy drills. My dad used buckets of Ferric chloride, hell that hurts on nick, didn't adopt that one!
Ros

 

I simply couldn't do my job without the use of burs.

if you mean elf & safety.

Then yes, you have to take precautions, I wear a face shield and have a extractor near to me , I also had sore eyes for a while but simple eye drops before and after work have cured that.

how on earth do you thin out nails without a drill??? IGTN are easy peasy with a drill both for yourself and more important for your patient

 

I used, past tense as I'm retired, clippers and a blade for IGTN as well. We all do our job well just a matter of preferred technique and patient needs.
Ros

 

I use burs too with a spray.
I use small ones with turbine too.

 

Yes I use burrs. My drill has an excellent extraction system (cleaned regularly to prevent clogging) and I wear a face mask.
Ruby burrs for routine nails, titanium for OX or OG nails.
Saves so much time and is far more comfortable for patients, IMHO.

 

yes I do x

 

Just curious as to what drill you use, as my old Berchtold drill seems to have better suction than the newer touch screen models that we have purchased more recently.

And yes, all 4 podiatrists in our practice use burrs.

 

Hiya Gavin,

I have a Berchtold S35-TS.
I've found that cleaning it weekly - including taking the drill head apart and cleaning all the small parts of nail dust, keeps the suction to a premium. Have been using it for 5 years and love it.
Also check the dust bag you have. The Hepa Filter bags work better than the cheaper versions.
IMHO.

Hope that helps.

Tracy

 

Yes, nail burs an essential. No, don't know of any research about non-use. I don't know how a contaminated clinical environment can be avoided in consequence - keep to highest standards of cleanliness possible. Don't believe there is any alternative to use of the drill - is there?

 

Thanks Tracy.

Our PAs clean the drills and replace the bags weekly but will check the type of bags we use. I, like you, have the model you mention and 2 of the newer touchscreen models and I'm convinced the suction is not as good on the newer models.

Thanks again.

 

Important topic. I do use drill/bur on most O/X, O/G nails... as been stated, it is efficient & fast in doing a good job. However, if I notice a prominent O/M infection I usually use the clippers & scalpel... usually heavily infected mycotic nails are easier to reduce via the clipper/scalpel method anyway. I have a real concern with the possibility of nail dust infection (i.e. respiratory & eyes) hence I always use a mask (hoping this is adequate), yet don't use goggles (tend to fog up with mask on).

I remember years ago reading a research paper on the health implications of nail dust - this is a real concern. Just a quick look found this interesting wiki article on the subject... Occupational hazards associated with exposure to human nail dust (link); as well as a couple of research articles: here (link) & here (link).

We all need to be aware of the importance of our own health & wellbeing... & our respiratory system & eyesight are a big part of this. Masks are essential - period. Good drill maintenance is essential as well (not allowing the dust bag to get full i.e. replace at 3/4 full). As far as the eyes are concerned, there have been times where I have had irritation (itchiness) after a day at work (suspect nail dust contamination). Hence I now use an eye wash after each day at work. You can buy these at the chemist/pharmacy/drug store (depending on your country)... I use SteriLid (Australian product) but I have noticed a few brands in the chemist which have a similar product. I keep the SteriLid in the shower for the convenience of washing the eyes. I wouldn't take much for the possibility of nail dust to lodge on eye lashes/lids & potentially cause irritation if not an infection... hence, in my view it is worth considering washing your eyes with a suitable product (particularly if you have used the drill that day).

You may also want to consider taking an Olive Leaf extract to reduce respiratory issues (but best I stop here - don't want to be seen pushing products ).

 

I do use a Bur and always were a mask and Glasses too, It is surprising how much dust builds up on the glasses through the day, I would hate to think of this in my eye, I also like to have the glasses for protection from the odd flying nail.

 

I always imagine my lungs becoming full of white toe nail dust... uurgh!! Also know of a Pod who had a piece of nail lodge in the white of her eye. Was removed in A&E.
So definitely a mask and goggles.

 

i also always use burrs and my patients seem to prefer the result over some other pods in the area who dont use burrs. I also have a mask with full face and eye protection. aia cannot imagine doing a decent job without a drill.

 

Well, as of 2006 I still used them. My fav. being the Shannon. I was able to make the ostectomy a fairly good sized chunk of my practice, especially useful when post op healing might be an issue.
As far as C+C, I used them for edge finishing only. Very rarely was I one to don a mask to debride a mycotic nail with one (no matter how often I wish I could.) Hope this helps.

 

I still use Burrs, I wear a surgical mask, I would wear safety glasses if I could fit them on over my optical glasses. There is debate in my department about whether a Surgical mask is sufficient or if N95 masks are required, I'd go for the N95 mask myself but as I can't wear them its a bit moot for me.

I find one of the biggest issues is that people don't turn up the extraction to full, virtually all of my co-workers seem to keep the suction at half or less for some reason, I assume they are relying on the room's extraction system (though recently some rooms were found to not have sufficient extraction so we removed their nail drills).

We also have Moore's disks though I have never seen them used.

 

Yes, to the question about burs (burrs ?)

No to the question about research apart from this ,


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2078045/


Podess

 

Hi All

A colleague of mine ( for her dissertation) carried out a small study into the spread of dust ( substituting nail dust for chalk dust ) and found a significant amount of the dust was carried toward the patient. Should the patient be asked to wear a mask too ??

Regards

Deborah

 

Good point, but probably not - patient exposure to airborne contaminants would be for a short period of time during their treatment, whereas exposure in the working environment for the podiatrist is over a very much longer time.

 

We still use them.

 

I still use them - no way I'm filing by hand.

By the way...does anyone know of ways of reducing ongoing expenses in stock???
I feel that Briggate is expensive in providing routine stuff like blades, gloves, gauze etc...does anyone use a different supplier? Do any of the others have good service, are they cheaper???

 

Hi there
I use OAPL
OAPL Orthopaedic Appliances Pty Ltd
Prosthetic & Orthotic Products & Services - Fitzroy, VIC

In The Orthopaedic Industry For More Than 30 Years.

93-97 Webb St, Fitzroy VIC 3065

Or DBS
DBS Medical Supplies

2/53 Centennial Circuit, Byron Bay NSW
(02) 6685 5599

I find as a customer they are both very good and can price match more often than not.
At least you can now compare a few companies.
Hope this helps

 

Everyone aware that surgical masks are next to useless in stopping fine nail dust. Surgical masks are designed for the opposite; to protect the non-wearer (eg patient on surgical table) from airborne droplet contamination from the wearer (eg surgeon). And before all the hepatitis virus strains? arose respiratory mycotic infections were (apparently) the podiatrist (chiropodist)'s greatest risk.

 

Try Algeos for supplies they are very competitive

 

Bel you have such a way with words, like the reduced Shakespeare company on steroids
It's a gift you have, sigh!

Dave

 

thanks to all that replied!