In Their Shoes: Occupational Hazards for Foot Health Practitioners and Podiatrists.

She coughed, as she did every day on her FHP rounds. Her lungs hurt, and she felt weary. These days were often long and gruelling on her body. Outside the new patient's house, she reviewed her notes, and all she had to go on was a fungal nail, before entering their home. She groaned. Fungal infections were a huge problem, not only to the patients but also to her personally: they were a huge problem for her lungs. She coughed once more and felt the phlegm rise at the back of her throat. Mental note: must book in with GP, again.

"Hi, lovely to meet you!" She exclaimed as she entered the patient's home.
"Do you mind if I pop the big light on?"
"It's bright enough, isn't it, love?"
Cost of living crisis, she thought. She explained that she needed as much light as possible, but could use her floodlight if they really didn't want the light on.

She went through the usual paperwork and then had a look at the patient's feet before discussing a plan of action.
"If you're happy with that, we can make a start?"
"Sounds good to me, love. I just want this sorted before my holiday."

The holiday was months away. Coupling topical treatment and burring down of the nails with the GP's oral meds, she silently prayed it would be gone in time. She was passionate about her job; she knew only too well what a tricky beast this condition could be. The patient seemed on board with the treatment plan between visits, but was well aware that it might be stubborn.

She got to work. Going through the usual practice of cleaning the feet first. She trimmed the nails down as best she could with her nippers.

There's nothing else for it, she thought. She had to continue with the electric drill. Using her trimmer burr, she filed down the fungal nails, angling the drill in such a direction that it was furthest away from her. She leaned back slightly, mask on throughout. She smelt that familiar smell…

"Thanks, love, they look like different feet! I can go dancing now!" She had done a good job; they did look vastly improved.
"I bet they feel better already!"
That's why I love this job, she thought. The improvement to people's lives was instant sometimes!

Getting in the car, she wiped down her face with a wet wipe; she hadn't wanted to do it in the appointment, as she didn't want to embarrass the patient. She felt horrid; she had a fine coating all over her glasses as well. It was the middle of winter, but she drove to her next appointment with the windows wound right down. She welcomed the fresh air.

That evening, she opened her tablet, her shopping buddy, as it were. As a mobile FHP, her job was to solve problems and think on her feet. It was time to sort this out once and for all. There has to be something, it's the year 2025 for goodness' sake! So, again, she searched an array of different phrases, including ‘suction drill mobile podiatry, ' 'extraction drill mobile,' and ‘extraction drill smaller.' Nothing, blank. Everything was plug in and way too cumbersome to lug around, let alone the fact some people didn't even want the big light on to save on the elecy. She searched time and time again, but there was nothing. She had to give up.

And then she saw it, page 3 of Google! 'Mobile Battery Powered Extraction Drill - Elite.' She clicked immediately; this has to be too good to be true...it wasn't too good to be true.

This Extraction Drill is lightweight, with a handle, suction and battery powered. It also had a small floodlight torch that she could pin to the side. Wow. The price was amazing too, half the cost of other units that plugged in! It's also made here in the UK. Course it is, us Brits know how to solve a problem! She cross-verified everything against TrustPilot; the company Elite Foot Health checked out.

"Sold!" She exclaimed out loud; the dog jumped a mile in the air.
"Sorry babs, I'm just excited." She coughed a little after her outburst, phlegm rising to the back of her throat. She silently prayed for the second time today,
Please, dear lord above, let this solve things!

This short story was wrote by a genuine Foot Health Practitioner, without the aid of AI.