Daughter Mary married. So, as the last surprise, she took the daughter and all the bridesmaids for a walk to pamper herself at the nail shop. But shortly before the wedding, the bride and all her participants developed large black drain sores on all lower legs and ankles. So, how can you make sure that your nail salon is safe and avoid this kind of pedicure disaster?
As an orthopedic surgeon, I ask a lot of questions about the relationship between pedicures, foot mushrooms and infections. But the most passionate discussions seem to revolve around pedicures. I even remember one of my teachers in medical school telling all of us, medical students, to warn our patients about avoiding salon pedicures. But we must be realistic. Women love to pamper themselves, and pedicure is a great way to relax and feel special. You just need to know the risks associated with nail salon infections, and follow some simple rules to keep your pedicure safe.
If you do not think that a pedicure can be dangerous, you should not watch the news. In September 2000, 110 people were infected during a manicure outbreak in the San Francisco Bay area. Within a few days, acne-like bumps appeared after a soothing foot bath and pedicure bath. These small bumps worsened and turned into red or black pus-filled ulcers. As a result, many of these women received permanent scratches on their legs.
In 2004, another outbreak occurred south of San Francisco, in which infections associated with a pedicure were identified in 143 pedicure clients associated with 33 different manicure salons in Santa Clara County. In 2005, there was another outbreak of infections associated with nail salons, involving 17 people.
The pedicure lawsuit was born after a woman from the University of California at Mountain View died after a bacterial infection allegedly contracted a pedicure in 2004. A similar case in Fort Worth, Texas, included a 46-year-old woman who allegedly contracted an antibiotic-resistant infection and eventually died of a Staphylococcus infection. A shocking study in Arizona in 2009 showed that 181 manicure institutions agreed to pay fines to allow violations of the health code only in the Tucson area.
Although the statistics and headlines can be alarming, you should know that not all pedicures lead to infections. There are laws and professional guidelines that help manicure workers protect you from infections and the spread of disease during a pedicure.
The first thing you need to do when you visit a nail salon is to look around. Use a little common sense. If you go to a restaurant and see flies buzzing around the kitchen, will you still eat? Does your nail polish look clean? Do you see the health and safety regulations posted in the waiting area? This is one of the most common reasons for citing in California napkins during government inspections. Let's face it, if they can't follow simple rules, do you really trust them to sterilize tools or to thoroughly clean a massage chair or foot bath?
Then ask a few questions. Are all your nail specialists licensed? If they are licensed, you can be sure that they at least took a test for ways to reduce the spread of nail infections. Unsanitary practices are common, but less likely in nails that follow the rules.
Ask them how they disinfect their tools. Do they use any disposable tools? This is a real no-no. Reuse of disposable instruments is an easy way to spread fungus and bacteria from one foot to the other.
How do they clean the foot bath? Most of the truly contagious infections included a bacterium called mycobacterium. He lives in water and can grow on dead skin and hair that gets stuck in a small filter inside a motorized foot bath. If the salon staff cannot quickly tell you about the exact protocol for cleaning the foot bath, you can drain the legs into the alphabet soup of the bacteria that causes the infection.
Look for labels and caps on all containers. If you do not see bright labels, such as “dirty”, “clean”, “water”, “disinfectant”, etc., do not expect that workers will always clean clean when working on their feet. The lids on the containers may not seem very important, but all these infections, which cause fungal spores and bacteria, can float through the air from this unpleasant yellow nasal finger on a chair next to you, and then sit directly on the cuticle pusher, and nail technology is going to use you.
Watch your hands wash. Doctors and nurses wash their hands before and after each contact with the patient. Simply washing your hands is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of a contagious infection. Your nail specialist should do the same. While you are waiting for your turn on a pedicure chair, just watch and see if the nail specialist has washed his hands or simply transferred gloves between clients.
Ask them if they ever fix their ingrown toenails. If so, you may put yourself at risk. The ingrown toenails are often replete with bacteria that cause infection. And you do not want to sit in a pedicure chair after a nail filled with pus. Only licensed podiatrists should work on them (pediatric physicians specializing in legs and foot nail surgery). Simply cutting a corner or ingrown nail has many risks and is illegal when performed during a pedicure of the nail salon. Once you find a clean, respected nail salon, don't shave your legs before you get a pedicure. One risk factor that binds a pedicure to horrendous infections is open wounds. If you shave less than 48 hours before your pedicure, you create invisible small cuts on the skin that allow bacteria to penetrate inside. If you shaved your feet in the morning of your pedicure, you can still get your toenails, but you should avoid the leg.
Keep in mind that there are many safe, comfortable places for you to get a pedicure. You just need to ask a few questions so you can make sure that you leave the salon with beautiful, soft, pampered legs ... and not with a nasty infection.
