With so many lawsuits connected to deaths, chronic infections and disfigurement from pedicures; you would think the public would be clamoring for reform. Just the opposite, most consumers completely blow off the risks and have the "it won't happen to me" attitude. Approximately $6 Billion dollars are spent on spa related nail care every year, making it a huge industry.
Unfortunately, along with that pretty pedicure you can take home: hepatitis, cutaneous herpes, warts, HIV, bacterial and fungal infections. These can be deadly, especially in the diabetic or immuno-compromised patient!
A 43-year-old San Jose, California woman's husband remembers the small cut on her toe that led to her death from a skin infection in 2004.
A 46-year-old Ft Worth, Texas mother left the pedicure salon with a small abrasion on her heel from a pumice stone in July 2005 and died of staph related illness in Feb 2006. Her family is still embroiled in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Texas, California, and Florida have taken a closer look at the cosmetology industry and have put stronger sanitation laws in place, but the consumer needs to be more aware of their risks and simple precautions!
You may never be 100% safe from infection when receiving a pedicure, but there are many simple precautions consumers can take to protect themselves.
1. What does the salon look like? If it's not clean and shiny like a doctor's office, don't stay! Cleanliness is next to godliness in the nail salon!
2. Check the photo on the license of the nail technician. Make sure they match.
3. Ask about sanitation procedures. Instruments should be autoclaved in a steam sterilizer just like surgical instruments. When in doubt, bring your own! There are lots of instrument sets available to purchase and clean yourself.
4. Is the spa chair pipe-less and cleaned after each pedicure? This is a new chair technology that is available to make you safer. Has the spa updated their old whirlpool chairs with this pipe-less technology?
5. Did the nail technician wash their hands after their last pedicure? Hand washing should be standard protocol and prevents spread of almost all pathogens including the common cold.
6. Is the nail technician wearing gloves? This is the only profession that handles sharp instruments putting the client and the technician at risk that OSHA does not require them to wear gloves. You wouldn't let a dental technician clean your teeth without gloves, would you?
7. Never let the technician use a sharp blade to trim a callus or cuticle. This puts you more at risk. If your calluses or heel fissures are that thick, please visit your podiatrist prior to the nail salon.
Nail salons are definitely improving their sanitation and trying to make you safer, but you must be a savvy consumer. The risk of infections from pedicures can be virtually eliminated if the operator used autoclaved or disposable instruments, used a pipe-less pedicure spa chair, wore gloves, employees washed their hands, and used proper sterilization techniques. Demand a safe pedicure or you and your family may be sorry!
Showing posts with label safe pedicures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label safe pedicures. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
A Safe Pedicure
You have been in your heels all day and you begin to daydream about you pedicurist. How great it would be to escape the kids, the hustle and bustle, and get your feet pampered. But it may cost you. Did you know that you may be on pedicure away from a nasty infection or even death! No, I am not exaggerating. In Texas, a young woman was cut by a pumice stone. The open wound got infected by bacteria lurking in the whirlpool. After 6 months of fighting off the chronic wound, the women contracted mrsa and this nasty infection caused her death. This could never happen at your salon right? Think again. You are at risk of getting a nasty infection at almost any salon. Here are some helpful hints to keep your feet safe but still pretty.
1) Ask Critical Questions!
Have you ever asked your pedicurist how they clean their tools or the foot spa. Take a look at the spa chair. Is it stainless steel? Are they cleaning the chairs in between customers? Does the spa treat customers with foot infections, nail fungus, or athlete’s foot? I am guessing you never thought to ask any of these questions. I am sorry to inform you that you will not like the answers.
2) Cleaned tools are disinfected tools
Most states only regulate tools to be sanitized. Though this has antibacterial properties, the only way to be sure that there are no bacteria or fungus is to disinfect the tools by an autoclave. Why you ask? When sanitizing, you are simply placing the tools into a solution. How do you know they were put into the solution for a long enough time? You don’t. You have to trust that they were properly sanitized. Yes just trust there is nothing nasty growing on that nail clipper. With an autoclave, markers are used that change color when the tool was properly disinfected at a high enough temperature for an appropriate amount of time. An easy way to avoid this controversy is to invest in your own set of tools to bring with you to the pedicurist. This will ensure that your nail clipper doesn’t have your neighbor’s nail fungus tucked into the hinge.
3) Find a spa that uses stainless steel spa chairs.
There have been several bacterial outbreaks that have been traced back to a spa. The cause is a mycobacterium that thrives in the plastic piping and filter of a pedicure chair. Fungus in the pipes! Gross! Many chair spas are made out of fiberglass which is very difficult to properly clean without damaging. The plastic piping is a haven due to its inability to never completely drain. This leads to cross contamination. You are basically putting your feet in water used by the customer before you, before them, before the one before and so on. The ideal pedicure chair should be stainless steel which is much easier to clean. It is also important for the chair to be pipeless to ensure you are not sharing the same water with every foot that has ever stepped in for a soaking.
4) Does your spa treat customers with foot infections, nail fungus, foot fungus?
Nasty stinky, fungus growing demands! When I say nail fungus, many of us think of an old man with thick nasty looking nails. You may be unaware that nail fungus infects woman of all ages just as prominently as men. Are they at your spa? A pedicurist should not be treating infected feet due to the high risk of cross contamination. They are strongly advised to refer the customer to a podiatric physician before working on their feet. None of this is regulated so your spa may be pumicing bacteria and fungus and putting you at high risk!
5) Avoid fake nails and nail polish
Fake nails are a haven for bacteria and fungus. What nail technicians refer to as fake nail greening is actually a pseudomonas bacteria infection. Your cuticle is your body’s natural defense system against infection. During a nail “workup” they push, damage, and remove your cuticle giving bacteria an open door to your into your body! Nail polish can also trap bacteria, but more importantly, you are unable to notice changes in your nail or under your nail due to the polish over coating. Changes in your nail or nail bed are signs of infections and should be attended to immediately. If you can’t resist the Hot Pink nails, try an antibacterial nail polish. Many podiatric physicians provide this in their office or on their websites.
6) Find a Podiatry Approved Nail Spa
Podiatric Physicians are more than just surgeon of the foot and ankle. They are foot specialist. They can advise you with all o f your foot and ankle issues. They can even advise you on proper pedicures. Some podiatrists provide pedicures in their office! They are very well aware of the risks involved in pedicures and can recommend a spa and techniques that will assure your safety.
1) Ask Critical Questions!
Have you ever asked your pedicurist how they clean their tools or the foot spa. Take a look at the spa chair. Is it stainless steel? Are they cleaning the chairs in between customers? Does the spa treat customers with foot infections, nail fungus, or athlete’s foot? I am guessing you never thought to ask any of these questions. I am sorry to inform you that you will not like the answers.
2) Cleaned tools are disinfected tools
Most states only regulate tools to be sanitized. Though this has antibacterial properties, the only way to be sure that there are no bacteria or fungus is to disinfect the tools by an autoclave. Why you ask? When sanitizing, you are simply placing the tools into a solution. How do you know they were put into the solution for a long enough time? You don’t. You have to trust that they were properly sanitized. Yes just trust there is nothing nasty growing on that nail clipper. With an autoclave, markers are used that change color when the tool was properly disinfected at a high enough temperature for an appropriate amount of time. An easy way to avoid this controversy is to invest in your own set of tools to bring with you to the pedicurist. This will ensure that your nail clipper doesn’t have your neighbor’s nail fungus tucked into the hinge.
3) Find a spa that uses stainless steel spa chairs.
There have been several bacterial outbreaks that have been traced back to a spa. The cause is a mycobacterium that thrives in the plastic piping and filter of a pedicure chair. Fungus in the pipes! Gross! Many chair spas are made out of fiberglass which is very difficult to properly clean without damaging. The plastic piping is a haven due to its inability to never completely drain. This leads to cross contamination. You are basically putting your feet in water used by the customer before you, before them, before the one before and so on. The ideal pedicure chair should be stainless steel which is much easier to clean. It is also important for the chair to be pipeless to ensure you are not sharing the same water with every foot that has ever stepped in for a soaking.
4) Does your spa treat customers with foot infections, nail fungus, foot fungus?
Nasty stinky, fungus growing demands! When I say nail fungus, many of us think of an old man with thick nasty looking nails. You may be unaware that nail fungus infects woman of all ages just as prominently as men. Are they at your spa? A pedicurist should not be treating infected feet due to the high risk of cross contamination. They are strongly advised to refer the customer to a podiatric physician before working on their feet. None of this is regulated so your spa may be pumicing bacteria and fungus and putting you at high risk!
5) Avoid fake nails and nail polish
Fake nails are a haven for bacteria and fungus. What nail technicians refer to as fake nail greening is actually a pseudomonas bacteria infection. Your cuticle is your body’s natural defense system against infection. During a nail “workup” they push, damage, and remove your cuticle giving bacteria an open door to your into your body! Nail polish can also trap bacteria, but more importantly, you are unable to notice changes in your nail or under your nail due to the polish over coating. Changes in your nail or nail bed are signs of infections and should be attended to immediately. If you can’t resist the Hot Pink nails, try an antibacterial nail polish. Many podiatric physicians provide this in their office or on their websites.
6) Find a Podiatry Approved Nail Spa
Podiatric Physicians are more than just surgeon of the foot and ankle. They are foot specialist. They can advise you with all o f your foot and ankle issues. They can even advise you on proper pedicures. Some podiatrists provide pedicures in their office! They are very well aware of the risks involved in pedicures and can recommend a spa and techniques that will assure your safety.