Pedicure=Death?
I am so sick and tired of the endless news reports about how dangerous pedicures are. Every night for two weeks, the news has been full of reports of a local woman’s “death by pedicure” (it’s even made CNN and World News Tonight). Here’s the deal: if you get your toes done in, let’s say, a gas station, then you probably are inviting problems. However, if you do your homework, and you ask the right questions at your salon, then you can pretty much rest assured that you’re not gonna die. Caveat emptor, anyone?
What ever happened to consumer responsibility? Sure, I feel bad for the woman who died of complications from a staph infection, but come on. You’re putting your feet into the same basin that a whole lot of other people put their feet in. That’s no different from not wearing shower shoes in your dorm’s communal shower (and didn’t we all learn that lesson already?). I trust my spa. They work pretty hard to clean the basins and the drains. And if you’re not sure, just ask to see the screens. They’ll show you. They showed me.
So what’s my point? Here it is: I won’t stop getting my toes done. I like it. They look pretty, and my feet always feel better afterwards. Plus, I recognize my own responsibility when I do stuff like this. My eyebrows will still get waxed, my nails will still get done, and, by God, my toes will still get painted.
And if we’re lucky, the evening news will stop the panic.
March 2nd, 2006 at 10:20 pm
I just wanted to say, that as an esthetician, I am also tired of hearing these things. Staph lives on the human skin, and all it takes is a small break in the skin to cause the staph to become an internal infection. The staph was not in the foot bath or on the implements used. Foot baths in salon should be disinfected with hospital grade disinfecant before each use…. same as implements. When all rules are followed, there is no risk from a pedicure.
March 3rd, 2006 at 12:02 pm
I just got a “french” pedicure for the first time. I just love it. Actually it was my first pedicure in a long time. They probably hate me there, because my feet are so ticklish. They prob want me to get some sort of problem from it so I won’t go back.