If you’re considering having a ‘fish pedicure’ or have already had one, you may want to pay attention to this recent article in U.S. News. The article talks about what a fish pedicure is and how you are at risk for an infection. Here’s a bit from the article:
“Fish pedicures” in health spas can expose recipients to a host of pathogens and bacterial infections, a team of researchers warns.
The practice of exposing your feet to live freshwater fish that eat away dead or damaged skin for mainly cosmetic reasons has been banned in many (but not all) American states, but it is apparently a hot trend in Britain.
So much so that the British researchers sent their warning in a letter published in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Officially known as “ichthyotherapy,” the procedure typically involves the importation of what are called “doctor fish,” a Eurasian river basin species known as “Garra rufa.” The fish are placed in a spa tub, the foot (or even whole body) joins it, and the nautical feeding on dead or unwanted skin begins.
The problem: such fish may play host to a wide array of organisms and disease, some of which can provoke invasive soft-tissue infection in exposed humans and many of which are antibiotic-resistant, according to the scientists from the Center for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) in Weymouth.
If you think you’re having problems with any form of foot pain or problem, you should seek the advise of a board-certified podiatrist. In Colorado Springs, Dr. Kerry Berg at Intermountain Foot & Ankle is not only a board-certified foot doctor but also has her certification to deal with wounds and infections affecting the foot.
