In the United States, a young woman saw dermatologists after losing six of her toenails. After examination, it turned out that a “fish pedicure” performed six months earlier would have caused this inconvenience.
If you are a fan of “fish pedicures”, these foot treatments performed by small fish called Garra rufa, reading this article may well dissuade you from letting them nibble on your dead skin again.
Tuesday July 3, the review JAMA Dermatology published the story of a young woman who lost six of her toenails after having a “fish pedicure”. Examined at Weill Cornell Medicine Hospital in New York, her case was initially a mystery before Dr. Shari Lipner, director of the nail division, determined only the probable cause of this spontaneous fall of the nails (called onychomadesis). ) was a pedicure performed by fish six months earlier.
A significant risk of infection
A practice from Asia and widespread in Europe for ten years, the fish pedicure is regularly the subject of warning from the health authorities. And for good reason: this technique in which the user is invited to immerse their feet (sometimes their hands, or even the whole body) for a long time in a basin where around a hundred fish of the species are present. Garra rufa has been repeatedly accused of causing infections.
Thus, in 2013, the National Health Security Agency (ANSES) assessed the risks of disease transmission through fish and water. The problem, noted the agency five years ago, is that beauty establishments offering this service escaped any health regulations. “Cases of bacterial infections linked to aquarium and pedicure practices have been described,” reported the Agency, which then relied on several types of expert committees to deliver its opinion.
Due to the presence of fish, it is indeed impossible to disinfect the water in the tanks used for this practice. Result, writes ANSES, “certain users (diabetics, immunocompromised, users with skin lesions on their feet) constitute a sensitive population at greater risk of infection”. People with thickened skin that may be caused by mycosis are also at risk.
The “Greek foot” in question
Although no other cases of onychomadesis caused by a fish pedicure have been reported, Dr. Lipner is convinced that it was this treatment that caused the patient’s toes to fall out. “Although the exact mechanism is unknown, it is likely that the direct trauma caused by the fish biting the flat of the nail several times causes it to fall,” she writes. She further states that other possible causes of nail damage or infection have been ruled out.
A point of view that does not share Dr. Antonella Tosti, professor of dermatology at the University of Miami and former president of the European Nail Society. According to her, the loss of toenails could be caused by something much more common – toe overlap that occurs when wearing a certain type of shoe.
“This is not uncommon in women with a Greek foot who wear high heels and pointy shoes, “said Dr Tosti. The Greek foot is the name given to feet whose second toes are longer than the big toe. .
Anyway, the two doctors agree to advise against dipping our feet in basins filled with fish. “I think we can definitely say that a fish pedicure is probably not the best way to treat skin and nail conditions,” CNN Dr. Lipner.
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