Some trendy beauty treatments that you are offered to do during your vacation can be much more dangerous than you think. This is the case of the fish pedicure, the consequences of which can go as far as amputation, as a doctor explains.
Whatever the region of your vacation, it is possible that you will be offered to make a fish pedicure to have soft feet on the beach. Widespread in coastal cities, the fish pedicure Or pisci-pedicure, is a pedicure that consists of doing a special foot bath, putting your feet in a tray filled with water and small fish that come and eat your dead skin to get rid of it. If the experience may seem original and attractive, it actually turns out that it has far too many risk for the health according to doctors, and podiatrists who see all the colors.
Present on Youtube and TikTok, a health professional who intends to popularize medicine, most often with humor, has also posted an alarming video on the subject. “Here is a holiday activity that I will certainly not do as a doctor, and that I strongly advise against: it is the fish pedicure” he explains, indeed. Referring to the case of a young Australian who finished “several toes amputated” after having the bones “completely eaten away” after a terrible fish-borne infection from her fish pedicure. It is therefore a reminder of the incredible risks that one incurs when performing this kind of pedicure.
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Fish pedicure: from pedicure to amputation, there is only one step
The doctor points out that this beauty treatment can quickly turn tragic, because the hygienic conditions of this type of pedicure do not guarantee that the treatment will be carried out without risk to health. The small fish used to perform fish pedicures, called garra rufa, doctor fish or freshwater surgeon fish, risk sending you to the hospital. If they do indeed eat dead skin well, the water in which they bathe is a veritable nest to bacteria very dangerous: streptococciof the staphylococci and mycobacteria, as well as “the very formidable schwanella”. This Extremely severe infection of the feet, suffered by the young Australian toe amputee, makes even antibiotics ineffective. The latter gnawing not only the skin, but also the bones, it often leads to the amputation of the affected areas.
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Infection following a fish pedicure: what are the symptoms?
If you have already had a fish pedicure performed, and taken big risks at the same time, all you have to do is monitor your state of health during the next few days. Above all, do not take more risks and do not miss any warning signs that could foretell an infection. Besides, don’t just look at your feet, watch your general condition. The doctor mentions fever and chills as symptoms of the infection, but also nausea and vomiting. The slightest doubt should lead you to consult a health professional, not failing to specify which pedicure you have just had.
Passionate about writing and beauty, Elodie swaps her lipstick for her laptop to find you the best makeup, hair and skincare trends, and pro tips…