As Christmas approaches, some of us might think of booking in for a pedicure over the festive period. Pedicures are beauty treatments which can make your feet look good and make you feel great, but like everything, they aren’t for everybody. In this blog we discuss the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good
Pedicures can make you feel more confident on occasions such as holidays or weddings. Shellac may have the added bonus of lasting longer, but toenails are less likely to chip than finger nails. Shellac or gel nails can be difficult to remove and often require you to go back to the salon to remove them and can result in thinning and damage to the top layer of your nail, especially if they use an electronic file.
Instead of getting shellac or gel on your toes, try normal nail polish and remove it straight away after the occasion. Long term nail polish use may lead to fungal nails and can stop you noticing discolouration of the nails.
If you do choose to take a trip to a salon, try to ensure it is reputable. While you are waiting before your appointment, don’t be afraid to check if they use new instruments for every client and better still, ask how they disinfect them. Autoclaving is the best method to sterilise them, the same method medical professionals use. You could even bring your own nail polish to the salon and ask them to apply it, to avoid possible infection from the nail polish itself, as they don’t open a new bottle for every client.
The Bad
Fungal nails can occur if the nails were damaged during the treatment and if the instruments were reused or improperly cleaned/not sterilised. It may take months to notice the infection. Athlete’s foot is a fungal infection of the skin and can be picked up from contaminated surfaces such as floors and foot baths.
As with fungal infections, there is an increased likelihood of picking up verrucae from communal areas where people are barefoot. The same goes for nail salons that don’t sanitise the area and tools such as files after each client. For example, think of a file used on someone’s hard skin and verruca and then used on the next person after a quick but improper clean of the instrument. It can take weeks or months for verrucae to appear.
The Ugly
Beauticians should not use scalpels as there is a risk of cutting the skin and causing infections, if the person is improperly trained. There is because the pedicurist can remove too much skin and damage healthy tissue. If the skin is cut, it could cause an infection, or worse still, an ulcer (wound) if the person is high risk, has a lot of medical conditions and poor healing ability.
Cutting the nails too short or cutting them down the side is another danger, which can lead to ingrown toenails and infections. Paronychia is a bacterial skin fold infection - usually at the base or the side of the nail. It is a pocket or blister like pocket of pus with surrounding redness and can be very painful. This infection can occur if the cuticles have been cut or pushed back aggressively during a pedicure. Ingrown toenails will need a trip to the podiatrist and infected ingrown toenails may also require antibiotics from the GP.
What Can A Podiatrist Do For Me?
Podiatrists offer routine chiropody appointments and have undertaken a 3 or 4 year undergraduate degree with 1000 clinical hours to work as a podiatrist. Podiatrists cut and file toenails and can even reduce the thickness of the nails, but the cuticles remain untouched. This is because pushing back the cuticles is a beatifying process and not a medical necessity.
A podiatrist can also remove corns and treat verrucae, which pedicurists/ beauticians are not allowed to do. They can also treat ingrown toenails in a safe manner and provide advice on how to prevent them from reoccurring. They can also provide footwear advice, perform a biomechanical assessment (examine the way we walk) and recommend insoles, if needed.
Podiatrists take infection control very seriously and sanitise the clinical room surfaces between every patient. Spectrum Health podiatrists use single-use instruments, therefore there is no risk of cross contamination as every instrument is brand new for every patient.
People who have Diabetes or who have high risk medical conditions should NOT get a pedicure, but should go to a podiatrist regularly who can carry out a routine chiropody treatment, vascular and neurological examination to monitor any changes to circulation or sensation.
If you would like to book an appointment with a Spectrum Health podiatrist, click here to find your closest clinic.