Footnotes about pedicures

Marisa O’Neil

Newport Beach resident Sheri Griffin likes to keep her feet neat and

her toes painted.

So when ugly, red boils started popping up on her legs, she didn’t

know what to think.

At first, she thought they were spider bites that got infected.

Her doctor agreed and put her on antibiotics. But months of taking

antibiotics and covering the marks on her legs with Band-Aids passed,

and the red spots were still there, sending her to another doctor.

He immediately knew what it was: an infection from getting a

pedicure.

Griffin started doing her own research. She found that this type

of bacterial infection is commonly caught from whirlpool foot spas,

like those she occasionally visited at local nail salons.

The same type of bacteria, mycobacteria, caused an outbreak in

2002 in Santa Cruz County, an outbreak that was traced back to foot

baths at one salon, according to the state Department of Consumer

Affairs website. That prompted the state’s Board of Barbering and

Cosmetology to put new regulations in place governing cleanliness

practices in salons.

The California Department of Consumer Affairs issued a safety

alert Tuesday, advising customers to take care when getting a

pedicure. The warning comes on the heels of multiple reports of

bacterial infections linked to salon footbaths in Northern

California.

Damp, warm conditions, like those found in salon footbaths, make a

perfect breeding ground for mycobacteria, said Dr. Hildy Meyers,

medical director of epidemiology at the Orange County Health Care

Assn.

If footbaths aren’t carefully cleaned, the bacteria can easily

collect and spread through open leg wounds, said Patti Roberts, a

spokeswoman for the state’s Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. Even

shaving your legs before getting a pedicure can make you more

susceptible to bacteria, she said.

The popular massage chairs with built-in foot spas, in particular,

require extra care to clean.

“The bacteria comes from people not cleaning the equipment

properly,” Roberts said. “If you’re paying really low money for a

pedicure, chances are they’re not being extra careful cleaning.”

That’s not to say it isn’t safe to get a pedicure, Roberts said.

But it is important to check out the salon before trusting your toes

to anyone.

And if in doubt, check with the state to see if the salon has had

any complaints logged against it in the past year, she said.

“Make sure the salon is licensed and the manicurist is licensed,”

Roberts said. “Look around at the shop to see if it’s clean or not.

And ask yourself, ‘Do you feel comfortable that they’ll take the

proper precautions?’”

Salons and manicurists are required to display their licenses and

should be open with customers about their cleaning practices. But

when people are in a hurry and want their toes done, they don’t

always take the time to find out everything they should.

“How would you know?” Griffin said. “You just walk in, drinking

your coffee, grab a magazine and sit down. It’s not like we go

through the drill: ‘How do you clean your utensils?’”

It took about four months for her infection to heal and three

rounds of progressively stronger antibiotics, Griffin said. After her

experience, she sent an e-mail to all her friends, letting them know

what had happened.

Many responded and said they’d had the same thing happen, she

said.

“I just want women to take precautions,” she said. “I want them to

be cautious. I had always taken for granted it was no problem getting

a pedicure.”

FYI

The California Department of Consumer Affairs Board of Barbering

and Cosmetology recommends customers take the following precautions

before getting a pedicure:

* Don’t shave your legs before the pedicure. Don’t get a pedicure

if you have broken skin or lesions on your lower legs.

* Make sure all licenses are displayed, as well as the board’s

health and safety poster.

* See whether the salon is clean, free of trash and set up with

clean instruments.

* Don’t be afraid to ask the operator how the foot spas are

cleaned and disinfected.

* Consider having a pedicure without the foot spa.

* If in doubt, call the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology at

(800) 952-5210. Customers can also log complaints against salons by

calling the same number or by going to the board’s website at

https://www.barber

cosmo.ca.gov.