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Sunday, February 1, 2009
Death by Pedicure, Anchorage, Alaska
By Barbara Simkins
Healthy Aging Alaska Style
Death by Pedicure
You don’t expect to hear “death” and “pedicure” used in the same
sentence but, unfortunately, there have been deaths from pedicures. In Dr. Spaulding’s 2006 book
Death by Pedicure he identifies some scary problems in the Pedicure and Nail Industry and Alaska is not immune to
these problems. As a matter of fact he gave Alaska a D- in the grading of our states cosmetology laws.
A renowned Podiatrist, Dr. Spaulding, states that “an estimated one million unsuspecting clients walk out
of their chosen salon with infections—bacterial, viral and fungal”. Dr. Spaulding has
spent 10 years lecturing on the problems of the Nail Industry. His book goes into detail concerning foot
and nail infections that have been mentioned by every major news wire and TV station in the US.
One of the best ways to protect consumers from picking up an infection
from contaminated instruments during a pedicure is for the Pedicurist to autoclave their instruments. Dr.
Spauling is a great promoter of the use of autoclaves and recommends that they be used by all Pedicurists and Nail Technicians.
An autoclave is hospital grade sterilization. However, in Alaska, Nail Technicians and Pedicurists
are not required to autoclave. This is probably because Nail Technicians and Pedicurist are supposed to
only work on people with healthy feet. Times are changing though. The largest demographic
group in the US is the Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964. Baby Boomers are getting older and
starting to have more health problems, diabetes, heart disease, auto-immune diseases, and cardio-vascular disease and so on.
Simply put the older we get the more health problems we have. The Baby Boomers still want their pedicures
but their health could put them at risk for infection and their feet may be more fragile than in their youth.
More and more Nail Technicians and Pedicurists are going to be dealing with fragile feet. Often a Pedicurist can’t
tell definitively when a person has fragile feet, or some contagious condition. A detailed health questionnaire
can assist a Pedicurist in knowing that they are performing a pedicure on someone with fragile feet or who has health issues.
But since Pedicurists are not allowed to diagnose diseases or conditions each client should be serviced like they might
have some kind of foot condition, health challenge or contagious disease.
The pedicure industry is a multi-billion dollar
industry that is growing yearly. Naturally a lot of people want a financial slice of this revenue stream
and see pedicures as quick and easy money but their training is often minimal at best which increasingly puts the public at
risk. This all adds up to more and more people with fragile feet, health issues, and a service industry
that is poorly trained, has little regulatory oversight, and is ill equipped to provide safe Pedicures to those who are most
at risk.
Credo
blades are the “most dangerous item in a nail salon” according to Dr. Spauling. These instruments
can do a lot of damage to people’s feet and create portals for infections. There is a state statute
(for Alaska) that says they are illegal. The statute governing Alaska is as follows: Department of Environmental
Conservation, 18 AAC 23 which governs Hair and Body Art Schools and Shops. The specific statute is 18 AAC 23.220 (b) The Use of The
Following Is Prohibited # (2) which states “any razor edged device or tool that is designed
to remove calluses;”. According
to Chris Tofteberg at the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) the Municipal codes or ordinances must be at least as protective
as the States statutes and he says that the States statutes do supersede Municipal Codes. There does not
appear to be a Municipal Code that prohibits scalpel like callus removers or credo blades. The State statute doesn’t
seem to be enforced by the State. I was told by the head of the State of Alaska Board of Barbers and Hairdressers
that “the State is not in the business of regulating beauty equipment.” But since the States statutes supersede
the MOA’s then technically credo blades or scalpel like callus removers are illegal. Unfortunately,
in Alaska and Anchorage you do see these devices used in many, many, nail spas, salons, and even in up-scale, high end day
spas.
There are
several Health Inspectors for the Anchorage area. Making random and surprise inspections and citing Nail
Technicians for using scalpel like callus removers or credo blades is not a routine part of the inspectors job.
In my investigation the prevailing attitude by regulatory people was the belief that serious diseases are not spread
by pedicures. I suspect that some, if not most, of the Inspectors for the MOA may not even be aware that credo blades or scalpel
like devices are technically illegal and can be dangerous for the consumer. Inspectors spend most of their time inspecting
food establishments and a small amount of time inspecting salons, day spas and businesses that provide pedicure services.
When pedicure service providers are inspected it is usually due to a complaint. The problem is that
more and more people are getting pedicures and when they do pick up a fungal infection, warts, hepatitis or a skin or toenail
infection they aren’t always sure where or when they got the infection. Some of these conditions
develop and worsen over time. According to A Special Report from Harvard Medical School on Foot Care
Basics, “fungal nails can go undetected for years because the initial symptoms are so subtle”.
By the time a person realizes they have an infection it could be weeks, months or even years since they received a
pedicure and the initial contact with a contagion; unlike a food borne illness that can manifest symptoms quite quickly.
Many of these conditions are annoying and a nuisance but not life threatening. A few like hepatitis, herpes, HIV and
staphylococcus (staph) infections can be considered major health issues and in some cases deadly. Fortunately,
deaths from pedicures are rare but they do happen. In Texas it took a death before the laws were changed
to require a higher level of consumer protection. Perhaps through consumer education in Alaska we won’t
have to have a death before people demand a high standard of cleanliness, proper sanitation, sterilization and attention to
consumer safety.
There have been
deaths linked to pedicures and Dr. Spalding gives case histories of these people in his book. Two specific
cases were the death of Kimberly Jackson (a paraplegic) and Jessica Mears (who had an autoimmune disease) both of their deaths
were linked to a pedicure.
Perhaps you might want to ask how your service provider cleans their tools and their pedicure tubs. Do they sanitize,
disinfect or sterilize? Do they know the difference? How are you protected? Are you
told not to shave or wax your legs before a pedicure? You should be.
Shaving and waxing can create nicks and cuts and create a portal of entry for bacteria, fungus or parasites. Cutting
toenail cuticles can also put a person at risk by causing a portal for infections. Is the establishment
your going to clean and does the service provider display current Occupational and Shop Owners Licenses? Do
you fill out a health questionnaire? There are some great pedicure service providers out there but there
are also some very scary ones as well and with minimal regulatory oversight the motto should be -- buyers beware.
For further information I suggest you get a copy of
Dr. Robert Spaulding’s book, Death by Pedicure. You can call him at 423-756-3668 or check out his
website at www.drspalding.com. The last time I checked his book was $29.95 plus $7.00 shipping and
handling. Another good website is www.pedicureassociation.com. The Pedicure Association gives detailed items to look for when choosing a service provider.
Good luck, keep your eyes open and ask a lot of questions.
By Barbara SimkinsHealthy Aging Alaska StyleBarbara is
a Licensed Massage Therapist, Master Pedicurist, Internationally Trained Esthetician, Sugaring Practioner and Gerontology
Student and can be reached at 907-230-5052 or bsimkins@gci.net
7:00 pm est
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