TORONTO PODIATRIST, MR. ROBERT CHELIN STATES, "THAT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN NAIL SALONS IS CROSS-CONTAMINATION"
posted: Aug. 24, 2016.
Within 24 hours of having a pedicure at a west-end Toronto salon, Kristine Galka had trouble standing on her left foot. Within 36 hours, the foot was swollen — and she wound up in an emergency room. Galka's experience is a reminder of the potential health hazards of nail salons — a big business in Toronto, with more than 1,280 establishments offering nail services across the city. Fungus, dirt, and other contaminants can all lurk beneath a spa's relaxing veneer, even under the watchful eye of Toronto Public Health inspectors. Fungus is probably the most difficult thing to kill, says Toronto-based podiatrist Dr. Robert Chelin. "Fungus, when it goes airborne, lives through the heat, it lives through the cold," he says. And it also thrives in the water of foot baths. "Bacteria and fungus and warts — all those things we hear about — need water to grow, they need water to live." Since the jets can be particularly difficult to clean, Chelin suggests opting for foot baths with no jets, a separate easy-to-clean tub, or ones with disposable plastic liners. More generally speaking, the "biggest problem" at nail salons is cross-contamination, he adds. It's important to ask questions at a salon, including how the instruments and footbaths are cleaned and sterilized.
Source: Lauren Pelley, Guelph Mercury [8/23/16]