Fish Pedicures: Are They Really Safe?

Fish pedicures means dipping your feet in a tub filled with water and fishes.

Bhavishya Bir
fish pedicure Main

Humans are attracted to everything new and different. From food to travel to beauty trends, people are drawn toward new and unique things. Similarly, a fish pedicure is something that attracts the audience since it is out of the ordinary.

What Is Fish Pedicure?

Fish pedicures originated in Turkey. In this, feet are dipped into a basin of water filled with fish. Also known as gurra rafa, doctor fish is used for this pedicure. These fishes eat the dead skin off the feet. Once the fishes eat the dead skin off your feet, you get smooth, callous free and cleaner looking skin.

People are always excited to get these pedicures and these are thought of as fun activities. This procedure exfoliates your skin in a fun manner.

Fish Pedicure Risks

benefits fish pedicure

This fun treatment is not always fun. This is because, along with the health benefits, there are several risks attached to it. Read on to know about the numerous risks attached to the procedure.

These basins are not always cleaned after every person leaves and the next one comes. In fact, they are cleaned rarely. This is because it involves a lot of hassle of removing the fish from the basin and putting in the effort to clean it. This can lead to several hygiene problems.

Another risk is that many gurra rufa fishes can be confused with another species of fish, Chinchin. Chinchin can grow teeth and bite people which can be extremely painful. Also, this can lead to the risk of infection.

According to a few reports, fish pedicures can lead to staph infections. This is due to the pathogenic bacteria in the fish.

Due to the trauma caused to the nails from the pressure of the fish, they can easily blacken and fall off. This condition is called onychomadesis. These are actually quite common after fish pedicures.

Also, a case of mycobacteriosis has been reported after this procedure. This is a bacterial infection which results in a rough plaque of the skin.

As mentioned before, basins are not always cleaned after one person leaves and the other enters the basin. Therefore, there is a risk of blood-borne diseases.

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Fish Pedicure Isn’t Ethical

risks fish pedicure

There are not only health concerns attached to fish pedicures but there are also ethical concerns. Garra rufa will only eat the dead fish if they are not given other food which means that they are starved for this procedure.

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Conclusion

This procedure is good for your skin as it gives you smooth skin and also, exfoliates your skin. However, the health concerns and ethical concerns attached to it are not worth getting one.

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