DrCarolynCollection.com - Salon Health Risks

Onychomycosis (Nail Fungus):

Fungal nails are due to a chronic infection that exists under the nail plate and results in yellow discolored nails. The infection develops into an unsightly condition where the nail plate separates from the nail bed as fibrous gritty debris accumulates under a thickened nail. The fungal organism proliferates in moist warm locations and is similar to the one that causes athlete's foot (tinea pedis). The most common locations for spread of fungal infection are communal gym showers, pool side, and the foot soaking tubs in nail salons.

A dangerous sequence of events begins when someone with athlete's foot or nail fungus soaks their feet in the nail salon tub. After that person's soak, the tub is rinsed out and set aside. The fungal organisms then proceed to grow in the partially dried tub. Your clean healthy feet are next in line to slip into this very tub which by now has become a Petri dish for fungus and other organisms.

Thirty six million individuals are estimated to have onychomycosis. Only 6.3 million actually have seen a doctor for this condition and only 2.5 million are taking the oral medications needed to treat it. This leaves over 33 million people to inadvertently infect your clean healthy toe nails. Don't be the next victim. Make sure you have Dr. Carolyn's Savvy Tub Liner to keep your feet from touching the fungal residue in your foot soaking tub.
Topical medications cannot always effectively treat fungal nails because these drugs have a difficult time penetrating through the thick, dense nail to get to the source of the infection in the nail bed. We therefore commonly need to use oral medications to treat this condition.
Oral medications to treat onychomycosis have been, in rare cases, shown to be toxic to the liver. When doctors prescribe these drugs they must perform multiple blood tests to evaluate the liver and ensure that it is not being affected by the medication. In addition, these drugs are not always 100% effective.
Do yourself a favor and avoid contracting onychomycosis. You do not want to have to deal with the unsightly appearance of your nails and the costs and risks of fungal nail treatment.
Always use Dr. Carolyn's foot soaking tub liner when you receive a pedicure.

An example of an early stage of onychomycosis:

Plantar Verrucae (Warts):

Plantar warts are caused by a virus that infects the superficial layers of the skin. It is spread from person to person through tiny breaks in the skin such as heel fissures, paper cuts, or simply undetectable microscopic tears in the upper layers in the skin; tears you might not be able to see or feel. These warts spread across the surface of your skin and do not infect deeper structures.

Common locations of transmission include pool side (where the rough pool surface can gently scrape the skin and create microscopic portals of entry), communal gym showers, nail salon foot soaking tubs, and nail salon implements. Nail salon implements can transmit this virus to your nail folds as your aesthetician is cutting your cuticles.
Treatment of plantar warts is lengthy and usually involves multiple modalities. These include weekly painful freezing of the wart (cryotherapy), carbon dioxide laser treatment of the warts ("burning" the warts and surrounding skin tissue), nightly acid treatments for many months, injection of painful chemotherapy drugs into the wart (bleomycin injections), surgical excision of the warts, electrodessication, immunotherapy, and other destructive therapies. Doctors typically need to use a variety of these modalities to fully eradicate this virus.

Herpetic Whitlow (Herpes Infection):

Herpetic Whitlow is a viral infection caused by the herpes virus and is spread through personal contact. Torn cuticles or dry excoriations around the nail allow for easier transmission. This disease, initially thought to be a risk for health care workers, is now being seen as a result of manicures and pedicures in the nail salon. Symptoms include red, painful blisters. There is presently only symptomatic treatment available for this condition (please refer to the Good Morning America Article).

Bacterial Infections:

Bacterial infections are infections that must be treated immediately since they can quickly spread to the entire foot. If the infection spreads to bone, the treatment consists of either 6 weeks of intravenous antibiotics and/or amputation of the infected portion of the finger or toe. The bones in the fingers and toes are only millimeters from the skin surface, and therefore a soft tissue bacterial infection must be treated immediately. The treatment of mild soft tissue infections consists of drainage of pus and a course of oral antibiotics. If the infection begins to spread to the entire foot or hand, hospitalization with intravenous antibiotics is the standard treatment.

Infectious bacterial organisms include Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, and others. There were two recent outbreaks of mycobacterial infections from the salon whirlpool baths in Watsonville (2001) and San Diego (2004). The whirlpools in these "throne" type spa chairs re-filtered the same water after each customer's pedicure and thereby were responsible for the infection. The bacteria entered the skin through tiny breaks caused by recent leg shaving with a razor. The infection resulted in multiple disfiguring, ulcerative, and draining lesions in the lower legs of the nail salon customers. Collectively, it is impossible for physicians to authorize these "Whirlpool Tubs/Spa Chairs" as globally safe. In order to stay free of disease transmission, we recommend only using the small portable tubs with a Dr. Carolyn's disposable protective tub liner.

Hepatitis:

(Please refer to "Preventing HCV Transmission in the Personal Care Setting") Hepatitis B and C are blood borne viruses that lead to fatal scarring (cirrhosis) and cancer of the liver. The infection spreads when infected blood of one individual enters the body of another. The Center for Disease Control states that 3.9 million Americans have been infected with hepatitis C and 1.25 million Americans have been chronically infected with hepatitis B. Individuals with hepatitis can live without symptoms for many years. This virus is transmissible via unprotected sex, shared syringes and needles for drug injections, blood transfusions prior to 1992, shared tattoo needles and tattoo ink, razors, cuticle nippers, cuticle pushers, and emery boards. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C and proposed treatment involves a year long combination therapy using the drugs interferon and/or ribavirin. Treatment is not always 100% effective.

The American Association of Dermatology states that the hepatitis virus can live on metal nail implements for up to one week. It is well known that during a manicure or pedicure small breaks in the skin can occur. It is also common for people to have small breaks in the skin of which they may not be aware. If a cuticle pusher or nipper that has been used on the paper cut or tiny skin tear of an individual with hepatitis and is then used on your delicate cuticle tissue at the time of an accidental cut, this serious and sometimes fatal infection can enter your system. Microscopic blood contact is all that is necessary.

This website is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical conditions.
If you notice skin or nail changes, contact your physician immediately for a proper diagnosis.
References for informational articles available upon request.