Skip the Pedicure and see a Podiatrist!

 According to Wikipedia a pedicure is performed for “cosmetic, theraputic and medical purposes.” Now, it could simply be due to the fact that therapeutic is not even spelled correctly, or it could be due to the suspicion that arises when publicly accessed literature implies beauticians can perform “medical” procedures. Either way some red flags need to be raised when it’s been suggested a beautician is qualified to perform anything more than simple nail trimming and painting.  A few things to consider before your next pedicure:

•          Salons may try to re-use tools. This is a big issue for obvious reasons. Consider asking, or looking for clues of re-use next time a technician takes to those toes with a beauty tool. Every year there are many reported cases of Staph and sometimes-even MRSA infections due to nail salons re-using non-professionally sterilized tools. Believe it or not the liquid “antiseptic” solutions salons use generally only kill low-level pathogenicity microbes, rendering this practice fairly infective in actual disease prevention.

•          Although footbaths or whirlpools may seem like wonderful foot therapy if not properly cleaned with serious antiseptics after every single use they can harbor everything from HPV to MRSA.

•         Ingrown toenails (onychocryptosis) should never be attempted to be remedied by a nail technician! This is an actual medical condition that should only be treated with professionally sterilized tools by a health care professional such as a Podiatrist. Not only could the nail plate and bed be further damaged by an untrained individual, but serious infections are a huge risk as well.

•          Nail technicians want to augment your cuticles but this is a big “no-no”. Cuticles were put around your nails for a reason; they prevent infection as they make a seal between your nail plate and skin from the external environment.

These are just a few reasons to skip pedicures altogether and see the Podiatrist. If you still need further convincing check out one of the following links including articles written by US News, Huffington Post and the Washington Post…

US News article - Pedicure or Pedicurse?

Washington Post article

Huffington Post--5 Dangers awaiting you at the nail salon

**This blog, and the medical information it presents is made possible by Dr. Michael Garvin of Port Saint Lucie, Florida. He has been practicing board certified podiatry for over 20 years, and accepts new patients. Visit his website for additional information here. To schedule an appointment, or find directions to his office click here.

Podiatrists Save Diabetic Feet!

25.8 million, or 8.3% of the American population (Children & Adults) are currently suffering from Diabetes Mellitus. Awareness and prevention of diabetes mellitus is finally starting to rise in America, however, the incidence of the disease is still increasing. With that said, the role of a podiatrist in a diabetic’s overall health care cannot be understated. To quantify that; more diabetics die every year due to complications that arise from diabetically induced ulcers than prostate and breast cancer each. 


In 2010, at the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) annual scientific meeting Vicky Driver, MS, DPM introduced a study conducted by Thomson Reuters, showing that care by a podiatric physician (defined as at least one preventative, pre-ulcer visit) was associated with a nearly 29 percent lower risk of amputation and 24 percent lower risk of hospitalization.


If you’re a diabetic, and annually visiting a podiatric physician isn't part of your overall health care plan please reconsider this practice. Dr. Michael Garvin of Port Saint Lucie, Florida has been treating diabetic patients for over 20 years. He is a board certified podiatric physician and is accepting new patients. His goal is always to provide the most comprehensive care possible for diabetic patients as he understands the pitfalls of miscare for these patients. For information and directions to his office please click here.





Sources cited:
1.http://www.apma.org/MainMenu/News/New-Study-Proves-Care-by-Podiatrists-Dramatically-Decreases-Lower-Limb-Amputation.aspx

2. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/