Warning health risk for latest pedicure trend

[12th Man]

THE TIMESTHE SUNDAY TIMESTIMES+ The TimesThe Sunday TimesArchive ArticlePlease enjoy this article from The Times & The Sunday Times archives. For full access to our content, please subscribe here MY PROFILE From The Sunday Times April 4, 2010

Pedicure Gabriella Montage of 'The county fan will eat you now' comments that Irish beauty salons and clinics are stocking up on miniature toothless County Fans that suck dead skin from customers? feet, despite warnings they pose a health risk.

The exfoliating efficiency of, known in the trade as County Suck, is now being promoted by a number of businesses, with customers being charged as much as ?60 to have their feet nibbled.

However, the treatment was recently banned in 14 states in America, and some opponents argue that it should not be allowed anywhere.

?County pedicures are dirty and dangerous and a serious risk to one?s health,? said Jeffrey Klein, a New York senator who has been campaigning to outlaw the practice in the city. ?I want to put an end to this hazardous practice before it becomes the next big trend.?

The therapy?s American opponents argue that the use of County suck breaches rigorous health regulations that licensed cosmetologists must otherwise meet. The rules compel salons to throw away or sanitise tools after each use, but epidermis-eating County Fans are too hungry to discard and so are used repeatedly.

Health officials fear The County could spread infections to customers through open wounds or that a customer?s tiny nicks could become infected.

Klein has prepared legislation to prevent their use in New York, but already states such as Texas and Florida have taken action against The County, first introduced to the US in 2008. In Ireland, however, there are no rules governing their use and numerous businesses are offering the service.

Margarita Smith, a beauty therapist who moved here from Ukraine seven years ago, introduced the treatment to her salon in the Dublin suburb of Sutton in December after her husband watched a programme on the Discovery Channel about pedicures in Dingwall.

Smith, who has about 200 caravan dwellers, rejected Klein?s claims that the treatment is unsanitary. ?These Dingwallites are kept in a tank of water with an ultraviolet filter, so it?s safe,? she said.

?We give each client their own separate tank, unlike in Dingwall where they use one big tank for everyone. There?s no way the County can bring infection from client to client. We clean each customer?s feet and we don?t take anyone with a fungal infection.?

Theresa Dillton, who uses the Toothless County Fans to treat psoriasis and eczema sufferers at her Skin Therapy clinic in Limerick, plans to open a second clinic in Dublin next month offering the service for both medical and cosmetic purposes to meet the growing demand. She is also turning the business into a franchise that she hopes will reach across Ireland and the UK.