SPA treatments are generally known to be quite a relaxing experience but it is always a good idea to check if the spa’s hygienic practices are up to par to avoid any infections since there is skin-to-skin contact.
A TikTok video by @skingapore advised against going to fish spas, using an Australian woman’s story of how she lost all her toes in one foot after a visit to a fish spa in Thailand.
“Her nightmare started when she returned home. She had intermittent fever and chills for one year, and the doctors finally found the source in her big toe which they had to amputate.
“Victoria had a previous injury on that toe but it was only when she went back for a spa that a new infection went in through old wounds. But this was not any ordinary spa.
“This was a fish spa,“ Dr Samuel explained in his video.
In a report by Daily Mail, the aforementioned woman, Victoria Curthoys had all four toes amputated from her foot two years after going to Thailand.
After having her big toe amputated, she assumed that she would carry on with her life, however, it was unbeknownst to her that a “raging infection” in her second toe. From there, things got worse for the 29-year-old.
‘I was healthy for another two years, I thought I was very lucky to still have my foot and carry on with my life. But then I started to get sick again,“ she said, adding that she vomits every morning coupled with constant fevers but doctors still did not see any signs of infection.
“So the doctors fobbed it off for a long time and they told me it was all in my head.
“It wasn’t until my podiatrist ordered blood samples that they realised, I did in fact have another bone infection and I had a very high white blood cell count. This was why I was feeling so terrible.’
Her third and fourth toes were amputated in 2016, leaving her only the small toe, which kept on getting knocked into and “all the pressure” would be placed on said toe.
‘After a few blood samples and more X-rays, they discovered another bone infection, so they finally took the last toe in November 2017,“ she added.
Samuel also said that the fish used in these treatments are the ‘Gaara Rufa’ fish also commonly known as the “doctor fish”.
“In the wild, they feed on plankton but they are also omnivores and when they are starved, they can feed on human skin.
“Unlike traditional foot spas where you can sanitise equipment in between people, you can’t really sanitise the fish or the water in between people which explained why she got shewanella,“ he clarified in the video
Besides shewanella, Samuel added that one can contract fungal infections, streptococcal (known to cause strep throat, scarlet fever and impetigo just to name a few examples) and mycobacterium (commonly known to cause lung symptoms).
Not only that, the young doctor also claims that fish spas have a negative reputation of animal cruelty practices.
Samuel then advised to avoid fish spas “if you have any wounds or a compromised immune system”.
