Fish Spa. The practice of letting Doctor Fish (Gurra rufa) eat dead skin originated in Turkey, but has been commercialized in Singapore with such fish spas (for feet only) being located at tourist attractions and even malls.
Fish Spa. The practice of letting Doctor Fish (Gurra rufa) eat dead skin originated in Turkey, but has been commercialized in Singapore with such fish spas (for feet only) being located at tourist attractions and even malls.
There are at least three of these fish spa places in Chester. The city, not the zoo. They've already come under fire from animal welfare organisations and fish specialists.
Bizarrely, there's one due to open soon within our local Tesco supermarket. They have a little row of other (non-Tesco) shops inside the building - a Greggs bakers and Teletext travel agent as well as the little Tesco bike shop and suchlike. It's a crazy big Tesco's.
I wouldn't object to having my feet nibbled by fish but I'm not sticking them in a microbial soup of other people's foot debris and verrucas. I haven't sat in a public jacuzzi/spa since I watched an attendant remove what looked like a kilo of butter from the filter, which was basically compacted human cells and dirt - nice!
There are at least three of these fish spa places in Chester. The city, not the zoo. They've already come under fire from animal welfare organisations and fish specialists.
I wouldn't object to having my feet nibbled by fish but I'm not sticking them in a microbial soup of other people's foot debris and verrucas. I haven't sat in a public jacuzzi/spa since I watched an attendant remove what looked like a kilo of butter from the filter, which was basically compacted human cells and dirt - nice!
LONDON (Reuters) - Fish spa pedicures have become a popular alternative to exfoliation in recent years but health officials say they are now investigating the pampering treatment on concerns it may spread infection.
The procedure involves customers placing their feet into a water tank filled with toothless Garra rufa fish -- also called doctor fish -- which suck the dead tissue off their feet to leave them feeling softer.
Officials at Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said they were launching an investigation into possible infection risks associated with the exfoliation treatment after receiving enquiries from local environmental health officers.
The HPA said it would assess all of the latest evidence on risks before issuing guidelines for the spa treatment.
"The HPA and Health Protection Scotland is currently unaware of any cases of infection associated with the use of the fish spas pedicures in the UK," a spokesman said.
Fish spa pedicures have already been banned in some U.S. states for health and safety reasons.
There's been some debate over hygiene issues too in Singapore, but operators here assure that the water is treated and sterilized.
Another problem is that some smaller operators indiscriminately use other fish species (with teeth) because Garra rufa are expensive. Toothed fish may damage rather than treat skin.
