Anna Cowie's story: Six months pregnant Anna Cowie got a cut from her nail technician's scalpel when she decided to pamper herself with a pedicure.
That cut resulted in an infection so serious that Anna needed three operations to rectify it, and couldn't walk without crutches for two months.
Anna Cowie
In April, Anna paid £15 for a manicure and pedicure at what she believed to be a reputable salon.
‘I barely ever got my nails done, but wanted to treat myself,’ she says.
‘There was no consultation, I was ushered into a chair and a man set to work on my feet...
‘When he started removing the hard skin with a scalpel, I was worried but assumed he knew what he was doing.’
She describes the cut, on her left heel, as being like a paper cut. ‘It was sharp but not too painful....
‘Our eyes met as he rubbed the wound, but he said nothing. It looked deep, but, with barely any blood, I would have felt stupid complaining.’
Three days later, Anna’s cut started to bleed and became increasingly inflamed and painful over the next three weeks.
After a podiatrist’s attempt to clean the wound failed, Anna visited her GP, who sent her to Chelsea And Westminster Hospital.
‘He was worried the infection could have entered my bone,’ says Anna.
A nurse there told Anna that had she been diabetic, with poor blood circulation, she could have lost her foot.
A surgeon removed the infected tissue, bandaged up her foot to her ankle, and prescribed antibiotics. She was told to return to hospital every three days for her dressings.
The infection went leaving a bumpy pink growth of tissue and blood vessels.
Anna was later referred to the Dermatology And Plastics Department of Chelsea And Westminster Hospital, where she had more surgery to remove the 1 cm growth.
She complained to the salon, which apologised and admitted it was at fault.
They offered to pay for private hospital care.
Anna was on crutches until a week before her son was born in July. Afterwards, she was prescribed a strong steroid cream that she had been unable to use while pregnant because of the harm it could have caused her unborn baby.
Kate Cassidy's story:
53 yr old Kate Cassidy from Windsor, Berkshire, started having acrylic nails in which technicians glue on a false nail tip and paint over that and the nail with an acrylic solution.
The natural nail first needs to be vigorously filed....
‘It was agonising at first, but I thought that was normal,’ says Kate. ‘I used to take paracetamol before having it done,’ says Kate. ‘My nails looked fantastic and remained shiny for weeks.’
The procedure is seen as so damaging that the U.S., Australia and New Zealand have all banned the use of methyl methacrylate — a chemical in acrylic — on the grounds that removing it is too dangerous to the health of the nail.
‘I knew my nails were being whittled away, but once I got into the habit, it was incredibly difficult to stop,’ says Kate.
When her nail technician removed the acrylic nails, she was horrified at what she saw.... ‘All ten of my nails were white from a fungal infection.....
Infections from acrylic nails often occur when the acrylic and natural nail become separated, allowing bacteria and fungus to enter.
They can also be caused by poor hygiene at the nail salon.
‘The manager called to apologise and I told her they had to improve their hygiene standards. Had I taken legal action, I could have shut them down, but they were hard-working girls. I felt sorry for them.’
The next day, Kate’s GP prescribed her six months of anti-fungal drugs. They stopped Kate’s infection spreading, but she had to wait nine months for it to grow out.
‘My nails looked disgusting and made me feel incredibly self-conscious,’ says Kate, who also developed stomach upsets from the anti-fungal medication and has vowed never to have acrylic nails applied again.
Becky Ashton’s story:
Becky Ashton’s right thumb nail is permanently ridged and prone to splitting after an incident six years ago.
‘I’d gone to the same salon for three years, but decided to try a new salon when my manicurist went on maternity leave,’ says Becky, 35, from Bebington, Cheshire.
She paid £25 for French-manicured acrylics in 2008. ‘While my manicurist was filing down the side of my nail, she was gossiping to her colleague and was clearly distracted,’ says Becky.
‘She continued until the side of my thumb where the skin joins the nail was ripped off. I shrieked as blood poured out and my whole thumb throbbed with pain.’
Her manicurist seemed unconcerned. ‘She wrapped cotton wool around it and carried on,’ says Becky. ‘She didn’t say sorry — and I was too polite to make a fuss. She’d already done one hand, so I couldn’t walk out.
‘My skin felt raw, but I still had to have the acrylic nail painted on, which involved putting pressure on my nail. It was agonising.’
Becky’s nail was painful for three weeks. ‘Because there was an acrylic nail covering it, my skin didn’t get the air it needed to heal quickly, and because the acrylic nails were pale, you could see the blood beneath.’
She set up a website, Who Can Cut It? to recommend reputable salons.
‘I want to make sure no other woman goes through what I did,’ says Becky.
‘All too often, they get their hands and nails done without having a clue what they’re letting themselves in for.’
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