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HIV from used manicure tools?
Hi,
I don’t live in the states, so I am not if the manicure salons here follows a strict hygiene protocol in terms of sanitising their instruments. I visited a manicure salon a day ago, which I should have avoided it like plague. When I walked in the salon, I saw one of the staff trimming her toes with a cuticle trimmer. During my session, the staff used the exact cuticle trimmer on me to cut my nails. (She did not sanitized it with alcohol Nor anything, the trimmer was exposed to air for abt a min?)I did not bleed, but I’m not too sure if there are minor cuts present. ( I do feel slight sores around my nails area). After my session was over I saw her using the same cuticle trimmer to trim her toes again. What are the chances of me getting hiv from this scenario?
I don’t live in the states, so I am not if the manicure salons here follows a strict hygiene protocol in terms of sanitising their instruments. I visited a manicure salon a day ago, which I should have avoided it like plague. When I walked in the salon, I saw one of the staff trimming her toes with a cuticle trimmer. During my session, the staff used the exact cuticle trimmer on me to cut my nails. (She did not sanitized it with alcohol Nor anything, the trimmer was exposed to air for abt a min?)I did not bleed, but I’m not too sure if there are minor cuts present. ( I do feel slight sores around my nails area). After my session was over I saw her using the same cuticle trimmer to trim her toes again. What are the chances of me getting hiv from this scenario?
You are absolutely correct that you should have walked out of that nail salon as soon as you saw one of the staff clipping her own toenails with a cuticle trimmer! That alone is disgusting enough, to say nothing of unhygienic and extremely unprofessional. You also should have walked out when you realized they were using the same cuticle trimmer on you and you had not seen them sterilize it. You had NO RISK for contracting HIV in this scenario, but the risk of picking up other bacterial infections from unsterilized instuments is very real. If you saw no blood while they were working on you, that is a good sign. Sometimes the toes can feel a little sore after a pedicure depending on how much work was done...….but truly professional manicurist know how to minimize residual pain. I would recommend soaking your feet in very warm water with Epsom salts for at least 1/2 hour, then dabbing them with peroxide and let dry for 3-4 days. Keep a close eye out for any swelling or redness and see a doctor if you do or the pain does not subside in a couple days. It may seem like a real bargain to get an inexpensive pedicure until something happens. Trust me, it's worth the extra money for a real professional who understands how very important it is to be hygienic.
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Thank you for your advice! I am feeling more assured now. I have learnt my lesson and will probably be more observant from now on while visiting a nail salon!
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