Warning: This article contains images that may be confronting to some readers.
A Perth woman who had her toe sliced during a pedicure and the wound wrongly treated with cleaning chemicals has warned others of the hidden dangers of nail salons.
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Jenny*, who wants to remain anonymous, suffered chemical burns to her toes after visiting a nail salon near Perth's CBD on November 1 to treat herself after finishing her working day.
She said the woman who gave her the pedicure sliced her toe with a small blade and then mistook sterilising solution for antiseptic.
"The young lady had taken a piece of skin out of my toe, a bit of flesh, which didn't stop bleeding for 40 minutes and then I went home with a pressure dressing on," she said.
"When I took the dressing off the next morning, what I realised is she had soaked the cotton ball in a solution that is used to sterilise metal instruments which should never go directly onto skin.
"I had full thickness chemical burns to my toes."
Jenny said she had visited her podiatrist every day for two weeks since the incident to treat the wound – with the nail salon agreeing to cover all the costs.
But she was more worried the lack of regulations around nail salons could open the door for more mistakes to be made.
"When the salon doesn't understand first aid, doesn't have a first aid kit, does not understand the difference between sterilising solution and antiseptic, and are using sharp instruments without appropriate training and qualifications - it's a recipe for disaster," Jenny said.
"If you do [go to these salons], do not allow them to touch you with a scalpel or a blade."
In the year to June 2016, Consumer Protection WA received 91 enquiries and 31 complaints regarding nail and hair removal procedures.
Most of the enquiries related to the quality of service provided at the retail salons.
According to the Department of Health's Code of Practice for Skin Penetration, which encompasses manicure and pedicure practices, it is the responsibility of the employee to ensure they are familiar with infection control and safe working procedures.
Employers, under the code, have a responsibility to provide adequate training to staff in these areas.
Local councils are responsible for overseeing regulatory compliance of the salons.
In a discussion paper in 2013, the Department of Health identified mandatory training in infection and prevention control as one of six recommendations to add to the skin penetration regulations.
The recommendations, however, have not been amended since 2011.
Hair and Beauty Australia Industry Association board member Helen Golisano said mandatory training and stricter compliance monitoring was well overdue in the nail industry.
"We've seen it with manicure and pedicure salons - it's just become an open slather, no qualifications are needed," she said.
"There are guidelines as to even the equipment we can use - using that blade that did that injury, that's actually totally in breach of our training and guidelines."
Ms Golisano warned people not to seek the cheaper alternative for nail treatments, and for customers to make sure salon employees are qualified.
*not her real name.
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