Friday, March 27, 2009

Pedicurious

A couple of ISW readers sent in a link to this CNN video about the latest trend in foot care: letting fish eat the dead skin off your feet. The fish in question, charmingly called "Doctor Fish" are Garra rufa, a species in the Carp family. This method of foot care has actually been around for a few years now, probably longer in Asia. But now that it has made its way to the USA, federal and state officials are keeping a watchful eye. It is currently legal to import the fish into the country, but as the video warns, it's definitely not okay to release them into the wild. Some states, including Maryland, have also gone the extra mile of banning the practice of these fishy foot treatments. See action shot below...


Fish Spa by weegolo, via Flickr

3 comments:

Bird Advocate said...

Manicure and pedicure salons already pass on dangerous infections from lack of sterilization. I would think this practice would increase that.

Robert said...

It may be illegal to import them into the country but there are a number of companies breeding them from within the US for commercial sale. You can find out more information on doctorfishguide.com I also believe there are some Canadian companies breeding as well.

Ted said...

@Bird: How would using fish increase the likelihood of passing on infections? Are there disease that could be transmitted by the fish?