A once trendy spa treatment, the fish pedicure, has caused one woman's toenails to fall off, according to a report by JAMA Dermatology.
A fish pedicure involves a person immersing their feet into a tub of lukewarm water filled with Garra rufa, otherwise known as "doctor fish". JAMA Dermatology describes that the small fish, being omnivores, will eat human skin when there are insufficient plant sources to be found.
The New York Post reported that one 20-year-old woman in the study by JAMA Dermatology contracted onychomadesis from the pedicure procedure. Onychomadesis causes nails to shred.
The woman's toenails stopped growing and eventually fell off. After six months, the woman went to see a dermatologist. Doctors ruled out other possible causes of the condition before finding the most likely culprit: fish pedicures.
Sheri Lipner, an assistant professor of dermatology at Columbia University's Weill Cornell Medicine and the doctor who treated the case, spoke to Gizmodo, saying, "While the mechanism of action is not entirely clear, it is likely due to the fish traumatizing the nail matrix."
According to Lipner, this would be the first documented instance of onychomadesis ever caused by fish.
DailyMail reports that the 10-year-old trend became less fashionable amid reports it could spread blood borne infections, such as HIV and hepatitis C, if sufferers bleed in the water.
Lipner said she could not reveal where the patient got her fish pedicure to protect her anonymity. The procedure has been banned in several states, including New York. The pedicures however, are still popular in China.
Lipner said in the JAMA report, "First, tubs and fish cannot be adequately sanitized between people, and the same fish are typically reused for successive persons. Thus, there are concerns of transmitting infections between people undergoing these pedicures."
The woman's toenails will return, but not for a long time, said Lipner. Toenails only grow one millimeter a month on average, while an entire nail can take as long as 18 months to be replaced. For now, it will be a wait to see what the results will be after treatment.