People with psoriasis and other skin disorders for decades have flocked to outdoor hot springs near Kangal, Turkey, where the minnow-like Garra rufa fish naturally breed and feed. The species of carp, which has no teeth, painlessly nibbles away humans' dead skin.
In 2006 the inch-long fish, sometimes called reddish log suckers or Kangal fish, started surfacing in commercial hot springs in Japan and Croatia. Garra rufa fish were soon being imported by China, South Korea, Belgium and the Netherlands. Next, outlets in shopping malls and department stores in Japan, Singapore and South Korea began offering inexpensive "fish foot massage." In 2008 they invaded the United States. Now the so-called fish spas are spreading throughout Southeast Asia, although Kuala Lumpur seems to have the most. Near the end of 2010, fish spas became popular in Britain--and many a fish spa and fish seller there, such as pompeyfishdoctors.co.uk, copied text from this very article without attribution or noting the risks..
The pedicure should be painless. Customers dunk their feet into a long fish tank or individual plastic basins filled with warm water. Immediately the feet are enveloped by hundreds of the silvery orange-tinged Garra rufa, also known as nibble fish, kangal fish, little dermatologists, doctor fish and doctorfishen. A search of YouTube with the words “fish spa” will turn up some examples of the tanks and fish.
Garra Rufa Treatment for Psoriasis and Calluses
The fish masseurs gently suck the skin. The feeling is ticklish, even pleasant, though it can take a few minutes to get used to. If the feeling resembles a pin prick, it's probably caused by tiny teeth and the fish aren't genuine Garra rufa. In Southeast Asia, the fakes are most likely a much cheaper Chinese import, a carp species called chin chin. One way to identify genuine Garra rufa fish: unlike schools of chin chin, the doctor fish cluster in the bottom of the tank when there isn't human skin available to chew. There are other Garra rufa imposters out there. Nile tilapia, larger than Garra rufa, is another common fake surfacing in Southeast Asian fish spas.
Although fish-eating treatments have a fancy name--ichthyotherapy--there is very little scientific evidence to back up claims that the saliva of Garra rufa fish leaves a potent enzyme that, with repeated treatments, can cure psoriasis and eczema. But by peeling away ordinary calluses and the thick lesions of psoriasis, the fish do leave feet feeling softer and prettier.
Fish Foot Spa Risks
Even the inexpensive Malaysian spas described here look very clean and require customers to wash their feet in antiseptic baths before dipping their feet. The water is constantly filtered.
The question remains, though, could a customer catch a skin infection from another customer? Or from the fish themselves? In Asia, the spa proprietors commonly respond that they use "UV rays" (ultraviolet light) to kill bacteria in the water. UV light is a proven way to kill fungus spores in aquariums but how effective is it at killing fungi living on human skin or on fish bodies?
Since 2008 health departments in at least 14 US states have ruled that fish spas posed a human health risk and banned fish spa treatments. That's around the same time the always cautious Singapore government shut down several spas. (Ironically, Kenko, a franchiser of Garra rufa spas in Southeast Asia, is based in Singapore.)
Based on local news reports, Washington and Texas beauty salons, where the service was offered before bans, applied more safety measures than the group pools commonly do in Southeast Asia. These U.S. spas were using individual basins for each customer and sterilizing them after each use. Nonetheless, it wasn't enough for the sanitation police. After all, the expensive fish themselves weren't being thrown away after each use and can't be sterilized without killing them. A spokeswoman for Washington's Department of Licensing explained, "You can clean the tank, you can clean the water, but there's no guarantee that the fish aren't carrying something from the previous customer."
Susan Cunningham - I'm a well-traveled writer and editor living in Thailand. My travel articles have appeared in in-flights, newspapers and guidebooks.
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