How safe is fish spa pedicure in UAE?

It is supposed to be a relaxing and rejuvenating experience; having hundreds of little fish eat the dead skin of your feet. The treatment is available in the so-called fish spas, a concept that has spread in popularity over the years.

How safe is this practice exactly?

Garra rua

The concept is quite simple; the customer launches both feet in a basin filled with Garra rufa fish.
These fish are eager to consume dead skin and will pursue their appetite by gathering around whatever dead flesh is available on your feet. After a couple of minutes your feet will feel silky smooth.

As innocent as it sounds, not everywhere has the cosmetic treatment been welcomed.

In the US, several states have banned the fish spa pedicure, and so has most of Canada. The fish spa treatment is unsafe as diseases can be transmitted from one person to another; through the water or through the fish, is the argument.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) in the UAE is very clear about the treatment: “This practice is not allowed in the UAE,” said Amin al Amiri, Undersecretary of the MOH. “We have sent a notice letter to all municipalities stating that these fish spas are an unsafe practice.”

According to Amiri, diseases such as HIV or hepatitis could spread through such treatment.

“If a person has a skin problem and a fish eats that skin, blood might come out. If a person with a cut or wound comes next, a disease could spread to this person.”

At your own risk

However, the fish spa pedicure is still available in the country.

In Dubai, residents and tourists have at least one local known to adhere to when then want to have their feet exfoliated by the nibbling fish.
At the spa, around 7 people can share a basin at the same time, and many customers share the basin on the same day.

However, when Emirates 24|7 posed as a concerned customer inquiring about the safety of the treatment, we were assured that very little could go wrong.

“The water is constantly circulated, this is very important. Without a proper water circulation this treatment would not be safe,” said the person operating the spa.

The basins are cleaned twice a week, when the water is partially removed so the remaining dead skin can be taken out. However, the water circulation is what really cleans the water from any possible bacteria, it was explained.

Further, people with wounds, cuts or skin diseases are not allowed to make use of the service, the representative added.

“We make sure that people know these conditions before they enter the basin. A small cut can be covered with a plaster, though.”
The facility says to have the license to operate, and undergoes a water quality inspection every week, which they must pass in order to keep their doors open.

On the website of Dubai Municipality the regulations are outlined as such.

Accordingly, the facility must put up a notification indicating that the service is only for people who do not have allergies or skin disease and cuts.
Water filters must be used and the water should be treated with ozone and ultraviolet light or any approved sanitising systems and designed to fit with basin capacity.

Water pumps must keep the water circulating in the pool and a weekly water test report for total bacteria count must be provided.

According to Al Amiri, the risk of getting infected cannot be completely eliminated. “Even when the water is cleaned every day, the same fish are still there,” he points out.

Global fears

Similar arguments have been drawn by health authorities around the world.

The UK-based Health Protection Agency (HPA) researched the topic in 2011, when it came to the conclusion that the fish tank water of the spas contained a number of micro-organisms and that infections could be transmitted either from fish to person (during the nibbling process), water to person (from the bacteria which can multiply in water), or person to person (via water, surrounding surfaces and the fish).

The UK’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science two years ago examined the types of bacteria associated with the Garra rufa fish, and identified some species of bacteria associated with this fish, including some that can cause infections in both fish and humans.
The also noted that water is a fertile breeding ground for bacteria, and that bacteria living on fish scales or waste could cause infections with just the tiniest cut.

Most health organisations consider the risk of infection very low for healthy clients.

The Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) concluded after a research of several facilities that the fishes could become transmitters of disease carriers as they nibble on the skin of a next customer. However, the risk of getting infected when this customer has no skin problems at all is very small, they stated.

At the same time, the same authority said to attach little value to the treatment as such.

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