Real Life Health Threats Still Happening in Our Community

I have always been very protective of my health, and since I was diagnosed in 2005, I have been protective to prevent the spread of hep C. Any amount of my blood is cleaned immediately and sterilized with a bleach product. As we know, hepatitis C is spread through blood-to-blood contact.

It started as a normal spa day

Several years ago, my daughter and I were at a local nail salon, treating ourselves to a nice pedicure. We were enjoying our spa day when I happened to notice a technician clip and nick the woman next to my daughter with the nail clippers, causing her to bleed. She politely apologized, setting the tool in a plastic bin at her feet. She cleaned up the woman’s cut and kept working. 

Spotting potential hazards

Meanwhile, my daughter was finished and got up, leaving a vacant spot next to me. Another woman sat down and they began soaking her feet and preparing to do her pedicure. All the sudden, the new technician reached in that plastic bin, grabbing the same tool that had caused the cut. This tool has not been sterilized, and certainly, was not from a new package. I gasped and got the technician's attention: “That tool is contaminated! Please do not use it on this lady. It was exposed to blood.”

Looking at me with a half-smile (not understanding why I was talking so loudly), the technician dropped the clippers back in the box. The lady next me was stunned, and thanked me for speaking up. I motioned for the manager to come over, where I shared the hazards of spreading deadly diseases by not sterilizing these tools after each use. I told her that hepatitis C and HIV are spread by blood-to-blood contact. She agreed, and was glad I spoke-up and that I called them out on this health hazard.

Frustrated and disgusted

I left that day so frustrated and disgusted with this salon that I made a report to our city health department. They agreed that this was a serious violation and needed to be addressed. It took me a very long time to go back to any salon for a pedicure after that. I was horrified at the thought of unsterile tools being reused, over and over, potentially spreading diseases from person to person.

See something? Say something!

After that day, I do not know what came of that salon. I will share that I never went back, and now when I go, I bring my own tool kit along with me if I see that tools are being re-used. I do not want any potential threat of reinfection to body. It is so important that we look out after one another. If you see unhealthy practices in our communities, stand up and say something. You could be saving yourself, and others, from being exposed to a deadly disease.