Seeing an SMU girl pampering herself in the deeply cushioned, electric massage chairs in The Nail and Spa Salon next to the SMU Bookstore is not uncommon. 

What is surprising, however, is that a routine pedicure or manicure can result in serious health issues.

What SMU students may consider one of their weekly luxuries and a time for themselves can lead to an infection, as in the case of Kimberly Jackson from Fort Worth, or even death.

A recent breakout of staphylococcus aureus, most commonly referred to as a “staph infection,” has aroused great debate about the cleanliness of nail salons around the country. 

A staph infection is a bacterium that lives on the skin or in the nose of a healthy person and can cause illnesses ranging from minor skin infections such as pimples, boils, cellulitis and abscesses, to life threatening diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis.

Staphylococcal infections can spread easily through contact with pus from an infected wound, skin to skin contact with an infected person and contact with objects such as towels, sheets, clothing or athletic equipment used by an infected person.

“Since its appearance in the general population in 1999, the infection has already become notorious for illness among inmates, children and professional athletes,” according to The Dallas Morning News.

The United States has recently seen the infection in the Katrina disaster last fall, when it spread among the evacuees at a local shelter in Dallas. 

It was also discovered in a recent outbreak among five St. Louis Rams players, who then proceeded to pass the disease to players of the San Francisco 49ers.

This infection is a nation-wide concern, and the SMU community is not exempt from the possibility of encountering it. 

Sophomore Nicole Crabtree was recently diagnosed with a staph infection that she first thought was an outbreak from ant bites. It turns out the cause of the infection came from a recent pedicure.

“Doctors need to be more aggressive. They didn’t identify my staph infection at first and then didn’t treat it properly,” Crabtree said.

Crabtree was put on six different medications before doctors finally prescribed her with the proper medication.

This scare of infections has unquestionably caused SMU students to consider their next trip to get a pedicure or manicure. 

“I never realized how unsanitary it is, and after this recent outbreak I am just happy to do my pedicures myself,” sophmore Morgan Grandy said. 

Because of the rapid increase in the disease and other infections associated with manicures and pedicures, the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services has cracked down on nail salons and has enforced new laws that went into effect in February 2006. 

Regular sanitizers and disinfectants are no longer enough to keep in line with the usual state’s standards. The manicure salons must now use various sterilizers, such as autoclaves, on every used tool. Razor blades used to remove calluses are now banned. 

“We spray and brush with homicide after each use and every night we clean out the jets with soap, bleach and homicide,” said an employee of The Nail and Spa Salon.

According to Nail Star in Snider Plaza, employees clean the spa pedicures thoroughly twice a day as well as after each use in front of the customer. Beverly Hills Nails in Plano has recently begun to provide its customers with a bag of manicure and pedicure utensils to bring with them every time. It asks its customers to do this for their own safety. 

The majority of salons surrounding the SMU campus have changed their routines and are using healthier precautions, but it is still important for nail salon consumers to have their own checklist for their next manicure or pedicure.

Nail salon patrons should bring their own nail polish, make sure the establishment and manicurist’s liscence is in clear view and determine the disinfecting regulations of all equipment before getting their nails done at any salon, close to SMU or otherwise.