WHAT IS A MEDICAL PEDICURE?

A medical pedicure or a “Medi Pedi” is a luxurious foot treatment performed by a Foot Care Nurse in a safe and sterile environment. Unlike traditional salon pedicures which focus on making the feet look good, they often neglect the real foot problems and can sometimes make them worse! Medical pedicures are aimed not just at cleaning up the feet, but examining the nails, skin and foot as a whole to understand why particular issues occur. 

Podiatrists are very qualified to treat all complications that commonly arise from nail salons such as fungal and bacterial infections, ingrowns from poor cutting techniques and even warts. However, we believe that prevention is key which is why a Medical Pedicure is a professional alternative to a traditional pedicure. 

Medical Pedicures can be used to treat any of the following concerns:

• Thick skin and nails
• Damaged and/or weakened nails
• Warts, blisters, calluses and corns
• Athlete’s foot
• Splinters
• Ingrown toenails
• Discoloured nails
• Cracked heels

What happens during a Medical Pedicure?

During your Medical Pedicure, your Advanced Foot Care Nurse will fully assess your feet overall and discuss the particular concerns you have regarding your feet, skin and nails. A management plan will be written for on-going treatment to ensure all concerns are addressed.  

Firstly, all nails are cut, the sulci are cleared and the nails are filed to make sure there are no rough edges. A burr is then used to thin out the nails if needed. Thinning of the nails removes the outer layer in order to restore their natural colour, remove any nail polish or decrease pressure from the thickness of the nail. Any signs of ingrown nails will be addressed and fixed as well.

The Foot Nurse will then use a sterile scalpel blade to painlessly remove any callus or corns on your feet. This will then be smoothed out using tools such as burrs and stainless steel paddles (all sterilized).

Our Happy Toe oil (special blend of essential and carrier oils) is then applied to the nails and in between the toes, and emollient moisturiser is applied to the feet through a gentle massage to help improve circulation, aid in fluid retention and release muscle tension in the feet. 

A non-toxic Polish can be bought or brought in for application. There is no sharing of polishes with clients. We also have individual brushes with special application plates.

What makes a pedicure a medical-grade pedicure?

The main difference between a Medical-grade pedicure and a traditional pedicure done at a nail salon is that the treatment is carried out by a qualified Foot Care Nurse rather than a technician. Foot Nurses are healthcare professionals who have completed a Registered program in nursing and are experts in things to do with feet after taking a supplemental Foot Care Program.

The benefit of this is that in addition to ensuring your feet look and feel great, Foot Nurses are able to identify, and treat any foot concerns you may have. Foot nurses are part of a bigger team. We also have the availability to bring in chiropodists and other healthcare alliances to assist with your care when it is out of our scope of care. For example, if you have an ingrown toenail, we will be able to treat it and prevent it from returning! Foot Nurses are qualified to answer any of your foot concerns and create a management plan to best suit your needs.

Advanced Foot Nurses are also qualified to remove any callus and corns away from the foot using a medical scalpel blade. Whilst traditional nail salons “shave” away the superficial layer of callus, this unfortunately does not remove all of it. 

Another point of difference between a Medical Pedicure and a traditional pedicure is the adherence to strict hygiene standards. As Foot Nurses, we are held to strict infection control standards from PHO which means that all of our instruments are to be sterilised immediately after use using an autoclave to ensure complete destruction of any disease-carrying microorganisms. It is also very important to have a proper commercially located autoclave room that is audited for complacency of the rules. Unlike salons or fly-by-nighters who are set up in basements cleaning tools. We are also required to clean the treatment chair and any other surfaces after each client. Unfortunately, traditional nail salons are not held to the same standards which increases their risk of infections. 

What are medical spa pedicures?

Even though we want your Medical Pedicure experience to be a luxurious experience, we also have to consider the best way to be as sterile and hygienic as possible. This is why here at Advanced Foot Care Nurse and Wellness Centre Inc. we choose to perform “dry” Medical Pedicures rather than a “spa pedicure” as spa pedicures are perfect carriers of infection. Even after the water has been drained and the area cleaned, there can still be microorganisms present, especially fungal calls and wart viruses, which can then be transferred to the next person! 

This however does not mean that the “dry” Medical Pedicures are not luxurious. We still cleanse the feet first with an alcohol based solution, cut, clear and file all the nails and even buff them down.

The cost of a Medical Pedicure with polish is $55.00 

Safe, clean and healthy feet!