When you relish the spicy dried fish in your hand... Staring at the delicious little fish in your hand, why did you suddenly feel a burst of familiarity...?
How does it look exactly like the little fish that ate the skin of the foot at the foot treatment shop I went to last weekend?!
Source 丨 A shopping website
It is also because the small dried fish is always mistaken for a retired "waiter" in the foot therapy shop, so the owner of the small dried fish simply joked: "Yes, and the taste is more fragrant"
Source 丨 Network
So what kind of fish are the fish in the foot massage shop? Is it really the last moment of burning his life, retiring to become a delicious (foot stinking) little fish boy?
01
What is a small fish for foot treatment?
Hot spring fish therapy originated in Turkey and refers to the placement of small fish in hot springs that can tolerate the hot water of hot springs, so that small fish peck at the dead skin of people's bodies to achieve the effect of relaxing health care.
The "fish doctors" placed in the hot spring water are mostly pale red cuttlefish (Garra rufa) and cyprinion macrostomus (largemouth carp). These "fish" called "broodstock" "fish doctors" have no teeth, do not bite, usually 2 to 6 cm in length, live in warm water of 20 to 43 ° C, will peck at the aging keratin on the human skin, excrement in pores, bacteria and some microorganisms that are invisible to the naked eye.
Pale red cuttlefish Source 丨 Wikipedia
However, the pale red cuttlefish was listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as early as 2018, and coupled with the cost problems and deaths during the breeding process of the small fish, it is difficult for us to meet the "fish doctor" native to Turkey in the foot massage shop.
In fact, in many pedicure shops, the small fish used to nibble on the legs are not the above-mentioned pale red cuttlefish and large-mouthed small carp, but the more inexpensive and high-temperature resistant tilapia (fry). Compared with the first two, tilapia is cheaper and the cost of raising is lower, so it has become a "flat replacement" for many pedicure shops to replace the legitimate "fish doctor".
Fish therapy. Gallery copyrighted images, not authorized to reprint
As for the snack dried fish that everyone likes, most of the regular edible types such as anchovy, silver fish or jade tendon fish that are more productive and more convenient to process are used, and under normal circumstances, the retired leg nibble small fish in the foot therapy shop will not appear in the snack package.
02
Fish therapy, can it really be healthy?
When you go to a fish therapy shop, the merchant usually claims that the hot spring fish treatment can remove dead skin, cure athlete's foot, beautify and nourish the face, cure diseases and detoxify, and so on. According to the store, the secretions in the mouths of "broodstock" seem to be able to play an anti-inflammatory and bactericidal role, which is conducive to the full absorption of minerals in the water by the human body.
Secondly, fish therapy can also relieve fatigue, small fish in the "kiss" foot at the same time, will stimulate the foot nervous system, promote blood circulation throughout the body, let the human pores unobstructed, promote the discharge of toxins in the feet. And when the small fish sucks on your feet, stimulating the epidermal nerves is also equivalent to a painless fitness.
Gallery copyrighted images, not authorized to reprint
So, does the magical effect advertised by the merchant really exist?
The little fish suck and eat only a very small amount of skin that has fallen off, and that's all. The fungus that causes beriberi does not grow in the stratum corneum, but in the dermis.
Therefore, in any case, there is no way for fish to eat the fungus, and "curing beriberi" is impossible. To date, there are no definitive studies that can confirm the effectiveness of fish therapy in the treatment of fungal infections.
03
How many feet have the fish in the fish therapy kissed?
Because the merchants usually do not take the initiative to feed them, so the small fish are generally in a state of hunger and hunger, so they do not refuse to all people's feet, whether it is fragrant feet, or feet with foot smell, they regard customers as "food", as long as there are feet on the crowd.
However, this also creates some problems. Fish therapy shop for cost considerations, eat dead skin of small fish can not be a disposable product, but also because it is a living animal, it is difficult to directly carry out chemical disinfection treatment, so the seller in the service, are to different customers to provide the same batch of "waiters", which undoubtedly increases the potential risk of fish therapy.
People are often difficult to detect the tiny wounds on their bodies, and there are indeed unhygienic customers who stick unclean feet directly into the pool. Therefore, if a person with an infection or wound on the skin is "kissed" by a fish, the fish's mouth may be contaminated with harmful microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi. Later, when another group of customers are replaced, the "indirect kissing" of the small fish is likely to cause cross infection.
Gallery copyrighted images, not authorized to reprint
Skin diseases including plantar warts, common warts, and flat warts can be transmitted indirectly by biting fish.
This is not alarmist, according to the U.S. Department of Health and marine fisheries through nearly 100 case studies from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, believe that fish bite patients with bacterial infections may be contaminated with germs, and then bite others will cause cross infection. Therefore, the "fish treatment" pool where cases occur is closed and early warning is issued to the society.
Therefore, for friends with skin wounds or skin diseases, it is recommended not to do fish therapy, and healthy friends are not recommended to do fish therapy frequently.
From the actual situation, the health care effect of fish therapy is not as claimed, there is a risk of infection in the seemingly clear water, even if you want to experience the "novelty" of fish therapy, you must pay attention to the health of the fish therapy shop, choose a fish therapy shop with better health conditions!
Source: Beijing Digital Science Center