A North Carolina woman is warning people of the dangers of pedicures after she developed a gruesome leg injury from a nail salon.
Tracy Lynn Martinez got a pedicure at a salon in Winston-Salem that she believed to be clean on June 22. The pedicurist used a callus scraper, and left Martinez with two scraps on her ankle, but she thought nothing of them.
The next day, her health took a turn.
“I had the pedicure, and then Saturday morning I went to go drop off my daughter at a test, and I went over to a local store and I was just sitting in the parking lot on my phone, and all of a sudden I had this crazy chill; I was so cold,” she tells WFMY.
Along with the chills, Martinez was vomiting, but she thought she could sleep it off. The next day the pain became unbearable, and she went to urgent care where they diagnosed her with cellulitis.
RELATED VIDEO: North Carolina Mom Has Foot Amputated After Discovering Tumor During Pedicure
Cellulitis, also known as a staph infection, is a potentially deadly skin infection caused when bacteria enters a wound and goes deeply into the skin, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. They recommend immediately seeking medical care.
Martinez spent two weeks in the hospital recovering, and will now be on medication for the rest of her life, she said.
“Every day was a new chapter of what was going to happen to my leg. Was I going to lose my leg? Was I going to lose my life?” Martinez said.
She shared her story — and photos of the infection — on Facebook to spread awareness in a now-deleted post.
Martinez also later learned that salons in North Carolina are banned from using callus scrapers. She has filed a complaint with the North Carolina Board of Cosmetics.
“Going into a salon, you trust that person and you trust that they know their profession, you trust that they know what tools they’re using, what tools they’re allowed to use and what not to use,” she said.
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