Has there ever been a report of Hepatitis B transmission and electrolysis? My former electrologist, a woman who uses blend, did a hair count on my face. When she did this, she used a flat piece of plastic, placed it on my face, and I felt that she was puncturing the plastic using the probe to get to the hairs. She said this was to count the number of hairs on the face. It wasn’t until after I had left that I thought about it - this was not a sterile piece of plastic. I was really afraid afterwards, and I haven’t gone back to her (apart from the fact that she is very slow). How many customers has she used the plastic on? should she not clean it between uses?
plus she does not change the sheets after every client. hepatitis can spread this way.
once, the tweezer fell on the treatment chair, and she picked it right back up and used it. is that correct?
she also cleans out the probe using a cotton wool ball. this happens when there is something she calls ‘debris’ building up on the probe: what if she punctures her skin as she cleans this? doesn’t cleaning take away from the sterility of the probe? also she uses a new cotton ball for each customer but uses it over and over again, and places it on a stool. if she does this for many customers, can hepatitis not be transmitted this way?
I have never heard of Hep B transmission or Hep A or C for that matter from electrolysis. Yuk to the other things you said. Take your own sheet if you go back and always speak up about anything that is not sanitized!!! Speak up!
Cleaning the probe off is okay. Hopefully, she is wearing gloves to protect herself. If debris builds up, maybe the intensity and timing should be adjusted so one doesn’t have to clean the probe with a cotton ball.
The tweezers didn’t fall on the floor, but if the sheet was used by someone else, she should have used a new tweezer.
Once the probe is taken out of the package and is exposed to air or your skin, it is no longer sterile, so cleaning it with alcohol is not a problem. I wipe the skin with the antiseptic and toss it. I do this for every wipe, but sometimes I will do two wipes if they are timed close together and then I will toss it. I wouldn’t be real concerned about Hepatitis B or C being transmitted unless there was blood involved. I guess if you like her work at all, you can take your own cotton balls and sheet or whatever and train her how to do this correctly. How sad is this that you can’t relax and get a good treatment?
I do wish people would speak out when they see this stuff happening. My past electrologist was very skilled, but she thought nothing of putting her salamander on her shoulder, petting it and then rinsing her hands for 3 seconds under cold water before attempting to work on me. Guess what? She didn’t get to touch me! I point blank told her that I wanted her to wash her hands with real soap for at least 20 seconds. I always brought my own sheet because I would see oily stuff all over the vinyl table from the last client, which she never disinfected. She finally bought paper sheets and used them for me. Not a perfect set up, but I liked her a lot and stuck with her. I never got an illness, but how I wished her office was cleaner. It doesn’t take much effort to wipe surfaces after each client. In a perfect world, it would be nice to see the electrologist do this before commencing treatment.
I’m impressed with your observations and questions. If something bothers you, speak up or change the environment as best you can when you are on the table. I don’t think people ever learned about simple sanitary rules. It all starts when we are little kids and has to be reinforced by the adults that love us as we grow up so it becomes robotical and natural. This is all taught in electrolysis programs and the AEA is big on sanitation and sterilization principles. Some people just don’t get it and probably never will. That is why alert and caring consumers are put in awkward positions of calling the professional on her/his hygiene practices. Not fun and unessasarily embarrassing .
This reminds me of a conversation that occured one year when I was at an AEA Convention. Someone asked me what type of paper I used on my treatment table, and I told them that I stopped using paper long ago, and only use cloth sheets, because the clients prefer them, and I just change them after every client. For the next 15 minutes, the conversation around the table was all about how “stupid” I was for spending all that money, and making extra work for myself by adding office laundry to my list of things that needed to be done.
One woman called me on the carpet saying that I was irresponsible because simple washing would not be enough. You know she did not believe me when I told her that I had invested in one of those washers that have “Sanitary Mode” that does that type of laundry at 150 degrees for the whole wash.
I don’t understand not supplying the office with enough sheets to go through at least one day without reusing a sheet.
I purchased hotel flat white sheets, split them in half, sewed the edges and they fit perfectly. When I’m ready to do a load, it’s hot water and a quarter cup of bleach. Psst…, call me a crazy fool, but I even iron them as I sing Carole Kings songs. Am I sick or what!!!
Great minds think alike. That’s exactly what I did. I even had a set that color co-ordinated to my office colors once. Hmmm, no wonder some people still think I am gay. Not that there is anything wrong with that! :whistle:
And on Carole King, I agree with Neil Sedaka. She is wonderfully dreamy. My favorite song; Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.
Great minds think alike. That’s exactly what I did. I even had a set that color co-ordinated to my office colors once. Hmmm, no wonder some people still think I am gay. Not that there is anything wrong with that! :whistle:
And on Carole King, I agree with Neil Sedaka. She is wonderfully dreamy. My favorite song; Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. [/quote]
Hi James:
They might think that if they caught you singing Carole’s “Natural Woman”
and hittling the high notes!
What can we really say about people and their need to classify everything other than
it is the pursuit of insecure individuals who want to make themselves feel superior,
but really aren’t.
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow is a great song.
I like Neil Sedaka too. I don’t think he gets enough credit for either his
songwriting or vocal abilities. Some of his later vocals on songs like
The Immigrant Song or Laughter In The Rain were great.
If I’m not playing gospel music, this song in particular with DeWayne Woods and the Tri-City Singers, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAgeJOtysJA&feature=related , I’m listening to Carole King. I really love her CD “In My Living Room”.
I’ve never heard of any transmission of hepatitis from electrolysis treatments. I’ve also never heard of anyone using the little cut-out cards during the treatment. They are used to count the hairs, but before treatment begins… These little cut-out cards should be disposable, but if they were plastic they could be decontaminated to be safe for re-use. (buy why? when paper is disposable)
Now THAT is bad. Hepatitis AND staph can be transmitted with dirty sheets. (I have always used sheets and towels - washed with high temperatures and bleach is used AND dried with high temperatures AND never left in the washer overnight.)
If any instruments fall - they should be replaced with a sterile instrument.
It is appropriate to clean the occasional debris from the probe. It MUST be done in such a way that the electrologist does not puncture their gloves or themselves. Wiping towards the point, or pinching the needle with several layers of a wet 2X2 and pulling away will clean the debris. Removing debris with a fresh wet 2X2 will not jeopardize the sterility of the probe…after all, the debris is from YOU.
Cotton (balls or 2X2s) should retrieve antiseptic solutions from pump dispensers ONCE. If they remain wet, they can be used to cool or wipe the skin again IF they were placed on a barrier, but they should not touch the pump dispenser if they have been used.
Before a treatment begins, the electrologist should place a fresh barrier in a location where items can be placed during treatment. This barrier and used disposable items should then be rolled up, placed in the palm of one gloved hand and that glove removed in such a way that the “trash” in inside the now wrong-side-out glove. That gloved is placed in the second gloved hand and removed the same way, then disposed. Hands should be cleaned with soap and water OR hand antiseptic product before anything else is touched.
Not that there is anything wrong with that! :whistle: