OMG! For the second time a woman has passed out at my nail salon!

[CTyankee]

I was getting a pedicure. She was at a nearby manicure table and said to the lady sitting next to her "I feel like I am going to pass out." The other lady reached out and the young woman slumped forward, unconscious. Then she slid out of the chair onto the floor. The other woman was able to grab her to keep her from hitting her head.

We all started frantically searching for our phones...several of us (me included) had left them in the car or at home. The salon had a cell phone; no landline phone. A customer grabbed it and called 911 but didn't know the street address. Complicating the situation was the fact that there was another nail salon in the immediate adjacent shopping plaza, A customer rushed out when she saw the fire truck go to the wrong one.

By the time the medics walked in, the woman had regained consciousness but was dizzy and pale as a ghost. The staff had gotten her some water and a cloth for her head. The medics were great and determined quickly that her blood sugar and blood pressure were normal and recommended that she get checked out, which she decided to do.

This was the second time a customer had passed out at this salon. There were several issues here: the owners were not there and the person they left in charge had very limited English speaking skills, as was the case with the other staff. A landline phone would have identified the exact address. And some nail products have noxious smelling chemicals. In fact, staff who do those acrylic nails always wear a protective mask. But not the customers.

I never thought about this too much because I only get simple manicures and pedicures. But I am beginning to wonder if there is too much exposure to fumes even for me.

It was scary...

[shenmue]

1. Yipes!

Hope she's okay.

[CTyankee]

4. Me too. She was pretty young, which is surprising.

That's why I suspect the chemicals caused her blackout. And the other woman a while back.

It's a popular nail salon here, voted "best nail salon" in town. Our mayor is a regular there. And I tutored the owner's sister in law in English when she came to the U.S. a few years ago (I was a Literacy Volunteer).

[Warpy]

12. It's the vasovagal response and it can happen to anyone

It's happened to me twice, both when I was under 30.

Here's a rundown without much Medicalese: http://www.healthgrades.com/conditions/vasovagal-attack

[CTyankee]

13. That's kinda what I first thought...but when I heard the EMT say her blood pressure

was normal, I wondered. Maybe because her blood pressure had gotten to normal again by the time the EMT's took it?

[Warpy]

14. Yep, you get flat, it goes up

Most likely a hospital won't find anything wrong but are just going to check other possibilities.

[KT2000]

2. too much exposure - definitely

The dust masks that they wear are not protection from the volatile organic compounds that are in the air of the salon. There was an incident in Seattle where a woman took her baby to the salon while she had her nails done. That evening she had to take the baby to the ER because he was having one seizure after another.

The chemicals used in nail salons are known to be neurotoxic. I fear for the workers and their health in the future. Most are from Viet Nam and Cambodia - people without much clout and they will be thrown overboard when they get too sick to work -likely no workers comp.

California has some rules for nail salons that would decrease exposure but doubt many other states do. Please google around to find out what those chemicals are - "nail salon chemicals." Then look up what those chemicals are about. Bad stuff for the brain.

here is a page that shows the chemicals: http://www.orosha.org/pdf/pubs/fact_sheets/fs28.pdf

[Cleita]

6. Even CA doesn't have enough regulations as far as I'm concerned.

Many of the manicurists aren't licensed and use the license of one manicurist as "students" although often there is no one around that is a teacher. I stopped going to them after a couple of times. Even though it's more expensive, I go to a manicurist that's attached to a regular hair salon although they are getting harder to find as these cheap specialty salons are putting them out of business.

[CTyankee]

11. and they are not that cheap any more. I am getting their slightly more expensive

pedicure because what they call "regular" pedicure and manicure are now pretty stripped down, so each customer gets less attention and time. They are also charging more for some polish (the "long lasting" ones) and they never used to do this. Most of the time I haven't cared because I only get a basic manicure but it was obvious they were skipping a step they also did in the past.

[DotGone]

7. Most wouldn't get worker's comp w/o a fight

I used to do taxes for many of these workers, mostly south Asian as you said, and they were all 1099s AKA self-employed independent contractors. They wouldn't qualify for worker's comp w/o a fight to contest they were actual employees. And yes, the mask I see them wear are useless for the fumes. I get a headache every time I pass one of those places in the mall.

[elleng]

3. I never go to those places,

hate the fumes.

[Ilsa]

5. I feel like I'm throwing my money away in

nail salons. I enjoy the pampering, but my nails don't keep that well.

[surrealAmerican]

8. ventilation issues?

If this happens regularly to the customers, I pity the poor employees. They're breathing those fumes all day.

[Cirque du So-What]

9. Back in the mid-70s

I was at the home of a couple who had just purchased a new non-stick spray known as 'Pam.' I watched as she sprayed the frying pan, and it affected her immediately; she passed out so quickly you'd think she was spraying chloroform. In the years since, I've seen many reactions to various chemical vapors, especially solvents and refrigerants. I consider it likely that the customer has a very low tolerance for one or more of the chemicals used in the salon.

[A Little Weird]

10. I can't stand the smell

The place where I used to get my hair done started doing nails too and I couldn't handle the fumes even though it was another room and I wasn't there for very long. I would inevitably leave with a headache. I don't understand how anyone works in that all day long.