If pedicure tools aren’t sterilized properly you can get skin and nail infections, which may show up immediately or later — even months later. According to podiatrist Joy Rowland, DPM, these include:

  • Bacterial infections. If your toenail or area around the nail appears red, hot or swollen a few days after your pedicure, you may have a bacterial skin or nail infection. Treatment can include antibiotics and possibly an incision to drain the area.
  • Fungal infections. Your nail turning yellow and beginning to lift off is a sign of a nail fungus, one of the most common results of a rogue pedicure. Fungal infections may not appear for months. Oral and topical treatments can resolve these infections.
  • Viral infections. These come in the form of plantar warts, the most common viral infection of the foot, and these too may not show up for months after the pedicure. You can pick these up in the salon or spa or neighborhood pool. Dark spots and a callus-like covering are common with plantar warts. Treatment for these include medicine that applied to the skin.