Foot massage actor ends up in hospital
Shortly after actor Sombat Methanee had his feet massaged at Udon Thani airport, he started experiencing chest pain, fever and foot swelling. At the hospital, doctors diagnosed a blood infection and put him in intensive care.
Sombat is now recovering, but the question is: did he get sick from the foot massage, in which a small wooden stick is pressed on the sole of the foot, causing the blood vessels to expand? That's not impossible. There only needs to be a small wound and an infection can quickly spread. This is especially true for diabetic patients. People with heart and kidney disease are also vulnerable.
The Sombat affair has led to calls for the government to impose stricter regulations on massage services. Hygiene must be improved and those who go wrong must be severely punished, said Serat Tangrongchitr, head of the well-known Thai Traditional Medical School in Wat Po.
His own school meets all hygiene and safety requirements, he says. Masseurs are not allowed to wear jewelry to avoid injuring clients. They should inquire if someone has diabetes and check whether there are any cuts on the feet when they are washed in water with an antiseptic. Checking for wounds, including on the body, is an important step to prevent infection, because bacteria can easily enter.
Masseuse Somkit Sithanu (50), who works in the MBK shopping center, says she always asks her clients if they have certain diseases or wounds, and she also checks the latter just to be sure. A diabetic patient will never massage them hard, he gets a soft massage.
(Source: Bangkok Post, Apr 4, 2013)
Didn't we have an article on this on TB recently?
I thought it was about someone who became unwell and asked if this could be the result of a massage.
Personally, I have few complaints about the massage parlor that I sometimes visit.
Usually physical discomforts are resolved. So I have little to criticize about the treatments, but I usually go to the same salon, and if possible the same masseuse.
By the way, they don't have to be of the female gender, and I've often had a massage by a man or a blind person.
Although the result was also very good, I must admit that I prefer women's hands to take care of me. Must be my male ego for sure. Well, women's hands, underestimate their power, but don't underestimate the more experienced ones.
However, I can agree with the proposal to bind massage services to stricter regulations.
There are many massage parlors, and many good ones, with staff who know what they are doing. You can usually experience it at the start, where the good ones are indeed first asked some questions about your physical condition, but of course there is no guarantee yet.
On the other hand, you have many more of the other kind, where the appearance of the massage girls is more important than their knowledge about massage.
Which is not to say that you cannot massage well, but that is more aimed at satisfying than curing a "problem". 😉