Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Doctor Fish

Doctor fish is the name given to two species of fish: Garra rufa and Cyprinion macrostomus. Other nicknames include nibble fish, kangal fish, and doctorfishen; in non-medical contexts, Garra rufa is called the reddish log sucker. They live and breed in the outdoor pools of some Turkish spas, where they feed on the skin of patients with psoriasis. The fish are like combfishes in that they only consume the affected and dead areas of the skin, leaving the healthy skin to grow, with the outdoor location of the treatment bringing beneficial effects. The spas are not meant as a treatment option, only as a temporary cure for symptoms, and patients usually revisit the spas every few months. Some patients have experienced complete cure of psoriasis after repeated treatments, but due to the unpredictable nature of the disease, which is strongly influenced by endogenous factors, this may simply be regression towards the mean.

Garra rufa occurs in the river basins of the Northern and Central Middle East, mainly in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. It is legally protected from commercial exploitation in Turkey due to concerns of overharvesting for export. Garra rufa can be kept in an aquarium at home; while not strictly a "beginner's fish", it is quite hardy. For treatment of skin diseases, aquarium specimens are not well suited as the skin-feeding behavior fully manifests only under conditions where the food supply is somewhat scarce and unpredictable.

In 2006, doctor fish spa resorts opened in Hakone, Japan, and in Umag, Croatia, where the fish are used to clean the bathers at the spa. There are also spas in resorts in China, such as Hainan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.

8 comments:

imsunnysideup said...

do they do body massage ?

Helas木村 said...

uiks.. where is ur logo hehe..

just right click the picture, save it to your desktop... than u upload it again.. heheheh just follow the instruction

Helas木村 said...

nice treatment , no harm, no toxic, but if the fish could massage people.. hehe... i wonder.. lot of aquariums will increase in each house in M'sia...

after the fish become older, PANGGANG laaa.. Goreng also can.. hehehe

imsunnysideup said...

I heard there's a place which gives body massage . They use the Great White Shark !

Helas木村 said...

waaa... dont want la.. but if use dolphin i want it.... hehehe

Aslan said...

yelah, I want ikan duyung to massage me, better than that fish.
hehehehehehe......

Anyway, good luck for the exam tomorrow. After that you can release your tension and worried at Wood Camp. Kita satu kumpulan kan.

Have fun,Chayok,Chayok.....

Helas木村 said...

ei u with me ok... we satu bas .. hahahahahahah

farehan said...

eleh...nk ikan duyung..
bg ikan dugong baru hang taw...hahahha