They trim our hair, polish our nails and ease our tired muscles – but beauticians, manicurists, hairdressers and barbers can do far more than that.

In fact, many are now trained to potentially save our lives.

For example, the charity Skcin has been offering training to hair and beauty professionals to help them spot potential signs of skin cancer among their clients.

Louise Whymark, 35, and a customer service assistant from Harwich, Essex sent a picture of her toe to her nail technician, after spotting a strange brown mark. 

She said: ‘When I spotted the strange brown mark that suddenly appeared on my left big toe in January 2022, I thought it didn’t look right – but I didn’t think it was bad enough to see the doctor.

‘Instead I took a picture of the nail and sent it to my nail technician. I have been going to her for years for regular manicures and pedicures.

Louise Whymark, 35, a customer service assistant, believes her nail technician saved her life after urging her to seek advice about a brown toenail 

Louise’s brown toenail was a sign that her kidneys were not functioning properly 

‘She said it looked like an infection, but added that she’d been taught that marks could be signs of more serious things and that I should go to a doctor.

‘If she hadn’t said that, I would have ignored it.’

Louise went on to see her ‘worried’ GP, who carried out a blood test to check her liver and kidney function. 

A few days later the surgery rang and asked Louise to come in for more blood tests and referred her for an ultrasound scan of her kidneys.

She said: ‘I thought it was a lot of fuss over nothing, but to my surprise, days later the scan revealed my kidneys were only working at 25 per cent of their capacity.

‘I was absolutely stunned. I’d had no signs other than this mark on my toenail.

‘I had to be admitted into hospital there and then as they also found my blood pressure was so high (213/100) that I was in danger of having a stroke.

‘I was kept in hospital for a week while they tried to get the blood pressure low enough for it to be safe for me to have a kidney biopsy.’

Louise received a phone call a week later from the consultant who told her she had a  kidney disorder called IGA nephropathy – a disease that causes kidney inflammation that over time can interfere with the kidneys’ ability to filter waste from the blood.

She was warned that her kidney was so badly damaged that she needed a transplant and would be put on the kidney donor waiting list.

She added: ‘I was in shock – I was urinating properly and never had pains – apart from that mark on my toe.

‘I’m now having dialysis three times a week for four hours at a time in hospital, awaiting a transplant.

‘I feel well most of the time with dialysis, although I can get breathless.

‘If it hadn’t been spotted when it was, I’d be in a far worse state. I’m so thankful to my nail technician. I believe she saved my life.’

Professor Simon Davies a consultant nephrologist at the University Hospital of North Midlands and trustee at Kidney Research UK, says chronic kidney disease is often ‘silent’, without any obvious symptoms. 

He said: ‘This is why any signs of something being wrong should lead to quick checks – and an unexplained nail infection in an apparently healthy person can be one of those signs.

‘When kidney disease occurs, the body has difficulties removing waste products such as urea, nitrogen and creatinine and as a result, these substances build up in the body tissues – including the nails – so there can be changes to the texture, shape or natural colour of fingernails and toenails.

‘When nails become unhealthy and brittle, they are also more susceptible to infections, so it is important to visit your doctor if you (or indeed your nail technician) notice these changes.

‘Screening for kidney disease is easy. Checking blood pressure (which is often high in those with kidney disease), a quick urine test to look for protein in the urine, and a blood test called eGFR would quickly pick up a kidney problem.

‘The great thing is that there are now several medications that can slow down the progression of kidney disease, preventing the need for a transplant or kidney dialysis if caught early enough.’