ATLANTA -- Dr. Allen Raphael works with Village Podiatry Centers in Smyrna. He treats patients daily with severe toe infections that are contracted at nail salons. One of his patients is Chassity Sarvis. She said an infection surfaced on her toe after a nail tech used a dirty scrubber on her foot.

"It was just a lot of pain and I woke up in the morning and I could barely bend my toe or move my toe and there was so much puss in there," said Sarvis.

As a result, Sarvis is now required to wear a surgical shoe on her infected foot for at least a couple of weeks. She regrets not asking the salon to clean their instruments prior to her pedicure.

"Obviously if you think about it, you're letting them use a utensil that they've used on a quite a few different peoples feet and that's pretty disgusting if you think about it," said Sarvis.

Raphael believes the state is partially to blame for the steady flow of patients he sees with nail infections. There are only nine state inspectors monitoring more than 700 licensed nail salons in Georgia. Plus, those same inspectors are responsible for monitoring thousands of hair salons as well. Raphael said the state needs better salon enforcement.

A CBS Atlanta undercover investigation exposed serious violations at several metro Atlanta nail salons. CBS Atlanta found nail techs working without a license at Nifty Nails in Buford. The salon also failed to post its inspection, which by the way is not a pass or fail report. The inspection is simply a list of violations that you should read before your appointment.

In Snellville, nail techs failed to properly clean their instruments at City Nails and Spa, which is a $500 fine. CBS Atlanta's investigation got the attention of Emory pathologist Dr. John Cochran.

"If a nail salon is following proper protocol for hygiene and autoclaving their instruments between patients, there should not be a problem with this. A steamed autoclave will kill fungal organisms," said Cochran.

It's a lesson learned the hard way for Chassity Sarvis. It could be months before she's healthy enough to go back to the salon.

"I'll still get my nails and toes done, but I'll use my own stuff that I know is clean and sterilized and won't cause any infections," said Sarvis.

CBS Atlanta News spoke with a member of the Georgia Board of Cosmetology regarding the investigation and they said budget cuts are to blame for the health risk at salons. Plus, those at greatest risk for getting an infection at a nail salon are diabetics because they are not able to fight off an infection as quickly.

One way to protect yourself at the salon would be to buy your own set of instruments for about $25 and take them to the salon with you.