How Safe Is Whole Body Cryotherapy?

 Posted on December 00,0000 in Wrongful Death

Many of us are counting down the days until spring and the arrival of warmer weather. By February and March, most are ready to say goodbye to winter and its freezing temperatures, so it may hard to imagine that there are people who purposely expose themselves to temperatures as cold as 200 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. However, this is exactly what people are doing during a whole body cryotherapy (WBC) session, but after the recent death of a 24-year-old woman, many are beginning to ask just how safe is this latest fad?

What Is WBC?

Regular cryotherapy is based on the concept of applying ice to injuries, which helps with pain and swelling. A WBC session involves standing in a chamber where the temperature is dropped to anywhere between -184 and -264 degrees Fahrenheit. Participants, who are barely clothed during the session, stand in the chamber for two to three minutes, surrounded by either refrigerated air or liquid nitrogen.

Although the treatments are not approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), proponents say WBC therapy helps with pain and inflammation, depression, insomnia, weight loss, and makes people look younger. But what are the risks of stepping into that chamber?

Tragic Outcome

The 24-year-old victim was an employee of a cryotherapy center located in Las Vegas. By all accounts, the young woman was very experienced in operating the chambers used for treatments. She was found dead in one of the chambers, and the coroner has ruled that her death was caused by asphyxia caused by low oxygen levels. According to the coroner’s report, the air in a cryotherapy chamber is reduced to 5 percent oxygen, about a quarter of the concentration of the regular air we breathe, which is made up of about 21 percent oxygen. This lack of oxygen can quickly cause a person to become unconscious, which can then result in death.

Some reports say that the woman had complained to a friend that she thought there was a nitrogen leak in the chamber because nitrogen was being used up quickly. The spa where the woman worked has closed its doors since the accident.

Potential Liability

Although there is little definitive proof on whether or not there are benefits to this type of therapy, it is the responsibility of cryotherapy centers that all their equipment is in top working order to ensure the safety of their clients. This is true no matter what type of service a business is offering.

If you have lost a loved one due to the negligence of a business, contact an experienced Will County wrongful death attorney to find out what legal recourse you may have against the owners of that business. Call Issa Law, LLC at 708-966-2408 today for your free consultation.

Sources:

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4b2b9b54c046443694b83bb002e39164/coroner-woman-suffocated-cryotherapy-accident

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2015/11/23/the-cold-hard-facts-on-cryotherapy/#2b6e17071334

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cryotherapy-freeze-your-way-to-better-health/