Tragedy Strikes in Paris: Woman Left Brain-Dead Following Cryotherapy Incident
A woman who suffered injuries during a deadly cryotherapy session at a fitness center in Paris is now confirmed brain-dead, as reported by the city’s prosecutor’s office on Friday. The incident occurred late Monday, claiming the life of a young gym employee in her twenties and leaving the client, who is in her early thirties, in critical condition.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the client has been brain-dead since Thursday. An autopsy of the deceased employee revealed that she suffocated due to a lack of oxygen, which may support suspicions of a nitrogen leak within the cryotherapy chamber.
Cryotherapy, a technique that employs vaporized liquid nitrogen or nitrous oxide to cool the skin’s surface to temperatures below minus 100 degrees Celsius (minus 148 degrees Fahrenheit), is typically recommended for a maximum duration of three minutes. While nitrogen is a colorless and odorless gas, making up about 80 percent of the air we breathe, low oxygen levels can occur in a confined space if a nitrogen leak happens.
Proponents of whole-body cryotherapy advocate for its benefits in alleviating muscle soreness, stress, rheumatism, and various skin ailments, similar to the effects of ice baths. However, many medical experts caution that the efficacy of cryotherapy remains unproven and are urging further investigations into both its immediate and long-term impacts on health.
This tragic incident is not isolated; cryotherapy has faced scrutiny in the United States as well. In 2015, a woman lost her life after being found frozen in a Las Vegas spa, having reportedly entered a cold chamber after hours in an attempt to relieve discomfort, only to be discovered the following day by a colleague.
As the investigation into the Paris incident unfolds, it highlights the potential dangers associated with cryotherapy treatments and underscores the need for increased regulation and research in the field.
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