Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy means “ice cold” in greek. It entails a technique where the body is exposed to extremely cold temperatures for several minutes. This destroys abnormal or diseased tissue. Cryotherapy can be delivered to just a localized area or the whole body.

In a dermatological form or a localized approach, cryotherapy is used to freeze a small area of skin for removal such as warts, and treat skin lesions. Whole-body cryotherapy is mainly used to reduced swelling, inflammation, and pain used on injuries.

From an aesthetical approach, cryo facials or sometimes term as “frotox” is the “freezing of the face”. While it doesn’t sound entirely pleasing, people love it as it is said to brighten dull skin, tighten pores, and even reduce age lines and spots.

During a cryo facial, once your skin is cleansed, liquid nitrogen will be administered. The intense cold will cause blood vessels to contract. Once the skin returns to its normal temperature, blood vessels dilate quickly causing an increase in the flow of blood and oxygen. The procedure may last up to just about 3 minutes. To complete, moisturizer will be applied to the skin. 

Cryo facial can also be done to the neck and decolletage.

For wart treatment, it may hurt. A numbing cream may be applied. A small sharp blade may be used to trim the surrounding skin, applying a freezing substance such as liquid nitrogen would be administered. For larger warts, multiple sessions may be required.

Expect to feel cold and some pain during the treatment. In some cases, the surrounding area may be numbed prior to the treatment.

You may experience some sensitivity around the area and if a large area was being treated, slight swelling and minor scarring may occur.

Cryo facials are done swiftly with no downtime. You may return to your normal activities right after. You should see results almost immediately. Similar to a glowy and more vibrant appearance. 

The initial results may last a few weeks. Multiple sessions would be required to maintain its effects. A recommended period would be to have them once every 3 – 5 weeks. The more you go, the more permanent the results may be as it can change the skin texture overtime.

For wart treatment, it should disappear within a few days following the treatment. However, for more than 1 or larger warts, you may need more than one session. Do expect some pain and swelling.

For wart treatment, while it is generally safe, it does have some risk related to possible infection of the wound typically caused by bacteria. Symtoms may include:

• increased swelling
• throbbing pain
• yellow discharge
• fever

Other possible complications includes:

• nerve damage
• slow healing
• ulcer formation
• scarring and altered pigmentation
• skin lesions