A fitness influencer has reportedly died after undergoing a botched procedure to cure herself of excessive underarm sweating.
According to the Mexican newspaper Milenio, 23-year-old bodybuilder Odalis Santos Mena, traveled to the SkinPiel clinic in Guadalajara, Mexico, on July 7.
Mena had been approached to promote the special antiperspirant treatment MiraDry, which uses thermal energy to combat the effects of hyperhidrosis and excessive sweating by removing sweat glands.
She had repeatedly extolled the virtues of the treatment on social media. However, the New York Post reports that, while at the clinic, Mena suffered a fatal cardiac arrest soon after she was anesthetized.
Sadly, the clinic's employees were unable to revive her via CPR, and she died shortly thereafter. Investigators from the Jalisco State Public Prosecutor's Office have since launched an investigation into the tragic accident.
Coroners who conducted a post-mortem have now determined that Mina's death was caused by a combination of anesthesia and a powerful steroid-like medication the fitness influencer was taking at the time.
Milenio reports that Mina's family accused the SkinPiel clinic of "negligence" - claiming that the ultimately deadly treatment was carried out by non-professionals and that she had been anesthetized by an employee who had never trained as an anesthetist.
However, the clinic has retorted that Mina failed to notify them that she was taking steroids.
In an official statement, a spokesperson for SkinPiel stated that Mena had not mentioned that she was taking any medicines or supplements in a health and safety form for the procedure.
The Post reports that Mina's boyfriend, fellow bodybuilder Victor Carreno, has since reacted to her death with a statement shared with his followers on Instagram.
Per the above publication, an emotional Carreno stated: "‘Your actions in life, echo in eternity. I will take you with me forever short, it makes no sense to write here what I feel in my heart @odalis_sm, I love you."
The young musclewoman had already achieved a number of notable fitness accolades prior to her death: the 2019 Miss and Mr. Hercules title as well as the Wellness Fitness Juvenile contest.
