Something in the world of floating have you stumped?
Show Highlights
Naturally, most float centers want to be available for anyone who needs it, but there are practical limitations that they may not know about with certain conditions. Is there any risk or issue to having someone with cancer float in a float center? Do they need special instruction or care? Are float centers opening themselves up to liability by providing them floats?
Ashkahn and Graham answer a few of these questions, but the most important thing to remember is to consult the patient’s doctor. Leave the medical advice to the professionals.
Listen to Just the Audio
Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)
Graham: And today’s question is “what do I need to know about floaters undergoing cancer treatments? And how might they affect my water for other customers?”
Ashkahn: Okay.
Graham: I’ll just leave this one to you, I think.
Ashkahn: I got this.
Graham: Ashkahn is the one here that actually has a medical degree, so.
Ashkahn: So I mean, I guess I don’t know.
Graham: We’re not doctors.
Ashkahn: This is a big I don’t know, here.
Graham: We’re not doctors. We never graduated medical school.
Ashkahn: So let’s talk about, I feel like the second part of the question.
Graham: How to reach out to people who are doctors?
Ashkahn: Yeah. 911 I think is what you call, and then-
Graham: So first of all, if you’re getting this question from someone who has cancer, and is being treated for it, there are a lot of different ways the cancer can be treated, and your first course of action should definitely be to have them ask their physician, or the people who are treating them.
Ashkahn: Yeah, you’re also not a doctor.
Graham: I mean, probably. Right? Some of you may be.
Ashkahn: That’s true.
Graham: Yeah.
Ashkahn: I feel like, so I feel like the second part of the question was alluding to maybe some sort of concept of chemotherapy, like whatever is going on in somone’s body leaching out into the float tank or potentially being harmful for?
Graham: Yeah, causing issues somehow with what you’re leaving behind in the water.
Ashkahn: Yeah, and I would, but … I don’t know. I would be a little surprised if something like that was going on. We don’t tend to leach things out like that, I think because this idea of detoxifying, or having toxins coming out of your body, even regardless of chemotherapy or anything like that, I think is not the most credible thing I’ve heard in my life.
Graham: Yeah, for sure. You can do some quick Google searches on the idea of kind of detoxing things out of your body in general, and find some fun reading there for sure.
Ashkahn: Yeah. I would probably, just my hunch again not really having any idea about any of this, my hunch is that there’s probably not really a huge concern there. I don’t imagine that someone is leaving something in the float tank that would affect anybody else.
Graham: Yeah, and their doctors would know as well. And I would assume that a lot of the stuff that is going into, like because you do find things like medications and stuff like that in pools and hot tubs, but it’s a lot of people urinating it out. It’s not usually like-
Ashkahn: Right, or sweat.
Graham: Yeah, or sweat. Yeah, I was going to say or sweat.
Ashkahn: But again, you never really sweat much in float tanks as you would in the pool or a hot tub.
Graham: That’s also what I was going to say. Yeah, so there’s … but yeah, there’s kind of less concern of both of those happening, and I mean, just like anyone who is just taking pain killers could do the same thing, you know, if they’re peeing it all in your float tank or something, then they’re leaving behind some trace amounts of opioids and things like that in the water too. Whether or not that’s actually harmful to people, or it just gets completely inactivated over the filtration process, is a question.
Ashkahn: But no one asked that question, so we don’t have to- [crosstalk 00:03:32]
Graham: Nobody asked, so we don’t have to answer it.
Ashkahn: Don’t have to answer that.
Graham: But related to cancer specifically, and so I did, I just went out and did a quick Google search, was kind of what I did to assess what’s going on, and according to the American Cancer Society at least, concerns about going into swimming pools, hot tubs, I didn’t see anything about concern for other swimmers, or other people in those hot tubs, you know. And in the case of hot tubs, it was that someone might get dizzier than usual because they’re going through chemotherapy, and should be in a hot tub around someone else so they don’t just kind of pass out or drown, or something like that, and that was one of the biggest concerns out there.
In the case of being in a swimming pool, it’s kind of like don’t over exert yourself. Make sure that you’re confident in the cleanliness of the swimming pool you’re going in. So as a float center owner, paying specific attention to how you’re treating the water, and making sure that everything is up to snuff is really necessary to have anyone in there who has sensitive disorders. Like you can imagine someone getting really sick, or catching a stomach bug when they’re going through chemo just sounds like the worst, you know?
Ashkahn: Yeah, and hopefully that’s just true. You should just always be doing a good job with your sanitation, hopefully, but-
Graham: Yeah, I guess that’s-
Ashkahn: That’s probably one that, if anything were to happen, that would probably be the most likely, is someone is just going to get sick, and it’s especially sucky because they have something else going on, or they have a system that is not as strong to kind of deal with it.
Graham: Yeah. But that was it. The American Cancer Society didn’t seem to have any concerns. I’d be less concerned about anything being left behind than someone potentially getting light-headed, or having any nausea in the float tank.
Ashkahn: Yeah, definitely nausea can come with chemotherapy, and sometimes people get nauseous in float tanks. Hopefully those probably wouldn’t I would imagine be super related, but you know. It’s in an area that if you have motion sickness, or things we talked about on other episodes, that is something that could lead to a heightened state of nausea.
Graham: And we’ve had many people with cancer come through Float On, and have some really nice, heartwarming stories from their time in the shop too, so at least from their perspective, it truly does seem to help, at least a certain population suffering from cancer.
Ashkahn: Yeah.
Graham: And not helping in the sense of like cure their cancer, [crosstalk 00:05:49] but like-
Ashkahn: It cures it. It cures it. Float tanks cure cancer, I think is what we’re trying to say here.
Graham: But definitely helps with the relief, and just the perception of pain, and they’re ability to kind of have a good day, day to day.
Ashkahn: So I mean other than that, there may be just like other normal medical concerns. I mean, certain people have maybe specific medical equipment they’re dealing with. There are things going on with their body that you’re going to have to again, probably reference them to their doctor rather than just taking wild swings at answering them yourselves like we’re doing. And yeah, really just play it safe, and at the end of the day, hopefully if everything is kind of setup, and their doctors okay with it, and all that sort of stuff is good, then it should be great. You should be helping them out.
Graham: And if you have other medical questions for us, for Dr. Grashkahmn over here, go to FloatTankSolutions.com/medicalquestions, and we will answer those for you.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Slip Proofing Your Float Tanks and Float Rooms – DSP 220
The solution inside float tanks is slippery. Really really slippery. What is the best way to make sure that float customers aren’t slipping and falling before or after their floats.
Ashkahn and Graham break down the various steps needed for slip proofing for inside the float tank, the first step out of the tank, the rest of the float room, your hallways, or inside your workrooms.
Should You Install Shower Screens in your Float Rooms? – DSP 219
Float centers, it has been said, are nearly in the shower business as much as they are in the float business. In fact, float centers run twice as many showers as floats. No doubt about it, they are an important part of the float experience, as is designing them.
So do you include shower screens or doors? Graham and Ashkahn weigh in and share why the think it’s better to skip the door altogether, and dispel any sort of benefit that it may appear to have for a float center.
Flushing Salt Crystals out of your Filtration System with Hot Water – DSP 218
In the Daily Solutions Podcast episode #137 Cause and Solutions for a Crystallized Pump, Ashkahn and Graham discussed what causes this, how to avoid it, and some tips for fixing it.
Today, the guys share a more in depth solution on the problem, and specifically talk about the step by step process of desolidifying your pump system by flushing it with hot water.
5½ of the Most Common Construction Mistakes Float Centers Make – DSP 217
Graham and Ashkahn have been around the proverbial float block. They’ve visited centers all over the world, consulted with them, and trained them on how to make their centers as good as possible. It’s tempting to ask them, specifically, what are some of the most common mistakes they’ve seen in this time.
Fortunately, someone did. The duo hash out exactly what they think of when it comes to both “common” and “expensive” construction mistakes for float centers, especially where those two points intersect on the float center Venn diagram of unhappiness.
What Post-Float Music do you Wake Up Floaters With? – DSP 216
There’s a lot of options for floaty music out there. Some are free with a creative commons license, some are built into tanks by manufacturers, some float centers will use meditation tracks to pull people out of it, or self compose music on occasion.
How does Float On pick their post-float music? Ashkahn and Graham explain their thoughts on post-float music, why they maintain a minimalist approach, and explain the formation of Theta State Records.
Latest Blog Posts
Announcing: The 2015 State of the Industry Report
The results are in, and 88 existing centers and 185 aspiring float center owners have responded to create the 2015 State of the Float Industry Report.
What Happens When the Media Doesn’t Give a Shit
Float tanks have been getting a lot of media love recently, which is unsurprising given how beneficial people seem to find them, and how crazy they sound when you’re explaining them for the first time. Most of the press has been very positive, and coverage like the Nightline piece still bring a giant smile to my face whenever I watch them.
Media Reporters and EditorsUnfortunately, not everyone has taken the time to do the appropriate level of research into floating before writing about it.
Permits: Planning for your Planning Department
Construction permits differ from state to state, and even from county to county. Keep in mind that everywhere has its own quirks, and, more than likely, it’s own unexpected fees that can cost several thousand additional dollars…
#WhyWeFloat – An Industry Wide Social Media Campaign
One of the best ways to tell someone the benefits of floating is through stories and testimonials from others who have floated. To make gathering these powerful stories even easier, join the industry wide social media campaign called #WhyWeFloat.
