It was supposed to be so beautiful, but it ended with serious health problems. In just one week, 19 people went to the doctor with symptoms of dangerous botulism poisoning. All because of a popular aesthetic medicine treatment.
Americans have a problem, most likely due to counterfeit Botox used by people without appropriate qualifications. After what seemed to be a standard botulinum toxin injection procedure, many people developed problems with breathing, swallowing and seeing.
As experts emphasize, it could have been worse, because botulism poisoning, which is exactly what the patients experienced, can be fatal.
FDA warns against Botox
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns against Botox from an unreliable source. The agency reported that cases of dangerous reactions following the aesthetic medicine procedure were reported in people aged 25 to 59 from various parts of the US, including nine states.
The 19 cases analyzed were recorded in just one week in April. 9 patients required hospital treatment, 4 required botulinum antitoxin due to concerns that the Botox could spread beyond the injection site.
Five women were tested for botulism. However, the results were negative, which, according to the FDA, indicates that the direct cause of the problems was not so much the preparation itself, but injection irregularities.
All victims of the failed procedure received Botox injections outside medical facilities, mainly in beauty salons.
Reported symptoms include blurred or double vision, severe dizziness, muscle paralysis, difficulty swallowing and/or lifting the head, dry mouth, constipation, urinary incontinence, shortness of breath, and weakness.
Botox, what is it?
Botox is the common name, reserved mainly for aesthetic medicine, of botulinum toxin, also known as botulinum.
It is also botulinum – a toxin produced by bacteria of the genus Clostridium botulinum. There are several types of toxin, marked with letters A to G, but only type A toxin is used in medicine.
It is therefore not surprising that people who received botulinum incorrectly could have symptoms similar to botulism.
This is not just an American problem, but actually affects the entire world. There have even been deaths resulting from incorrect administration of Botox.
Botulinum in medicine
Botulinum toxin is used not only in aesthetic medicine, but also in the treatment of diseases of the nervous system, including such serious ones as dystonia, Parkinson's disease or cerebral palsy, as well as in states of abnormal muscle tone after stroke and after brain and spinal cord injuries. .
It is also used to treat strabismus, migraine and hyperhidrosis.
Regardless of the purpose for which it is to be used, it can only be done by doctors. People who do not have the appropriate qualifications may face imprisonment for using Botox in Poland.
However, this does not deter everyone. However, patients should be made aware that producers of safe, certified preparations do not sell them to random people.
Therefore, if you use the services of an unauthorized person, you risk not only a poorly performed procedure, but also the use of substances of uncertain composition.
