Two people in Illinois were hospitalized with facial paralysis and trouble breathing after being injected with potentially fake Botox.
The LaSalle County patients came to the hospital with symptoms including blurred or double vision, drooping face, fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and hoarse voice, after being shot by a nurse “who was performing work outside of her authority”.
The key ingredient in Botox injections, prized for their ability to paralyze facial muscles and smooth wrinkles, is botulinum toxin, one of the most poisonous biological substances known to man.
Botulism is a neurotoxin that can cause paralysis, difficulty breathing, and even death if injected incorrectly or in too high doses.
FDA-approved Botox is generally considered safe and complications are rare, but the state public health agency has hospitals warned “be on high alert” for similar cases of a botulism-like illness caused by botched injections.
It’s unclear how many people were injected with what could have been fake Botox by a nurse not authorized to do so, but the Illinois Department of Public Health has warned area hospitals to be on high alert for similar cases of a disease. similar to botulism.
Botox is generally safe, but complications can occur if it is injected incorrectly or at the wrong dose. Whitney Buha, 34, from Chicago, Illinois, is pictured with her eyelid drooping after receiving Botox.
Both patients in Illinois, whom the Illinois Department of Public Health has not identified, were injected by a nurse licensed to practice in the county but not authorized to do so.
The injections were either Botox or fake. Health officials have not confirmed this either.
If the injections were, in fact, real Botox, the nurse may have injected too much, which can cause excessive muscle weakness and symptoms consistent with botulism.
Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said, “Receiving these treatments in unlicensed and unapproved settings can put you or your loved ones at serious risk for health problems.”
‘Please only seek cosmetic services under the care of licensed professionals trained to perform these procedures and using FDA-approved products.
“If you have any health concerns after recent cosmetic treatment, please contact your healthcare provider immediately for help and assistance.”
Megan Carlisle, 35, posted a video on TikTok showing the results of Botox which left her chin ‘messy’ with strange swelling and a lumpy appearance.
Anything labeled Botox that doesn’t come from the manufacturer Allergan should be met with suspicion.
Legitimate Botox also includes the ingredient OnabotulinumtoxinA, while counterfeits in the past said Botulinum Toxin Type A.
And while the injections are quick and relatively painless, they can go horribly wrong, causing a droopy eye or a bumpy, sunken chin, among other possible negative effects.
The news from Illinois comes just days after the Tennessee Department of Health announced his investigation in potentially counterfeit Botox, which caused severe botulism symptoms in four people and hospitalized two of them.
Tennessee officials said: ‘Multiple states have reported similar illnesses similar to botulism. The ongoing investigation suggests that the product administered was counterfeit.’
Anyone who wants to go under the knife or receive a needle should go to a qualified medical professional licensed to administer Botox in that state.
In Illinois, where the botulism cluster occurred, only doctors and nurses licensed and regulated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation can administer Botox.
The US market for Botox injections is huge and is expected to grow from around $4.7 billion in 2023 to nearly $6.7 billion in 2030.
The much-loved procedure that takes just a few minutes in a licensed practitioner’s office is typically very safe, with bruising and some pain at the injection site being the most common patient complaints.
Given the incredibly high toxicity of botulinum toxin, doses in syringes are typically measured in trillionths of a gram and targeted at carefully chosen points on the face to paralyze certain muscles without the substance reaching the central nervous system.
But if Botox is injected incorrectly, it could spread to unwanted areas and cause symptoms associated with botulism, a rare but serious disease in which toxins produced by the C. botulinum bacteria attack the body’s nerves.