A Florida woman surprised TikTok users with an unpleasant side effect she suffered after undergoing popular anti-wrinkle injections.
Holly Brooke, a medical technician, developed large, gum-sized bumps on her forehead in the days after receiving injections of Dysport, an anti-aging compound with the same ingredients as Botox, which is said to have longer-lasting effects.
Interestingly, the symptoms appeared eight years after their usual treatments, making them particularly disconcerting.
“I need to know why I’m suddenly having allergic reactions to my Dysport,” Brooke said in a TikTok last month.
He said all the injection sites “swollen into little circles,” which became red and itchy. It would take several days for the lumps to finally disappear, but then they would swell.
After about eight years of treatments with the Botox alternative Dysport, Holly Brooke shared on TikTok that she started getting bumps on her forehead. “No one knows what she did and, because she was so swollen, none of the Dysport worked,” she said. ‘I still had all my wrinkles’
Experts estimate that around 3.6 million Americans receive Botox each year.
“No one knows what it did and because it was so swollen, none of the Dysport worked,” Ms Brooke said. “She still had all my wrinkles.”
Brooke’s story comes as the CDC investigates botched Botox injections that have hospitalized women in several states.
These patients suffered the wrath of counterfeit Botox, which involves an extremely high dose or the addition of other harmful substances, causing toxic infections such as botulism.
Botulism is a rare infection that causes a toxin to attack the body’s nervous system, causing difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis and death. It affects only one in 100 Americans.
However, experts say that unsightly bumps are usually not a cause for concern.
In fact, they are a simple and common complication that usually resolves within days.
Dysport and Botox use the active ingredient botulinum toxin, which blocks chemical signals from the nerves that cause muscles to contract. These muscles often cause wrinkles to form, so relaxing them temporarily blocks that process.
Botox and Dysport have also been used to relieve symptoms of conditions such as chronic migraine, incontinence, and excessive sweating.
Experts estimate that around 3.6 million Americans receive Botox each year.
Small bumps are common after the procedure because the body reacts to the needles penetrating the skin, rather than the effect of the chemicals themselves.
The lumps may appear red and bleed slightly, but they tend to disappear within 15 to 30 minutes.
Jill Campbell, a nurse practitioner and Botox provider, said in a TikTok video that these bumps are “totally normal” and are caused by chemicals being mixed with saline. “Once injected into the skin, it takes about 20 minutes for the liquid to be absorbed into the muscle.”
Even if these lumps don’t go away immediately, it’s probably nothing to worry about.
Las Vegas facial plastic surgeon Dr. Mehdi Sina told a patient with persistent lumps on Real me that “the most likely response is a small collection of blood under the skin (hematoma) that should resolve within a couple of days.”
A hematoma occurs when blood leaks from a blood vessel and travels to surrounding tissue, causing discoloration similar to a severe bruise.
In most cases, bruises are harmless, as the body will reabsorb the blood over time. Rarely, they may require surgery if they put pressure on sensitive areas such as the brain, spinal cord, or other important organs.
These bumps are also not signs of allergies, which typically cause itching, rash, hives, and flu-like symptoms.
Dr. Aldo Guerra, an Arizona plastic surgeon, also said on RealSelf: ‘Make your injector aware of the situation. Next time they should be more careful or use a smaller needle.’