The San Diego County health department is warning the public to avoid Botox obtained online or injected by unlicensed providers after a 43-year-old woman suffered symptoms of botulism after buying a counterfeit dose of the wrinkle-reducing neurotoxin.
It is unclear, said Dr. Erik Berg, a medical consultant for the county, whether the symptoms the woman experienced — weakness, blurred vision, headache and hoarseness — were caused by improper dosing, improper administration or contamination with toxin-producing bacteria.
“The product was purchased online, through an unlicensed source, and was taken at a ‘Botox party’ where an untrained and unlicensed individual injected her,” Berg said. “We suspect that the product was counterfeit, but it’s unclear so far whether it was contaminated or it’s purely a product issue.”
The party occurred in Mexico, and Berg said that the county health department has not been able to obtain the product for testing. The woman’s symptoms, he said, were not severe enough to require a hospital stay and, by the time the health department was notified, the patient was outside the “testing window” to determine whether or not the shot caused an infection.
Reports of bogus Botox are popping up nationwide. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued a health advisory warning of “counterfeit or mishandled botulinum toxin injections,” that has affected 22 people in 11 states.
Berg said that none of the cases where testing was performed have confirmed bacterial infections, though federal labs are still testing products to determine what they contain.
He said anyone who had such an injection and is experiencing symptoms should seek immediate emergency medical attention.
“Botulism is going to start out with facial weakness — droopy eyelids, double vision, difficulty speaking or swallowing — and can progress down the body with weakness in the arms and you can get weakness in the muscles you need to breathe,” Berg said. “That’s when botulism can be fatal.”
Anyone considering a Botox injection is advised to ask if the person who will administer their treatment is licensed and whether the products being used are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Only licensed physicians, or other medical professionals they oversee, may inject Botox, according to the Medical Board of California, which notes on its website that “no unlicensed persons, such as medical assistants, may inject Botox.”
An online database — search.dca.ca.gov — allows consumers to verify license status.
