A new study shared in the Observer, has revealed that a whopping one in six botox patients experience complications. Even worse, many of those reactions are underreported.
The study was undertaken by four doctors at the Royal Free and St Thomas’ hospitals in London, who have now called for the tighter regulation of Botox. (FYI: The report looked at case studies in the UK, so of course, the statistics may look very different here in Australia).
Complications from the procedure include bruising, headaches, nausea and frozen features. Other more serious side-effects include muscle stiffness, pain, dizziness and even a heart-attack.
One woman told the Observer about her personal experience with Botox, and said she was left with “frozen” facial muscles.
“I think the Botox had frozen the muscles and they had stopped functioning,” she said after noticing her eyes, eyebrows and eyelids had visibly drooped.
“I’m getting acupuncture to help, and it’s improving week by week, but it was a lesson learned. I know now that it’s not worth those temporary effects if it makes alterations you weren’t expecting. It wasn’t worth it and I wouldn’t do it again.”
The doctors behind the study are concerned that people without proper training are injecting Botox into people’s faces. They are also concerned that adverse reactions aren’t always being reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
“I was surprised to find such a low number of incidents reported to the MHRA. It was surprising as it equates to less than 10 adverse events a year across the UK. I believe the MHRA database of complications is a significant underestimate of the total number of complications,” Dr David Zargaran, the lead author of the study, said.
While these complications might not happen to you, it’s still important to know that with any procedure there are risks involved. Botox, lip fillers or any other injectables have become so normalised that it’s easy to assume they’re completely safe. But, there are always complications to be aware of – so if you get botox and are even a little concerned about any side effects, make sure you speak to a medical professional.
