BOTOX® should make your fine lines and wrinkles disappear, not cause double vision or difficulty breathing and swallowing.
Yet 19 women across nine states experienced bad reactions like these in April 2024 after receiving fake BOTOX (a.k.a., ‘Faux-tox’) injections from untrained individuals or in non-health-care settings, such as spas and homes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the fake products came from unlicensed sources and “may be misbranded, adulterated, counterfeit, contaminated, improperly stored and transported, ineffective and/or unsafe.”1 Authentic BOTOX, made by AbbVie, is not linked to any of the reactions.
Why Faux-Tox Can Be Harmful
BOTOX consists of a purified form of a neurotoxin called botulinum toxin that paralyzes muscles temporarily at the injection site. Experts believe that Faux-tox has the potential to spread elsewhere in the body, potentially even paralyzing muscles needed to breathe.
Nine women were hospitalized due to fake BOTOX, and four were prescribed botulism antitoxin because of concerns that the toxin had spread beyond the injection site.
“Paralysis of respiratory muscles is a very serious consequence,” said Michelle Waltenburg, senior botulism epidemiologist at the CDC. “That’s why we consider botulism to be both a medical and a public health emergency and encourage people who have symptoms of botulism to seek medical care immediately.”1
How to Stay Safe
If you’re interested in BOTOX injections, don’t get them from just anyone—confirm that the person you’re receiving them from is licensed and trained to administer BOTOX, and obtained the product from a reliable source. In addition, it’s also best to skip getting BOTOX in non-health-care settings that are unregulated by federal or state laws.
Need a BOTOX provider you can trust? Our team has years of experience using BOTOX to help you get the natural-looking results you want. Call us now to schedule an appointment.
1 Edwards, E. (2024). Fake Botox is the cause of bad reactions in 9 states, FDA says. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fake-botox-cause-bad-reactions-9-states-fda-says-rcna148009
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