The ANSM alerts to illegal practices of botulinum toxin injections promoted on networks, which caused the occurrence of severe botulism symptoms in eight people.
- Eight serious cases linked to illegal injections of aesthetic botulinum toxin, made by unskilled people, were reported by the ANSM.
- Several patients, with severe symptoms of botulism (false roads, difficulty walking, blurred or double vision, breathing difficulties), had to be hospitalized in resuscitation.
- The health authority recalls that only authorized doctors can buy and administer injectable products for aesthetic use.
To temporarily improve the appearance of wrinkles, some people are injecting botulinum toxin. It is a neurotoxin used in aesthetic medicine, but it can also treat certain muscle or neurological disorders. However, intoxication to this toxin can cause botulism, namely a serious neurological condition caused by a very powerful toxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum.
Botulism: severe symptoms in 8 individuals who have received Botox injections made by unskilled people
This is what happened to eight people between August and September 2024. These serious cases are linked to illegal injections of botulinum toxin with aesthetic purposes made by unskilled people and whose use is praised on social networks.
“The use of injectable products for aesthetic falsified purposes is dangerous insofar as the conditions of production and transport are not guaranteed, which does not make it possible to ensure the quality and safety of use of these products; dangerous or non -sterile substances can be present, thus exposing the person who receives these products at a risk of complications (infections, allergies, burns, etc.); these products by a competent structure “, had already alerted The National Agency for Drug Safety and Health Products (ANSM) in 2021.
In His recent press releasepublished on February 27, she revealed that adults who have developed botulism have presented severe symptoms, including a difficulty in speaking or swallowing (false roads), difficulty in walking, blurred or double vision, breathing difficulties (requiring tracheotomy for certain patients). Several patients had to be hospitalized in resuscitation.
“The injection of botulinum toxin is reserved for authorized health professionals”
“We each call on the greatest vigilance in the face of dangerous practices which can be the subject of a promotion via social networks and constitute an illegal exercise of medicine. Indeed, the injection of botulinum toxin is reserved for authorized health professionals: doctors specialists in plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery, in dermatology, surgery of the face and neck Maxillo-Faciale and in ophthalmology. said the ANSM, who seized the public prosecutor about these practices, in application of article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in September 2024.
