Toxic beauty product causes outbreak of rare deadly disease leaving patients ‘frozen’

Patients who have unlicensed botox injections are at risk of contracting a potentially deadly disease unfamiliar to many doctors.

So far, 38 cases of botulism linked to anti-wrinkle injections have been recorded by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Nicola Fairley ended up in A&E just days after a botox procedure done by her regular beautician at her home left her tired and unable to swallow food.

Doctors believed at first she had suffered from a stroke.

Nicola says she met several other patients with similar symptoms at the A&E in Durham, with one even requiring resuscitation.

‘We all had problems with our eyes, some of us with our breathing. I couldn’t swallow – they put me on nil by mouth because they were worried I would choke in the waiting room’, she said.

She was forced to wait for the anti-toxin to cure her disease as the hospital had run out from treating other patients.

Nicola still has no idea which product was used for her treatment or how much of it, as her beautician has ceased all contact with her.

Symptoms of botulism include weakness, blurry vision, difficulty speaking and feeling tired.

The disease can be potentially fatal and is so rare that many doctors have yet to encounter it, with many having to ask other medical professionals in major cities for more information on how to treat it.

Medics have warned of a potential outbreak for years, given the poor regulation of private clinics offering injections – a £3billion industry.

A survey by ITV’s This Morning found that half of respondents had sought medical help after having cosmetic treatments, while 15 per cent had ended up in hospital.

Another patient, Kaylie Bailey was driving her son to a new school with her newborn baby when she had double vision at the wheel.

She told the programme: ‘I thought at one point I was going to end up going blind my eyes were so bad.’

The mother was told by doctors that it was possible the injection had gone into her muscle by mistake, causing her eyelids to droop.

After spending the ‘worst week of my life’ only being to see from the bottom of her eyes, Kaylie returned to hospital where her condition was eventually properly diagnosed.

She later found out she had been injected with a product called Toxpia, which can be purchased for just £92 for two vials, around three to four times cheaper than a genuine botox product.

Dr Zoe Williams said that a case botulism is something an average medic would expect to see once in a career.

She said: ‘When they’re used properly.. the risks of getting botulism is extremely rare. But anybody can get their hands on fake products.’

Dr Steven Land, an aesthetic specialist, described the botox industry as ‘the wild west’.

He told Sky News treatments can be offered by anyone, including those who could inject illegal and potentially lethal substances into patients, including rat poison.

The situation is worsened by ‘drug dealers’ who have saturated the market with cheap products often on promotion, he added.

While there a several voluntary associations for professionals within the aesthetics industry, there are currently no mandatory training requirements for practitioners in the UK.

A licensing system for non-surgical cosmetic procedures was proposed by the previous Conservative government.

The scheme would have required practitioners to obtain a permit to carry out certain procedures, as well as a separate licence for their medical practice.

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