Doctors warn against do-it-yourself injections trending during pandemic

There is a warning about buying unregulated injectables online, things such as fillers for the lines on your face. We spoke to doctors who says this can be very dangerous to try on your own.

Dr. Maximilian Padilla is an oculofacial plastic surgeon. He spent 14 years in school to be able to give people the cosmetic results they want safely.

So when people watch a ten-minute video and then try it out on themselves, Padilla says you’re asking for trouble.

“I saw a patient not too long ago that did do a self-injection of what was billed as filler on the internet that they received from another country, and they had these little, tiny bumps underneath their eyelids,” said Padilla with Azul Cosmetic Surgery and Medical Spa. “These bumps just weren’t going away.”

Padilla sees more patients lately needing help after botched at-home procedures.

“Another really sad case I saw of do-it-yourself skin treatments was someone who did a at home chemical skin peel,” Padilla said. “It hyperpigmented or caused brown spots on their face where they applied it. And actually, some of the acid got into one of her eyes, so I was called to the ER for a chemical burn to the eye.”

Padilla says, the pandemic fuels do-it-yourself injectables, and the internet gives people the tools and false confidence to go through with it.

“This is almost hard to watch,” Padilla said.

Dozens of videos show you how to inject your own facial fillers.

“They’re not doing anything to clean off the skin,” Padilla said. “And anytime you inject the area, there’s always a risk of injection.”

Dr. Fabrizio Galimberti with UM Health says other potential side effects include blindness, necrosis or the death of your cells, and even life-long auto-immune disorders.

“Tuberculosis is not a nice infection to have as a consequence of a cosmetic and elective procedure,” Galimberti said.

“It just comes to a point where it’s dangerous, and even something that’s advertised as saving you money in the short-term might cost you more long-term, and possibly irreversible effects,” Padilla said.

“When you’re actually physically trying to introduce something into your body, that’s when you need the highest level of attention, safety and proper technique,” Galimberti said. “Unregulated injections can lead to infections. Sometimes infections can be treated with just a little antibiotic by mouth. Sometimes they might be they might need IV injection. So you might need to go to the hospital.”

Galimberti says a lot of the chemicals come from other countries; therefore, they aren’t held to American safety standards. Even if they aren’t counterfeit, they could be expired or have been improperly stored, leading to dangerous side effects.

MORE:

• Study – Online availability of neurotoxin and injectable cosmetics
• Recent warning from the American Academy of Dermatology on DIY injectables
• Managing Complications of Fillers: Rare and Not-So-Rare
• “Saving Face”: An Online Study of the Injecting Use of DIY Botox and Dermal Filler Kits
• Etiology, Prevention, and Treatment of Dermal Filler Complications
• Complications after cosmetic periocular filler: prevention and management