The utilization of Botox, fillers and other drugs created for the purpose of increasing beauty and decreasing the look of aging have gained a tremendous amount of popularity over the last few years. But many people are unaware of the risks associated with using these items.
Botox and other related items are administered by injecting them into a patient’s body. But are the needles used for these injections clean? BBC reports on the level of danger that could be associated with using these needles.
Many people getting Botox, filler treatments or other similar procedures may be getting infected with diseases that spring from doctors using dirty needles. BBC reports, “Sharing needles can spread blood-borne diseases like HIV and hepatitis C.” The British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence are urging people to use sterile needles and syringe programs to reduce the risk of infections.
Until now most diseases such as HIV have spread from people injecting drugs such as heroin with dirty needles. But in today’s society where everyone is trying to reduce the effects of aging, infections are being spread through the usage of unsterilized needles from Botox and other vanity related treatments. Researchers say this is not confined to adults; more teenagers are using Botox, fillers and tanning agents as well.
NICE would like to pass a policy where centers administering Botox and similar treatments must throw away needles after they use them into a specified container. The president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) issued a statement saying, “Due to the lack of regulation in the cosmetic sector it is impossible to know how many patients could be at risk of blood born diseases from needle sharing with either Botox or fillers. These should be considered medical procedures and BAAPS has campaigned for over a decade to have this field of non-surgical cosmetic treatments tightly regulated. The dangers of sharing needles in cosmetic injectables are so great that any practitioner who does this should be considered guilty of a criminal offense and nothing less.”
