Counterfeit botox
Botulinum toxin, better known as Botox, is one of the most powerful toxins known to man. In practiced hands the use of botulinum toxin supplied my major manufacturers it is incredibly safe. Sub-standard or counterfeit Botox is however incredibly dangerous. Recently on the internet self-treatment Botox kits have become available – the Botox comes in poor quality vials with an instruction sheet on how to inject the Botox written partially in Chinese lettering. In addition to the general public medical practitioners are being targeted by these companies with cheap sub-standard Botox. Analysis of these products shows that most contain very weak concentrations of Botox- more worrying however was the fact that 2 of them contained significantly more Botox than the vials from the recognised distributors. In addition some of the substances were found to contain gelatine- this has been banned by the major manufactures because it can cause allergic reactions. If severe these can result in difficulties with breathing and in some instances death. In the video Plastic Surgeon Adrian Richards discusses risks of counterfeit Botox and gives advice on how to ensure your treatment is as safe as possible.