Counterfeit Botox packaging.
At least 19 women in nine US states are believed to have been poisoned with fake Botox injections.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported late Monday.
Nine of 19 patients (47%) were hospitalized and 4 (21%) were treated with botulinum antivenom. The CDC’s alert and outbreak investigation follows reports in recent days of botulism-like illness linked to suspicious injections in Tennessee, where officials have reported four cases, and two in Illinois. The CDC now reports that the list of affected states also includes Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and Washington.
The Food and Drug Administration issued another warning Tuesday. “Unsafe counterfeit” Botox has been discovered in several states, and toxic counterfeit products are being sold by unlicensed or untrained people and/or in non-medical or unlicensed settings such as homes and spas. He said that he had been administered. Counterfeit products are likely to originate from unauthorized sources and are generally at increased risk of being “misbranded, adulterated, counterfeit, contaminated, improperly stored and transported, invalid, and/or unsafe.” said the FDA.
The CDC and FDA list a variety of symptoms after receiving counterfeit Botox injections, including blurred or double vision, droopy eyelids, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, slurred speech, constipation, incontinence, and shortness of breath. or difficulty breathing, weakness, and difficulty lifting the head. “These symptoms are similar to those seen when botulinum toxin spreads to other parts of the body,” the FDA writes. If you experience any of these symptoms after getting the shot, go to the emergency room or contact your health care professional.
Botox is a controlled drug that contains purified, controlled doses of botulinum toxin. clostridium A bacteria that causes muscle paralysis by blocking neurotransmitters. It is often injected into the face to reduce wrinkles. The CDC reports that all 19 confirmed cases to date are women between the ages of 25 and 59, and 18 of the 19 received the shots specifically for cosmetic purposes.
However, harmful exposure to toxins, such as through infections, eating contaminated food, or using counterfeit Botox, can cause botulism, or at least a botulism-like illness. In severe cases, botulism can progress to descending, symmetrical muscle weakness, complete muscle paralysis, and even death. The CDC reports that some people in the outbreak have been hospitalized and treated with antivenom due to concerns that the toxin has spread beyond the injection site. However, authorities noted that five people underwent special tests for botulism and all came back negative.
In an email to Als late last week, the CDC said people interested in getting Botox injections should use “FDA-approved products administered by a licensed provider and in an approved environment.” Recommended. “If in doubt, do not get the shot,” the agency added in Monday’s warning.
Meanwhile, the FDA provided detailed information on how to confirm that Botox injections are genuine. FDA-approved Botox is manufactured by AbbVie, and genuine Botox products come in unit doses of 50, 100, and 200. The outside of the box must say “BOTOX® COSMETIC / Onabotulinumtoxin A / For Injection” or “Onabotulinumtoxin A / Botox® / For Injection”. Injection” and the manufacturer must be listed as “Allergan Aesthetics / An AbbVie Company” or “abbvie.” The active ingredient should be listed on the box as “onabotulinumtoxinA.”
In contrast, some of the counterfeit products the FDA has tracked so far are sold in 150-unit doses (not made by AbbVie) and appear to only say “Allergan” on the box (not fully (not the manufacturer’s name) and contains no active ingredients. The ingredient is displayed as “botulinum toxin type A” instead of “onabotulinum toxin A.” The counterfeit product had non-English writing on the outside of the box and lot number C3709C3. Any of these characteristics indicate that the product is counterfeit. Below is an image of the counterfeit product from the FDA.
