Advertisement
Hong Kong woman gets potential killer botulism after botched do-it-yourself beauty treatment
- Woman, 50, treated for botulism in Hong Kong hospital after injecting herself with botulinum toxin at a friend’s home in Shenzhen
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A Hong Kong woman is in hospital with potential killer disease botulism after a botched do-it-yourself beauty treatment.
Advertisement
The Centre for Health Protection said on Saturday that the patient, 50, injected herself with online-sourced botulinum toxin at a friend’s home in Shenzhen on the mainland Chinese side of the border last month and started to show symptoms of botulism poisoning a few days later.
A spokesman for the centre said the woman, who had been treated in Shenzhen, went to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei on Friday, with symptoms that included problems with swallowing, speaking and drooping eyelids, as well as weakness in her limbs.
“She is now in a stable condition,” the spokesman said. “The clinical diagnosis was suspected … botulism.”
Botulism is a rare but serious condition which can develop when too much botulinum toxin is injected for cosmetic or medical reasons.
Advertisement
The spokesman said the toxin could spread to other parts of the body and symptoms such as blurred vision, problems with chewing and difficulties in breathing could appear hours, days or weeks after an injection.
Advertisement