A Hong Kong woman is in hospital with potential killer disease botulism after a botched do-it-yourself beauty treatment.
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.
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.
The spokesman added that epidemiological investigations into the incident continued and that it had been reported to the mainland authorities.
The woman, who has not been identified, injected herself with the toxin, bought from an e-commerce website and used to reduce wrinkles, as well as for treatment of some medical conditions, on July 16.
She went to a Shenzhen hospital on July 24 and was admitted three days later, discharged on July 28 and later returned to Hong Kong.
She went to the accident and emergency department at Kwong Wah Hospital and doctors started treatment for botulism.
The centre said botulinum injections in Hong Kong can only be performed by registered doctors.
It emphasised members of the public should ensure anyone administering botulinum treatments outside Hong Kong was qualified to use the toxin.
The centre added that people should not use botulinum obtained from suspicious sources and get medical advice if they started to feel unwell.
