Clinically Frightening - Injections at Home? No!!!

   I recently saw an article written in the aesthetic literature about a popular new trend…patients trying to save money on injectables are purchasing products online and injecting themselves!
   PLEASE people…do NOT try this at home! This is a dangerous and frightening trend. As a physician practicing aesthetic medicine, I am shocked that a clinical medical procedure requiring years of training to master has been exploited like this. Even though many consumers want cosmetic treatments to be convenient, cheap and ”drive through”, this is not where to cut corners; it can have permanent damaging results.
    Legitimate FDA approved injectable products are not sold to consumers. They are sold only to licensed physician practices for use in those facilities by the appropriate professional. Every physician decides how and where to practice based on each state’s individual laws but there are expected standards of safety and hygiene required for these procedures to be performed successfully and to avoid complications.
    In my opinion, injectable fillers should not be done anywhere outside the medical clinic. My clinic is prepared for potential complications, has the products and equipment needed for them and emergency medications on hand.
  I have done injectable filler looking into a mirror and it is not as easy as YouTube makes it seem. Videos are not inclusive of the potential problems that can develop. This is part of the ongoing medical training many of us engage in to perform these procedures safely.
   Consider the following pitfalls: are you prepared to reverse the filler if there is a complication? Do you know how to distinguish between a real neuromodulator and a counterfeit one? Do you know what the potential complications are? Do you know what fillers belong at what depths of tissue? Are you prepared for an acute allergic reaction? How about the limited time you may have to correct an ishemic event or even blindness? Any worthwhile injector will be prepared for all of these issues and many more.
    Let us experienced medical professionals do the job we were trained to do. This outrageous trend should not progress if the public is educated and declines to support such a dangerous method of treatment.
 
Valerie Schneider M.D.