“Misfires, burned people and necroses… our alerts have no effect because there is no death. This was the concern expressed to us last November by François Turmel, president of the National Union of Aesthetic Physicians, no longer knowing who to turn to to denounce a situation that he considers serious and completely concealed by the public authorities. Almost ten months later, clandestine injections of hyaluronic acid are still a subject of great concern among professionals in the sector and some doctors. To the point that this Monday, the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) warns of their dangerousness.
“These practices carried out by non-doctors are dangerous and prohibited”, warns in a press release the agency. Injections of hyaluronic acid, an act of aesthetic medicine which can degenerate into serious side effects, must absolutely be carried out by doctors, warns the ANSM, worrying about a growing number of problems following unauthorized procedures .
Promotions on Instagram and TikTok
Hyaluronic acid is a gel that is used in particular by aesthetic doctors to reduce wrinkles. But these injections are also practiced illegally by unauthorized people, a phenomenon that has recently gained momentum, especially with the promotion made by certain influencers on social networks.
The activity has been taken over secretly by beauty professionals. “These are beauticians, former hairdressers or eye prosthetists,” Dr. Turmel explained to us in November. The National Syndicate of Reconstructive and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (SNCPRE) also reported to us that they were tracking down these women with the aim of prosecuting them. “We call them injectors. They usually don’t have a degree. They publish ads on Instagram, with the traditional before/after photos. More worryingly, they now appear on TikTok, which poses a problem because this social network is aimed at teenage girls. The products are purchased via the Internet on Amazon sites or the Chinese giant AliExpress. Complications can also indeed be caused by the dubious quality of the acid used, the drug agency recalling on Monday that it is essential to be able to ensure the traceability of the product.
In terms of figures, the ANSM has reported, since the beginning of the year, about forty reports of side effects linked to the injection of hyaluronic acid by unauthorized persons. “Doctors know how to manage immediate adverse effects such as an allergy to the injected product – anaphylactic shock -, necrosis or ischemia – clogged blood vessel -, by appropriate medical treatment”, recalls the ANSM.
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