I nearly died after being injected with fake Botox… doctors sent me home after mistaking key side effect

The Sun

19 hours ago

GAZING up at all the medics around her bed, Kaylie Marie Bailey realised with horror that they were fighting to save her life.
Around an hour earlier she had been helped into bed at Sunderland Royal Hospital after collapsing in a toilet.
6
6
Unknown to Kaylie she had then stopped breathing and staff had rushed to her aid.
Earlier that night, the mum-of-three had lost consciousness at home after suffering a terrifying reaction to what she incorrectly believed to be an authentic Botox treatment that she had treated herself to a couple of weeks earlier.
She says of waking up in hospital: 'I must have blacked out, because when I came round there were about 20 people around me and I could hear them yelling instructions to each other. There was also a tube down my throat.'
Kaylie Marie was later told a resuscitator had been used to restart her breathing.
The 36-year-old was one of 28 people in County Durham injected with a batch of fake Botox that appears to have been contaminated with the lethal botulism bacterium.
The product used was Toxpia, an unlicensed South Korean anti-wrinkle solution illegal to sell or supply in the UK.
It was responsible for Britain's biggest botulism outbreak in 100 years and Kaylie Marie's case was among the most serious.
Her life was saved by medics who resuscitated her using a manual respirator to push oxygen into her lungs.
'Law change'
Public health officials are investigating the source of the outbreak but so far Durham police have not launched an inquiry.
At her home in Peterlee, a month after being injected, Kaylie Marie wears an eye patch to correct double vision, and supports her weak right arm, which she can barely lift, on her knee.
'It's disgraceful that anyone can become a Botox specialist and start injecting people without any screening and with no qualifications,' she says tearfully.
'The law needs to change to regulate the aesthetics industry, because there are people out there who are playing with people's lives.'
Kaylie Marie's world was turned upside down when, on May 30, she contacted a local beautician on Facebook Messenger, asking for a Botox appointment.
It was a decision that very nearly robbed her one-month-old son Albie and her two other children, Olly, 12, and Leo, eight, of their mum, and it has left Kaylie Marie's future health under a cloud of uncertainty.
That day, she went for her Botox appointment at a hair salon in Blackhall Rocks, County Durham. She had had Botox four times before, but not for about 18 months.
The salon owner was renting out a room at the back to a beautician who was visiting the area for a two-day stint. Kaylie Marie says: 'After having my little boy I wanted to give myself a makeover and feel nice again. I have always hated the frown line that creeps back on my forehead.
'I was slightly late for my appointment and felt as though the beautician was in a rush.
'I asked for three spots to be injected — the sides of my eyes, my forehead and between my eyes.
'But as soon as she injected me, it stung and my eyes started watering. The beautician joked about it and said, 'I seem to be making everyone's eyes water today'.
'I couldn't shake it off'
'As I was about to pay my usual £150, she said 'that will be £75'. I was surprised it was so cheap and now I'm wondering whether she was charging less because she had paid less for the chemical.'
'I thought nothing of the stinging and was back in my dad's car within ten minutes.'
Over the weekend, Kaylie Marie began to feel dizzy and ill and her left eye wasn't opening fully.
She told herself it just needed to settle, but on the Monday, while driving Olly to a school appointment, she realised something was wrong.
6
'There was a bus in front of me which suddenly split into two, driving side by side,' she says.
'I blinked to correct my vision, but nothing happened. I was stuck with terrible double vision and couldn't shake it off.'
With three young children to look after, she felt she had no choice but to carry on, despite her partner Craig Perry, 38, expressing concern.
It was her sister Danielle, 39, who told her to seek medical help when she saw her eye drooping.
It was Friday, June 6 and after securing a GP appointment, she was taken to A&E. Kaylie Marie says: 'My vision was so bad it looked like everyone in the waiting room was sitting with their twin.
'I was given morphine and a CT scan, but was sent home when a consultant diagnosed ptosis, which just means a drooping eyelid.
I started to lose consciousness, to think about the children. I'm dying, I thought.
'Instinctively I knew they had got it wrong, but what could I do?'
She soldiered on for another week, unaware the botulism bacterium were damaging her central nervous system.
It was a fortnight after the fake Botox injections that a correct diagnosis was finally made and she was sent to hospital by her GP.
Kaylie Marie says: 'In the week since I'd last been in the hospital, news of the botulism outbreak had started to spread. The hospital had treated other women. I was told there was an anti-toxin, but it was in such short supply and so expensive it was only being given to the most urgent cases, and I didn't qualify.'
As Friday, June 13 was drawing to a close, Kaylie Marie's breathing was becoming shallower and shallower, until it stopped completely.
She says: 'I'd rushed to the loo where I was sick and collapsed.
What to look out for...
GOVERNMENT-approved organisation Save Face, which campaigns for safer cosmetic procedures, has this advice:
Always visit a trained healthcare practitioner such as a doctor, nurse, dentist or a prescribing pharmacist.
Avoid cheap treatments and time-limited offers – it may indicate that corners are being cut.
Know the full name, credentials and contact details of the person who is treating you.
Do not visit a practitioner who only operates on social media and who will not disclose this information.
Arrange a consultation and don't be afraid to ask questions. Discuss your concerns and desired outcomes.
Ask what products they use and what aftercare will be available.
Ask to see the unopened box of product/medicine that is to be used and make a note of the brand and the LOT number (take a photo) for future reference.
Don't be afraid to walk away if you do not feel comfortable.
'I was helped back into bed, but I could feel myself getting weaker and breathing was becoming a struggle. I started to lose consciousness and began to think about Craig and the children. 'I'm dying,' I thought.'
Kaylie Marie was later moved to intensive care, where she was eventually given the anti-toxin. She remained in hospital for three more days before being discharged.
'Make people think'
Amanda Healy, County Durham Director of Public Health, said: 'We are working closely with colleagues at United Kingdom Health Security Agency to investigate the cause of these adverse reactions.
'I would encourage anyone who has recently undertaken an aesthetic procedure and is experiencing any of the symptoms listed to contact NHS 111 or, if it feels life-threatening, go to A&E.'
A spokesperson for Sunderland Royal Hospital said: 'When the patient was discharged following her first attendance, she was advised to visit her GP if her condition worsened. It was explained her symptoms were likely to be related to botox, which can resolve without specific treatment.
'As soon as there were regional communications about this issue, actions were taken quickly and staff were made aware. Advice was sought when she was admitted later in June.'
Kaylie Marie says: 'I took legal advice as soon as I was well enough.
'It was soon found that the beautician doesn't have insurance as she claimed so I'm unlikely to get meaningful compensation.
'She apologised and said there was a problem with the product on a nationwide level.'
Kaylie Marie is yet to discover what lasting damage the botulism may have done.
She says: 'I'm stuck in the house with double vision, weakness in my arms and doctors are unable to say when or if I'll fully recover.
'These injections have become part of everyday life, but I hope that this will make people think very carefully about who they go to — or whether to go at all.'
6
6
A spokesperson for Sunderland Royal Hospital said: "When the patient was discharged following her first attendance, she was advised to visit her GP if her condition worsened, or did not improve after a few weeks, for a referral to an eye specialist.
"It was explained her symptoms were likely to be related to botox, which can resolve without requiring specific treatment over time.
"Advice was sought when she was admitted later in June and treated in line with guidance.
"Botulinum toxicity is a very rare condition. It is not seen by the majority of doctors during their careers.
"As soon as there were regional communications about this issue, actions were taken quickly and staff were made aware in case patients presented.