Latest news with #beautician
The Independent
5 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
‘Doctors thought I had a stroke after Botox injection'
Nicola Fairley is one of 38 cases of botulism so far linked to unlicensed anti-wrinkle injections in recent outbreak of disease many doctors have never treated. Fairley was left unable to swallow and doctors thought she had suffered a stroke after contracting the life-threatening illness from a potentially illegal product. The botox was administered by her usual beautician after she won a Facebook competition. Botulism symptoms include slurred speech, breathing problems and can be deadly, it's so rare many doctors never see it in their entire careers.
Sky News
5 days ago
- Health
- Sky News
'It's the Wild West': Dozens of women develop botulism linked to anti-wrinkle injections
A woman who thought she was being injected with Botox was left unable to swallow and doctors thought she had suffered a stroke - after she contracted a life-threatening illness from a potentially illegal product. Nicola Fairley is one of dozens of people who have developed botulism linked to unlicenced anti-wrinkle injections. She had the procedure done with her regular beautician after winning a Facebook competition for three areas of "Botox". "Within two or three hours my forehead and the sides of my eyes had started to freeze," Nicola says. "At first I thought 'amazing', that's what I wanted - then it just carried on." Nicola was eventually sent to A&E in Durham, where she met several other patients who all had similar symptoms. Doctors were stumped. "They thought I'd had a stroke," she says. "We all had problems with our eyes, some of us with our breathing. I couldn't swallow - they put me on nil by mouth because they were worried I would choke in the waiting room." It turns out all of the patients had recently had anti-wrinkle injections containing botulinum toxin. Health officials believe they were imported, illegal products. Botulism - the disease they caused - is so rare many doctors never see it in their entire careers. It can cause symptoms including slurred speech and breathing problems, and can be deadly. The disease is so unusual, and so many cases were coming in, that doctors exhausted their stocks of anti-toxin and had to ask hospitals as far away as London to get more. The UK Health Security Agency has so far confirmed 38 cases of botulism linked to cosmetic toxin injections, but Sky News has been told of several more. The outbreak began in the North East but cases have now been seen in the East of England and East Midlands as well. There are only a handful of legal botulinum toxin products in the UK - of which Botox is one. But cosmetic treatments are largely unregulated, with anyone allowed to inject products like fillers and toxins without any medical training. Cheap, illegal products imported from overseas are easily available. 'It's the Wild West' Dr Steven Land runs Novellus Aesthetics clinic in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked for decades as an emergency medicine doctor before moving into aesthetics. He says he has been warning health officials of an outbreak for years. "It's the Wild West," Dr Land told Sky News. "Because anyone can do this, there is a lack of knowledge around what is legal, what's not legal, what is okay to be injected. "These illegal toxins could have 50 units, 5,000 units or rat poison - there could be anything in there." Dr Land showed us messages that he says he gets on a weekly basis, from sellers trying to push him cheap, unlicenced products. They advertise "limited time offers" and cheap bundles on toxins imported from overseas. He calls them "drug dealers". "They are preying on the lack of knowledge among non-medical practitioners," he says. Consultations on how to regulate the aesthetics industry have been ongoing for years - but so far, no changes have been introduced. The UK government now says it does plan to regulate certain procedures, but it's not said how it will do this, or when. "What will it take?" Nicola says. "One of the women we were with did almost die - she had to be resuscitated." Nicola's beautician has stopped responding to her messages, so she says she still has no idea what the product was "or how much of it is in me".
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Skin cancer diagnosis after Guernsey beautician spotted change
A beautician's work referring clients to get checked for skin cancer has been praised by Merrett was having an appointment when Racheal Day, owner of The Day Salon, suggested she get her skin checked. Ms Merrett said she "didn't for one for a moment think it would be skin cancer".Ms Day, who has undergone training in spotting skin abnormalities, said it was "really important for people to get early diagnosis if they have got something wrong". Ms Day said everyone in her salon had done further advanced training with Skcin, a UK charity which helps people who work with skin recognise any abnormalities on their clients. "We see people regularly so we do notice any changes in their skin and we've had a few clients... that we've referred and there has been something wrong with them," she said."It's an honour to be able to help them." After visiting a GP, Ms Merrett had a biopsy and the cancer was cut out. "I respect Racheal, she saw something and next time I went to the GP... I remembered the conversation."I just thought it was was an injection site and it was a reaction from my skin to an injection over a period of time." Terry Naftel was having a waxing treatment when Ms Day recognised an irregular mole on his got the all-clear but he said her work could be life-saving for others."It's an additional service that could be saving lives and it's free really because all you're doing is paying for the treatment," he story is part of BBC Guernsey's Sun Safety Campaign.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
I've been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease - here are all the warning signs I missed
A woman with an autoimmune disease has revealed all the symptoms she missed in a bid to warn others. Nicky, from Plymouth, said she has just been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis by doctors. This type of arthritis is a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints and usually affects the hands, feet and wrists. She said she had many symptoms that she thought were normal but were actually a result of her medical condition. But she got a shock a couple of months ago when she could not get out of bed one day and said that her 'life has changed'. Nicky spoke about the first sign she ignored and said: 'For the last couple of years I'd wake up in pain and my whole body would hurt, but it would only last for 30 seconds maybe, maximum a minute. 'And then you forget... I thought that was normal.' The beautician also said she felt very achy while sitting down after working for the day, but she just put this down to having a busy job. She added: 'But then it started when I wasn't working and I haven't done anything and when I say aching, I mean [it felt] like I had ran a marathon.' Nicky said that she has also not been able to control her body heat for 'many years', adding that she could not sit in the sun for long periods of time. She said: 'It could be winter but I would be boiling hot and sweating. I can't sit in the sun [as] I'd get rashes and I feel like I'm cooking from the inside out. I thought that was normal.' Nicky said that she has also experienced joint pain in her hands over the years, but she thought that this was because she is a hairdresser. 'I used to put that down to my job and thought that was normal,' she added. She's also had problems sleeping and said that she has not been able to go for a kip for many years. She said: 'I just couldn't function, fatigue, tired constantly, again, I thought that was normal. I work a busy, busy job, I run a salon and I've got my own business so I just put it down to that.' Nicky urged anyone who is experiencing these symptoms to get themselves checked out, as it could be an underlying health issue. The clip racked up more than 560,000 views on TikTok and Nicky got thousands of comments from people sharing their thoughts The clip racked up more than 560,000 views on TikTok and Nicky got thousands of comments from people sharing their thoughts. One wrote: 'I have psoriatic arthritis, I'm on so much medication... it's so hard,' to which Nicky responded: 'I feel you.' Another penned: 'I was diagnosed with RA as well but two years later they changed the diagnosis to Psoriatic arthritis. I only have psoriasis on my nails so it confused them. The pain was as you say, debilitating.' A third said: 'I was first told I had fibymalgia then menopause and then rheumatoid arthritis, I think it's a bit of them all to be honest.' A fourth commented: 'I have the same symptoms as you. But I've been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I've got so bad I had to give up my job.'
The Sun
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I got my eyebrows laminated & take my new look as a beauty warning not to do it – a Sharpie could have done the same job
SHE wanted a new look to turn her "non existent" eyebrows into some to be proud of. But Gee was left wanting to scrub them off completely after her first-ever laminating experience went wrong. 4 She detailed the process in a video on her TikTok page, as she admitted: "I've just got no eyebrows, naturally anyway. "If you've seen any of my other videos you'll see I've just got no eyebrows and if I do have any it's because I've drawn them on. "So, you know what, I thought I'd treat myself, get my eyebrows laminated. "I thought they might look a bit nice. Everybody else's has looked nice..." However, she then admitted she "f**king hates them" - despite the fact they cost her £40. "I couldn't say that to the girl, she showed me them and she was dead proud of herself and I was like, 'Oh my god, I love them!'" she continued. "But I was just dying inside and I don't know if this is what they're meant to look like. "Like, do people get the, people who get their brows laminated, is this, are they meant to look like that?" And while the beautician had told her not to wash her brows for 24 hours, Gee said she wanted to "go home and scrub them off". "Please tell me, is this normal?" she questioned. "Is this me now? Have I got to go around looking like this? "I feel like I've just got a black sharpie and scribbled my eyebrows on. "I feel like I'm in a nightmare. I can't go out the house looking like this. I don't even want to go home. What the f**k?" "Please tell me it's not going to stay like this forever and that when I wash my face in 24 hours they're gonna look amazing?" she concluded. "Please, please!" The comments section was almost immediately filled with people admitting that they'd been left in hysterics by Gee's beauty mishap. What is the 'eyebrow blindness' trend? YOU may have seen the term "eyebrow blindness The trending term is being used by people referring to their former looks, which they thought of as on-trend at the time but can see were a total fail now looking back. While big bushy brows are trendy at the moment, thin, sculpted ones were more popular back in the 90s. With many people regretting the fact they'd over-plucked their brows and left them so thin. The 'blindness' term has also been used to refer to other parts of the appearance that people regret - such as massive fake lashes, migrated filler or patchy, overloaded fake tan. "I laughed so hard I farted," one laughed. "OMG I spat out my tea!" another added. "I was the exact same when I had mine done," a third wrote. "Never ever again. "The worst thing was I washed them straight away in a panic and they went curly!" "No this is not good! What's she done to you? I'd be furious!" someone else said. 4
