New Botox regulations not enough, warns Hove woman left chronically ill by decade of treatments
Genee Schock, who now runs campaign group ToxSafety, says it must be made mandatory to tell clients where to turn if something goes wrong
A Hove Botox safety campaigner - left with permanent nerve damage by a decade of anti-wrinkle injections - says new regulations need to include mandatory safety advice.
It's as new regulations come in, which mean anti-wrinkle injections must be prescribed by a medical professional in a face-to-face appointment.
Genee Schock was left with permanent nerve damage after a decade of Botox treatments, despite having gone to a trusted, medical professional, having contracted Botulism when the toxin spread across her body.
She told Greatest Hits Radio:
"I very ill in the beginning and my vision was particularly bad.
"I couldn't really see properly. I couldn't read for six months. My vision was so poor.
"I had a lot of of muscle wastage and serious muscle issues and and nerve damage, which unfortunately is permanent".
Signposting needed
Now running awareness group ToxSafety, she said reporting side effects can help improve the future safety of Botox - especially when the way we use it is changing:
"People could have injections in their face, maybe in their neck, trapezius muscles, ankles, all over the place and that would be a cumulative effect of a lot of toxin, which could cause problems.
"Nowadays some people, even for cosmetic purposes, are getting large doses and that can make it really dangerous.
"A recent study was done at Imperial College London... and they found out that 92% of people were not told to report the side effects or complications to the MHRA yellow card scheme, which is of course the regulatory body.
"If they don't know that people are getting side effects, they are not going to get the red flag and maybe request retesting of this product."
"I feel that what could be done for patient safety is that it becomes compulsory that every injector tells their client what where to go and what to do if things go wrong".