Botox, or a compound of Botulinum Toxin, is a highly regulated chemical poison which paralyzes a human being's muscles. As the deadliest poison in the world to humans, if not administered carefully and in a controlled space, it can have catastrophic consequences, as one woman from Leicester, England, found out the hard way.
29-year-old Rachael Knappier saw her lips triple in size after a beautician administered Botox to her lips, promising it would even out a small bump on one side. After feeling a sharp pain, which she was told was "normal," Knappier woke at 2 AM to find her top lip had ballooned so much it was nearly touching her nose.
"I didn't really know what to do. I'd never seen anything quite as big as what my lips were on my own face. I was shocked, I was panicked, I was really scared," she said.
Upon contacting the beautician via FaceTime, she was told she was having an allergic reaction and to get to the hospital immediately. But once she got there, she learned that the injection had been inexpertly administered.
The inexpert injection began a process called "Necrosis" in the upper lip, which was destroying the soft tissue. Had she not acted immediately, it's likely Knappier would have lost her lips.
"My biggest fear was that I was going to look like that for the rest of my life. That my lips were always going to be that size. That they were going to get bigger. That my lip was going to die. All those emotions go through your mind," said Knappier on the ordeal.
When asked how she'd have gone about it differently, Knappier simply said:
"Don't go to a beautician would be my advice. But equally, do your research, check it out for yourself, ask the questions. They will give you the answers if you ask them and if they don't then there's your warning sign. But make sure that they are medically trained to treat you if something goes wrong."
Thankfully, it appears that Ms. Knappier's lips have returned to normal. She's begun a petition to bring regulating cosmetic surgery to Parliament.
H/T: ITV