Due to botched procedures in Ireland, experts say dermal fillers should be classified as drugs

In the past, only the boldest or most affluent Irish people could afford to get Botox or dermal fillers, making these procedures a rarity.

Both are now equally common and despite their reputations as anti-aging treatments, their increasingly youthful clientele only serves to highlight their growing popularity.

Medical experts and reputable clinics are worried about the proliferation of unregulated beauty parlors and untrustworthy black market operators who are willing to inject patients’ faces despite their lack of training.

There are numerous anecdotal reports of people using vouchers to purchase Botox and dermal fillers and even more disturbing reports of people learning to inject themselves with the help of YouTube videos. As it stands, the law does not regulate dermal fillers, but two prominent doctors in Dublin have called for stricter oversight of the industry.

Dermal Fillers

The injection site may become bruised, bleeding may occur, an infection may develop, lumps may form, and the face may become asymmetrical. These are some of the more common adverse reactions to dermal fillers.

Rare but possible complications include penetrating blood vessels instead of skin during injection. Blocking blood flow in such a situation can result in serious conditions like skin loss or wounds, and if it occurs in an artery connected to the eye, it can result in blindness. 

Prominent medical professionals have taken to the airwaves to advocate for the legal classification of dermal fillers as drugs, similar to Botox, so that only medical professionals, such as dentists and doctors, are legally allowed to administer injections of the Hyaluronic Acid-based fillers used to augment the lips, cheeks, and other facial features.

Legislation

In a recent interview with the Irish Daily Mail, a cosmetic surgeon stated that dermal fillers “most certainly cause blindness.”

According to him, there are as many as 500 such cases in the world, and he is only dealt with a handful of them. He has witnessed terrible situations and continues to do so. He thinks laws could stand to be tweaked for the better. He has also created a technique to aid in the recovery from dermal filler blindness.

A clinic director claimed that he had seen several patients who had experienced “near misses” after getting dermal fillers. He went on to say, “Anyone can buy a dermal filler online, and anyone, with or without training, can inject the dermal filler into the face.” Younger people are the target market for this unregulated industry, and they see it more as a form of “wellness” than as anti-aging. Patient ages for dermal fillers have dropped from the mid-50s to the late 20s, and we have seen teens as young as 16 come in with their parents, who are understandably worried about the procedure.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has no legal standing to restrict who can administer dermal fillers until the government formally recognizes them as a drug.

Professionals in the medical and aesthetic fields can benefit from Dentox, a training course that instructs them how to inject dermal filler safely, effectively, and with the least waste. You can get Dentox education by getting in touch with Dr. Howard Katz.

You could also sign up for a live, online, or on-demand course or go to a seminar at one of many locations across the United States. To learn more about our in-person and online training options, please visit https://dentox.com/live-courses/ and https://dentox.com/all-courses/dermal-fillers/.

Medical practitioners who worry they lack the expertise or knowledge to administer dermal filler injections to improve patients’ appearances often find that, with adequate instruction and experience, the procedure becomes second nature.