France: the drug authority warns of clandestine injections of hyaluronic acid

An injection to reduce wrinkles.

Illustrative image.

© Peter Morgan, Reuters

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

In France, the Authority in charge of health products warns of clandestine injections of hyaluronic acid.

This product, used in particular to fill wrinkles, is sometimes inoculated by people who are not authorized to do so.

A risky practice: since the beginning of the year, the organization has received around forty reports of adverse effects following injections carried out by unauthorized persons.

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Wrinkles that fade, lips that become fuller, parts of the body that become more rounded… Such are the promises of hyaluronic acid.

A compound in the form of a gel, the effect of which subsides over time and which must be injected.

The practice is on the rise, and some are making it an illegal trade.

In France, only

have the right to perform these injections.

Performed by non-doctors, they are “ 

 ”, reminds the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products.

Since the beginning of the year, about forty cases of adverse effects, including serious infections, have been reported to him, after injections carried out by unauthorized persons.

Risk of infection, necrosis

The risks are multiple, alert the body: infection, viral or bacterial contamination if the aseptic conditions are not respected;

but also risk of necrosis if the product is injected into a blood vessel, loss of sight if it is a vessel that irrigates the eye.

“

 ”, underlines the National Medicines Safety Agency.

Complications can also be caused by the questionable quality of the acid used, the Agency recalling that it is essential to be able to ensure the traceability of the product.

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