'I thought I was having a stroke after I got Botox - my face was drooping'

A woman who got Botox after seeing an advert for a “bargain” procedure on social media thought she was having a stroke after her face began to droop.

Florence Docherty, who got a mini facelift three months ago after seeing an advert on Instagram, began to feel numbness and tingling in her face weeks after the procedure.

When she smiled, her face would droop to one side.

During the procedure, a muscle on her face which should not have been injected with Botox was hit.

Florence has since visited a medical aesthetics clinic in Barrhead, who confirmed the treatment she was promised was not possible.

She told STV News: “I was in the bathroom and I just happened to yawn in front of the mirror and the whole side of my face was drooping.

“The first thing I thought was ‘I think this is the first symptoms of a stroke’ – you know how they always say that your face droops.

“So I phoned the doctor and they asked me to take a picture and send it in and the doctor would phone me back and then I thought about it and I thought ‘I wonder if it has anything to do with the Botox that I got.”

She says when she got the procedure, it wasn’t explained to her what Botox would be used but that she did not ask because it was a “bargain”.

Florence added: “If something’s too good to be true, it definitely is. I would never do it again.

“I did message the person and explain what had happened and she offered me half my money back and I said no I don’t want my money back, I just don’t want you to do it to somebody else.”

Jacqueline Cooney, nurse prescriber and director of the Scottish Medical Aesthetics Safety Group said: “We see weekly cases like this.

“When she came in to speak to me she was really embarrassed, felt quite ashamed of herself because what she described was that she didn’t think the environment was clean.

“She didn’t know where the toxin had come from that she had been injected with and they had clearly hit a muscle that wasn’t supposed to be treated with the Botox.

“It was pulling the corner of her mouth down.

“Had she seen a prescriber, we would have told her that the whole treatment that she was promised was not possible.

“She would have never been treated with it in the first place.”

From this week, non-surgical procedures such as Botox and filler injections will no longer be allowed to be prescribed without a face-to-face consultation with a medical professional.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said that inconsistent regulation of non-surgical cosmetic practice can put people at risk.

Research into the issue found that many people who had undergone non-cosmetic procedures had not fully considered how the medicine was obtained when the person administering it was not a healthcare professional.

Some also did not realise that they were prescribed medicines and perceived the procedures to be “overly accessible”, taking place within unregulated environments without clarity on whether those injecting had sufficient training.

The NMC said their updated position would “protect the public and maintain trust and confidence in the professions”.

Anne Trotter, NMC assistant director of education and standards, said: “Following our research and engagement, we’re confident that our updated position on the remote prescribing of non-surgical cosmetic medicines is in the best interests of public safety and protection.

“Nursing and midwifery prescribers provide competent and effective care to people every day. Face-to-face consultations will further improve their ability to assess people holistically and ensure non-surgical cosmetic medicines are prescribed as safely and appropriately.

“We’ll continue to engage with our stakeholders, professionals, employers and the public as we bring this new requirement into effect.”

The Scottish Government has announced it plans to regulate the sector within the next year with new safety rules, including procedures being delivered in suitable registered premises and supporting the enforcement of appropriate standards.

The Non-surgical Cosmetic Procedures Bill will be introduced within the next year.