Sharing a syringe of dermal filler with your friend is on the up by “bad practitioners”.
Over the years I have heard shocking stories from people, telling me what other aesthetic practitioners get up to. I am hearing more and more stories about bad practitioners frequenting beauty salons and peoples homes, who are offering to “share a syringe of filler with your friend” for a bargain basement price.
Absolutely dreadful practice! I don't know any professional nurse or doctor who would ever consider sharing a syringe between patients but - it is going on and the number of so called practitioners with lax hygiene standards is increasing. It is unbelievable to think that any medical professional would put their patients at risk of contacting blood borne infections through the cross contamination of sharing syringes between 2 people, just to get people's business and save a little money!
We are also hearing about so called “aesthetic practitioners” selling an opened, partially used syringes of filler for a lower price than a syringe in a sterile sealed boxes. I frequently hear that some practitioners are giving people a choice of “half used syringes” with varying quantities for various prices to suit your budget. This applies to Botox too.
For many years now I have heard of a practitioner going around beauty salons who opens a “Tupperware box” loaded with syringes of Botox and dermal filler and allows the clients to choose which one they want and prices are given according to how much drug is in the syringe. All I can say is, that unscrupulous “practitioner” needs locking up !!!!!
Another concern is when a practitioner puts the needle that has been used to administer your Botox back in the bottle of Botox then using the same bottle on another patient- horrifying!
These wholly unacceptable practices needs to be exposed and to my mind they are nothing but criminal activity.
The aesthetics industry is poorly regulated but as a nurse of 33 years and an aesthetic practitioner of 19 years, I believe in the importance of self regulating and working to good honest practice and exceptional standards at all times. All nurses, doctors dentists and including those who are aesthetic practitioners, are bound to a duty of care but shockingly many “sole practitioners” appear to be working to their own standards and poor standards at that.
I can't emphasise enough of the importance of keeping your patients safe and adhering stringently to infection control policies and protocols and not compromising your patients safety in exchange for money.
Having Botox or dermal filler is a procedure where a medically trained professional is administering a drug or an implant into your face and this should be taken very seriously indeed. You are having a “medical procedure” not a waxing treatment. This blaze, nip in and out in your lunchtime attitude is putting injectable aesthetic treatments on a par with having a facial.
At North Wales Aesthetics Clinic, we NEVER compromise on patients safety. Therefore choosing and checking out the qualifications, the premises and the level of expertise of your practitioner is vital. You must NEVER choose by price. It's not just a case of “buy cheap buy twice” as much as the need to go to a suitable medical environment where facilities and practices are clean, hygienic and up to date.
I have been asked by people, hopefully out of ignorance, if I would allow them to share a syringe with their friend. My answer to them has been the explanation of the dangers of doing such practice. But this request should never become the norm but sadly, I think it is now common practice.
At my clinic, I always show the syringes of dermal filler to my patients in the sealed box, displaying the UK pharmacy label and the name, brand and quantity of the syringe is clearly visible for them to see. The box is always opened in front of the patient and the syringes are placed on a sterile field on a medically cleaned trolley which has been prepared in front of the patient. Our patients are always aware of how much filler is being used throughout the procedure and the empty syringe is shown to the patient before it is disposed of in a designated sharps bin, needle and cannula too. In the very rare event of there being any dermal filler being left over, and the patient does not want it, the filler is destroyed in front of the patient.
The practice of “sharing” leaves you at risk of contaminating “Blood Borne Viruses” such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C”. Even changing the needle on the syringe between patients is not enough to protect your patients from viral contamination. Negative pressure in a syringe can cause specks of blood to travel up through the needle and into the syringe hub. Expelling some of the drug from the syringe still retains some in the hub dead space, so there is no safe way whatever you do. So a new clean needle is not going to stop that contaminated blood from entering the next patient, and even a minute speck of blood is all it takes to become infected.
Hepatitis C can survive for up to 4 days outside of the body and hepatitis B can survive for up to 7 days. Which brings me to the risk of contamination through using the same swab and syringe receptical between patients. These viruses can be passed on by putting a bloody swab into the receptical dish that rests a syringe and needle. If the receptical is not washed with suitable hospital grade sanitiser in between patients then they remain infected- another major concern that is basic infection control practice, that dirty unscrupulous practitioners appear to have forgotten about.
At North Wales Aesthetics Clinic all staff are highly trained in infection control and double check cleaning procedures. Before and after every injectable treatment all surfaces, sink unit, kidney dishes, the bed, the procedure trolley and any visibly soiled surfaces are wiped with medical grade disinfectant wipes containing such products that kill 99.9999% of germs and bacteria on contact or within 5 minutes, including clostridium difficile, pseudamonus, influenza, TB, Fungus, norovirus, staphlyococcus, candida, MRSA, Hepatitis B and C, HIV and rotavirus. North Wales Aesthetics simply DO NOT take any chances.
You should not only run a mile from a practitioner who is willing to compromise your health and safety by needle or syringe sharing, but also run from those with filthy dirty premises, no hospital grade cleaning products, who fail to clean equipment and surroundings in front of you, who do not have a spotless sink unit in the room, who do not wear gloves, who do not use a sterile procedure pack to perform your treatment and definitely run if you DO NOT see the dermal filler coming out of a sealed box.
The bottom line is, there are no short cuts at all. Due to these practices, the public are perceiving these shoddy procedures as normal and I am shocked when people visit my clinic after having treatments elsewhere, and they are gob smacked at how clean we are in comparison.
One last fact for you to consider- for every square inch of the human body, there are approximately 32 million bacteria. This does not include the bacteria in the environment, especially in the home. Getting even one harmful bacteria into the dermis when injecting dermal filler can be devastating.
I understand that non surgical procedures are expensive but cost must not be the main consideration when it comes to your health and well-being. You must always remember that price usually reflects the quantity and quality of the product used and the experience of the practitioner. In view of our prices at North Wales Aesthetics Clinic, we are priced under the UK average mainly because we are in North Wales not London. Whilst price is a major consideration and may affect your choice, ensure its not the only factor in your decision. The premises must factor highly in deciding where to go for treatments. A suitable clinical environment and highly trained staff who adhere to strict infection control principals and NICE guidelines is a must.
So to conclude, at my clinic we NEVER see infections and have NEVER put our patients at risk of contaminating blood borne infections. So, if you see “2 for the price of 1” or “cheap half used syringes” or offers where the price is “too good to be true” or if the treatment is being performed in someone's home or an unclean room ask yourself - “IS IT WORTH THE RISK?”
Don't you think, being in safe hands goes without saying?
Blog written by Karen Johnson.