Kennedy NewsA mum from Greater Manchester was left with enormously swollen ‘sausage lips’ after an allergic reaction to a lip filler treatment.
29-year-old Christina Burton, from Wythenshawe was left looking like ‘a duck gone wrong’ after opting for the £75 at-home procedure. A friend was reportedly so shocked by the sight of her bulbous lips that she was physically sick.
Christina claims her lips began to swell after using numbing cream before the procedure. The beautician assured her that swelling was normal, but then things took a serious turn.
Within mere hours of the treatment, Christina was calling 999. She was then rushed to hospital with a frightening and unsightly allergic reaction.
Kennedy NewsThis reaction could have had very grave consequences, with Christina experiencing terrifying breathing difficulties after her throat started to close up.
Once taken by ambulance to Wythenshawe Hospital, Christina was given adrenaline, oxygen and steroids to fight the reaction. The pain was reportedly so intense that Christina feared her lips would actually explode.
Christina has now sworn off lip filler for good, and wants to ensure others to do their homework before undergoing this treatment.
Christina said:
When they [the emergency services] came to my house I couldn’t breathe, they had to give me a cannula straight away and two lots of adrenaline.
That’s when it scared me. It’s a good job I didn’t go to sleep which is what I was planning to do, I worry I might not have woken up.
The hospital nurses couldn’t believe how badly swollen my lips and the skin between my nose and lips were. The pain felt like they were going to explode, it felt like when something has its own pulse.
I couldn’t open my mouth because my lips were that heavy, it was scary. I’m scared to death of hospitals. Last time I was in that ward my gran passed away and I was in the same room where she was, it was just horrible.
Kennedy NewsThe following evening, Christina was discharged and sent home with a course of steroids, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics.
However, when Christina first showed her family and friends photographs of the nightmarish reaction, they laughed and assumed she’d just used a silly filter.
Once it dawned on them that the pics were real, they were completely gobsmacked. One friend was so alarmed that she actually vomited.
Christina revealed:
Everyone thought it was a Snapchat filter, I even FaceTimed my cousin who laughed at first because I looked like a duck. I couldn’t even talk it was that bad.
Kennedy NewsGoing forward, Christina doesn’t plan to go under the needle again, fearing that she could have lost her life during this ordeal. And she now wants others to think carefully too before considering lip fillers.
Christina said:
I won’t get fillers again. I’ve been tempted to get them done again but I’m just scared. I’ve gone to book it and cancelled it because the thought of going through that again? I just can’t, it’s not worth it.
It could have killed me, who would explain that to my kids? I’m sharing my story in the hope that people are aware that allergic reactions can and do happen to anyone.
I would say to anyone thinking of getting filter to make sure it’s with someone who’s fully qualified and has had proper training, you know what products they’re using and they’re insured.
Hopefully, Christina’s story will push others to do plenty of research when choosing a beautician to go with.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.