A woman named Sandra Mara Antônio revealed her body’s unexpected reaction to lip fillers, leaving many viewers stunned.
Sandra, a Brazilian pastry chef, experienced significant swelling after undergoing the cosmetic procedure, which she had previously received without any issues.
A dermatologist has since explained what may have gone wrong with the injections, which are among the most popular cosmetic procedures in the world.
Image credits: sandra_antonyo/Instagram
“I had done it five other times without any problems. It only swelled up like this the last time,” Sandra told local outlet G1.
“I was scared, because I really left home without telling anyone I was going to have the procedure done. It was a procedure I was already used to.
“However, I didn’t expect it to end like this.”
Image credits: sandra_antonyo/Instagram
The pastry chef said she tried to stay calm after learning it was a treatable allergic reaction.
Sandra had the lip fillers injected at 6 p.m, and the swelling only started to go down in the middle of the night after she was given an antihistamine.
“The professional who performed the procedure gave me excellent guidance,” the Palhoça resident said.
Image credits: sandra_antonyo/Instagram
Dr. Geeta Yadav, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of FACET Dermatology, told Bored Panda that about one-fifth of people who get lip fillers experience some degree of swelling after the procedure.
In almost all cases, this reaction is mild and settles on its own within a few days, the doctor said.
“The dramatic, prolonged reactions people worry about are rare, the delayed ones that appear weeks or months later even rarer at around 1%, and permanent damage is very unusual.”
Image credits: sandra_antonyo/Instagram
Dr. Yadav explained that the lips have a rich blood supply, so they are naturally prone to swelling after injections. Hyaluronic acid filler also attracts water, which can make the swelling more noticeable.
“Swelling that is severe and comes on within hours is usually an allergic-type reaction that makes the whole area puff up fast.
“When it shows up weeks or months later, it is more often the immune system reacting to filler that is still in the lip, and something usually sets that off, like a recent cold or flu, a vaccine, or a dental visit.
“Less often the filler blocks the lip’s natural drainage or picks up some bacteria, and the one serious cause I always rule out is a blocked blood vessel, which comes with pain and a color change rather than swelling by itself.”
Image credits: Viacheslav Yakobchuk/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
The dermatologist added that the fact that Sandra had received fillers multiple times before may have played a part in her reaction.
“Filler lasts a lot longer than most people expect, often years, so each new round gets added on top of what is already there. The total in the lip can end up higher than anyone planned, which is enough to back up its natural drainage.”
A history of allergies or an autoimmune condition also makes people more likely to experience swelling after lip injections.
“A lot of this comes down to genetics. People born with a certain immune-gene profile are almost four times as likely to have this kind of delayed reaction, so for some patients it really is bad luck,” Dr. Yadav said.
Image credits: sandra_antonyo/Instagram
According to the doctor, injectable weight-loss medications like Wegovy have also been linked to this type of adverse reaction.
Dr. Yadav stressed that cosmetic treatments are not an area where people should try to save money.
In addition to genetic factors, injections performed by unqualified practitioners or involving questionable products can also increase the risk of complications.
“The amount of filler built up over the years, the product used, and who does the injecting all matter, which is why I keep saying the injector matters more than the price.”
Image credits: millaf (Nemchinova)/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
The doctor emphasized that lip fillers are generally safe and that swelling reactions are usually treatable.
Moreover, unlike many cosmetic procedures, hyaluronic acid filler can be dissolved if something goes wrong.
“That safety net is real, but it only helps you if you’re with someone medically trained to catch a problem and treat it.”
She added, “The best filler work is also the kind no one can even tell is filler, so there’s no prize for doing the most. A little restraint tends to age much better than chasing volume.”
Image credits: Syda Productions/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
Lip augmentations are the most popular non-surgical cosmetic treatment, with more than 2.1 million procedures performed each year, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Fillers typically last 12 to 18 months, though this depends on a patients’ age and metabolism.
In the United States, the FDA has not approved the use of lip fillers in anyone under the age of 21.
Image credits: Dusko/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
As for Sandra, she never expected her severe allergic reaction to go viral, though she admitted that even her family members teased her over her caricature-like appearance.
“They were worried. But when they saw that everything was under control, they laughed at me…. In the end, everything turned out alright, thank God. We laughed a lot.”
Image credits: sandra_antonyo/Instagram
Image credits: sandra_antonyo/Instagram
Despite the health scare, the pastry chef said she is not planning to stop getting lip fillers anytime soon.
“As they know me, they know I’m just waiting for the right amount of time to have it redone.”
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