Mother-of-two's face erupted in giant boils after £60 anti-wrinkle jabs and left her needing an HIV test after she claimed beautician had used a 'dirty needle'
A mother feared she'd contracted HIV after large boils erupted on her face after she paid for £60 anti-wrinkle jabs from a beautician who she claims used a 'dirty needle'.
Kat Ramsey, from Kent, has been getting 'confidence-boosting' anti-wrinkle jabs for the past four years to make her look younger and relieve tension headaches.
But around a week after an at-home appointment in March, the 41-year-old said she was unable to get out of bed and rang 111 who suspected she had contracted sepsis.
Large boils erupted around her eyes, forehead and frown line the following day, which she claims are 'the exact places' the £60 anti-wrinkle injections had been administered.
Ms Ramsey said the boils lowered her confidence so much she refused to leave home because people would stare at her.
Kat Ramsey has been getting 'confidence-boosting' anti-wrinkle jabs for the past four years to make her look younger and relieve tension headaches
Ms Ramsey, 41, says her face erupted in boils after her last at-home appointment in March
After a four-week course of antibiotics and a dermatologist consultation, the mother-of-two said she was told they were a result of 'cross-contamination'.
Ms Ramsey urgently booked an HIV test that came back negative, but one stubborn boil still remains and she fears the scars from the others will never fade.
Now she is keen to encourage people to thoroughly research their practitioners before going under the needle.
Ms Ramsey, from Margate, Kent, said: 'A week or so after the injections, I got really ill.
'I couldn't walk or get out of bed so I contacted 111 and managed to get antibiotics that day.
'The day after big boils on my face started appearing, they thought it could be sepsis.
'They were getting bigger and bigger to the point where I wouldn't leave the house. People were staring at me in the street and in the shops so I didn't want to leave.
'I realised the boils were in the exact same place where I'd got the injections.
'I didn't even see her open a fresh needle so it could've been a used one.
'I went for a HIV screening just in case but it was luckily negative because I was scared at one point it could be that.
'I went to a dermatologist and they said it was a case of cross contamination and that she had put needles used for different people in the same bottle.
'I've still got one boil now which still hasn't popped. I'm still walking around with plasters on my face three months later.
'I will probably never be able to have injections in those places again now because of the scar tissue.
'It will leave me scarred for life.'
Ms Ramsey said doctors feared she may have sepsis and that she was terrified she could even have HIV
Ms Ramsey is still wearing plasters on her face three months after receiving the injections
The mother-of-two said she is worried the scarring may never fade from the boils
Ms Ramsey is urging anyone considering cosmetic treatment to thoroughly research beforehand and not rely on recommendations
Ms Ramsey says she trusted the practitioner as a friend recommended her, but she's now urging beauty lovers to do their own research before booking facial treatment appointments.
She said: 'I've been getting anti-wrinkle injections for about four years and never had any problems, it's always been successful.
'They helped with my tension headaches and it smooths out my wrinkles and frown line, so it's partly vanity and partly for health benefits. They gave me more confidence.
'I feel lucky it wasn't worse but it has knocked my confidence a lot. People were staring at me because I had four massive boils on my face.
'I would tell other people to research the practitioner and to check the product because people are cutting corners.
'I will definitely only go to a doctor, dentist or nurse from now on because having gone through this you just don't know what's in the products and it's so unregulated.'