Health Canada seizes product that Vancouver nail bar owner says is Botox

VANCOUVER – Health Canada says it has seized a health product from a nail bar in downtown Vancouver, which claimed to be offering Botox, because it did not contain any labels.

The owner of Art Nails Ltd. was administering the product to customers, the agency said.

Health Canada said potential risks of injecting an unauthorized version of a health product such as Botox include mild paralysis in the area where it’s administered or even death.

The agency said Health Canada must authorize any product that is injected and that it must contain approved labels.

It is advising anyone who received Botox injections from the business to see a doctor if they have any concerns.

The agency has released photos of five see-through vials that were seized, including one containing a white “cake-like” substance, another with a clear liquid and one that has no cap and a sticky residue where a label was apparently removed.

Dr. Heidi Oetter, registrar of the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons, said only doctors and dentists can inject Botox.

“But a doctor may provide an order for a nurse to do the injection under their direction,” she said.

Botox is used as an anti-wrinkle treatment but is also prescribed to paralyze certain muscles if, for example, a patient suffers from spasms after a stroke.