Colorado med spa used unapproved botulinum toxin, CDC report says
Three women in Colorado had numbness, weakness and blurred vision after shots at a medical spa, Healio and Medscape reported. The spa used a botulinum toxin product that is not approved in the United States. All three women got better, and none had to stay in a hospital.
Three women had nerve-related symptoms after a Colorado medical spa injected them with a botulinum toxin product that is not approved in the United States, Healio and Medscape reported.
The cases were described in a report in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, published Oct. 8. The product is approved in other countries but not by the FDA, the outlets reported. The spa's provider said the product was bought from an online supplier, Healio reported.
The women reported numbness and tingling, muscle weakness, trouble speaking, blurred vision or a stiff neck on the day of treatment, both outlets reported. All three got the same batch of the product in the brow, between the eyebrows or the upper lip. None had to be hospitalized.
The case came to light in January, when a Colorado poison center alerted health officials about one woman's symptoms, Healio reported. State officials then sent a text survey to 52 other spa patients. Of the 27 who answered, two more reported similar symptoms.
Inspectors also found other problems at the spa, the outlets reported. They included using the wrong kind of mixing fluid, using single-dose vials for more than one patient, poor temperature checks and keeping mixed products past their use-by dates.
The spa was ordered to stop using the unapproved product, and a formal complaint was filed against the provider's license, Medscape reported. The provider said it had stopped using the product.
The report did not name the spa or the product, Medscape reported. Medscape noted that the FDA sent warnings in 2025 to 18 websites selling unapproved botulinum toxin products.
"Botulinum neurotoxin purchased from an unauthorized supplier might not be FDA approved and might be counterfeit, contaminated, improperly stored or otherwise unsafe," the report's authors wrote, both outlets reported.
Dermatologist Anthony Rossi, writing for Healio, said patients should ask which product is being used and confirm it is FDA-approved. "Never bargain-shop for something being injected into your body," he wrote.
What we know: Three women had short-lived symptoms after shots of an unapproved product at one Colorado spa.
What we don't: What exactly caused the symptoms, and which spa and product were involved.
Where outlets agree Healio and Medscape both report that all three women got the same batch of the unapproved product and that none was hospitalized.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.