When Bea Amma visited a med spa in 2021, she was hoping for treatments that would boost her energy and help burn off some body fat. She never imagined she would end up with a drug-resistant infection that would leave her scarred and still recovering more than two years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amma, then 24, had just moved to California with dreams of becoming a fitness and lifestyle influencer. She was keen to get an injection of vitamins B12 and C, as well as a compound called deoxycholic acid that was supposed to melt fat away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey told me that the more areas of my body they inject, the better,\u201d Amma said. She said she was injected more than 100 times in her arms, stomach and lower back with the combination of vitamins and fat-melting ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within 24 hours, Amma felt dizzy and feverish. Each injection site, she said, was painful and oozed with pus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnything touching my skin was excruciating,\u201d she said. \u201cMy entire body felt like it was on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of med spas and hydration clinics has ballooned in recent years, turning into a $15 billion<\/a> wellness industry offering a variety of services, from IV therapy to skin care and cosmetic procedures. Federal health officials and representatives of med spa owners warn consumers that, along with the boom, some facilities are using unlicensed workers to inject unapproved products in unsanitary conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s difficult to know how many people have been injured at med spas, because the infections often are not reported to local or state health departments. But some infectious disease and emergency room doctors say they are seeing more adverse reactions associated with the facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Testing later found that Amma had been infected with an aggressive bacterium called Mycobacterium abscessus, which is found in water, soil and dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bacterium is also often connected to cosmetic procedures that involve injections if the equipment is not sterilized properly, said Dr. Claire Brown, an infectious disease expert at UCLA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The owner of the spa where Amma received her injections did not respond to a request for comment. The Los Angeles County Public Health Department investigated her case, but its results were \u201cinconclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>, people \u201cwho receive injections without appropriate skin disinfection may be at risk for infection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brown, who has been involved in Amma\u2019s treatment, said her infection was so severe that she had to be hospitalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe treatments are difficult, because there are not a lot of great choices to treat this class of bacteria,\u201d Brown said. \u201cShe was getting worse and ultimately was on five antibiotics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So-called wellness treatments like vitamin shots and hydrating intravenous infusion meant to cure hangovers promise a lot of medical benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not to say, though, that any of those are actually medically proven to be true,\u201d said Dr. Richina Bicette-McCain, an emergency medicine physician at Baylor College of Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Food and Drug Administration<\/a> warned last month about reports that consumers developed severe infections and skin deformities after they got unauthorized shots touted to dissolve fat at med spas across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those shots, which are unapproved, are sold online under the names Aqualyx, Lipodissolve, Lipo Lab and Kabelline, the FDA said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome consumers received the injections at clinics or med spas by personnel who might not have been properly licensed to give the injections,\u201d the FDA said in its warning<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only approved product meant to break down fat under the skin is a drug called Kybella<\/a>, which is typically injected underneath the chin to get rid of a double chin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bicette-McCain has treated a growing number of people with bad reactions after visits to med spas or hydration clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of the most common complications that we see is infection, usually at the site of the IV placement,\u201d she said. She has also cared for patients who have been burned by laser treatments or who need help following botched Botox injections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf the toxin is not injected properly, patients may come in with drooping eyebrows or eyelids that won\u2019t open,\u201d Bicette-McCain said. \u201cThere are a whole host of complications that we see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The FDA had warned that some med spas and IV clinics, including mobile IV infusion services, were mixing products inappropriately without proper sterilization. \u201cContaminated, or otherwise poor quality, compounded drug products can lead to serious patient illnesses, including death,\u201d it said in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are no federal health regulations or standard operating procedures for med spas, said Alex Thiersch, the chief executive of the American Med Spa Association. The facilities fall under the authority of each state, and all require doctors or other medical professionals on staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rule is seldom enforced, Thiersch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are states who simply don\u2019t have the resources or the time to be looking at the medical spas and ensuring that they\u2019re doing things correctly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The American Med Spa Association aims to fill the gap by providing legal and business resources to about 4,000 med spas across the U.S., working with them to ensure they are operating according to state laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the vast majority are compliant and \u201cvery safe,\u201d he said, the small number of spas that allow unauthorized procedures and employ unlicensed workers keeps him \u201cup at night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is a bit of an underbelly to this industry, where you\u2019ve got folks who should not be doing the treatment that they\u2019re doing,\u201d Thiersch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On July 10, Jenifer Cleveland, 47, received an IV infusion at The Luxe Medspa by Amber Johnson in Wortham, Texas. It\u2019s unclear what therapy she was there for that day; her family believes she had sought vitamin injections. <\/strong>Around 11:30 a.m., Cleveland said that she was having trouble breathing during the treatment and that her chest felt tight, according to attorneys for The Luxe Medspa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Documents from the Texas Medical Board show that Cleveland passed out and was taken to a hospital, where she arrived at 12:17 p.m. Despite efforts to revive her with CPR, Cleveland was dead less than 10 minutes later. Doctors said she had suffered a cardiac arrest, which occurs when an irregular heart rhythm causes the heart to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n