Practical aftercare and safety advice following treatment with Azzalure®.

Keep this information: Rare but important problems can occur after you have left the clinic. Read the urgent warning section and keep this information available for the next four weeks.

Immediately after treatment

Small raised areas, redness, tenderness, minor bleeding or bruising may occur at the injection sites. Raised areas and redness often settle within minutes or hours. Bruising may take longer to disappear.

You can generally continue normal daily activities.

There is no convincing evidence that you need to:

• Remain upright for several hours.

• Avoid lying down.

• Avoid normal exercise.

• Avoid air travel.

• Deliberately exercise the treated muscles.

While the injection points are fresh:

• Treat the area gently.

• Do not deliberately rub, press or massage sore or bleeding injection sites.

• Normal gentle facial movement and washing are acceptable.

• Wait until any bleeding has stopped and the skin has settled before applying make-up.

• Use clean hands, applicators and products when touching the treated area.

• Avoid facial massage or another facial procedure on the day of treatment. This is mainly to avoid irritating the fresh injection sites; normal touch has not been shown to move the toxin.

Follow any additional instructions given by your clinician for your particular treatment.

What to expect

The treatment does not work immediately.

• Initial changes usually appear within a few days.

• The result continues to develop for approximately two weeks.

• The effect commonly lasts around three to four months but varies between people and treatment areas.

• Lines that are visible when your face is at rest may remain.

• The result can look uneven while different muscles begin to respond.

• Your final result should not normally be judged during the first few days.

A review at around two weeks may be recommended, particularly after your first treatment or treatment of a new area.

Further treatment: Do not arrange additional botulinum toxin treatment elsewhere while the result is developing. Speak to Avsthetics first. Azzalure treatment should not normally be repeated more frequently than every three months.

Common temporary effects

• Redness, swelling, tenderness or bruising.

• Mild discomfort at the injection sites.

• Headache.

• A feeling of tightness or heaviness.

• Temporary alteration in facial movement.

• Mild asymmetry while the treatment settles.

Contact Avsthetics if an effect is significant, worsening, persistent or worrying you.

Effects that can depend on the treatment area

Forehead, frown lines or crow's feet

• Drooping of an eyelid or eyebrow.

• An uneven eyebrow position or facial expression.

• Dry, irritated or watery eyes.

• Difficulty closing an eye fully.

• Blurred or double vision.

Contact Avsthetics promptly if you develop an eye problem. Seek urgent medical advice for eye pain, marked redness, sensitivity to light, visual disturbance or difficulty protecting or closing the eye.

Masseter or lower-face treatment

• Tiredness or weakness while chewing.

• Changes to your smile.

• Difficulty controlling the lips when drinking, eating or speaking.

• Drooling or reduced oral control.

• An uneven lower face.

• A hollow or sunken appearance in the cheek.

• Temporary bulging of part of the masseter muscle.

Contact Avsthetics if these effects interfere with eating, drinking, speaking or your normal activities.

Platysma or neck treatment

• Neck weakness.

• Changes to your smile or lower-face movement.

• Voice change or hoarseness.

• Difficulty swallowing.

• Difficulty speaking or breathing.

New swallowing, speaking or breathing problems require urgent medical assessment.

Seek immediate medical help if you develop:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.

• Difficulty swallowing, choking or repeated coughing when drinking.

• Difficulty speaking or slurred speech.

• Generalised or worsening muscle weakness.

• Swelling of your face, lips, tongue or throat.

• Wheezing, breathing difficulty, collapse or a widespread allergic rash.

Emergency action: Call 999 for severe symptoms. For new but less severe swallowing, speaking or generalised weakness, obtain urgent same-day medical assessment through NHS 111 or an emergency department.

These rare problems can begin from one day to several weeks after treatment. Tell the healthcare professional that you recently received botulinum toxin, including the product name and treatment date.

Contact Avsthetics after arranging urgent medical care, but do not delay emergency treatment while waiting for a response from the clinic.

Driving

Do not drive, cycle or operate machinery if you develop blurred or double vision, dizziness, significant weakness or any symptom that could make this unsafe.

Contact Avsthetics promptly if:

• You are concerned about your recovery.

• Symptoms are worsening rather than settling.

• You develop marked asymmetry or unexpected weakness.

• An eye does not close properly.

• Chewing, eating, drinking or speaking is affected.

• Your voice changes.

• You think you may be developing an infection.

• You receive medical treatment for a possible complication.

When contacting us, include your treatment date, the areas treated, when the symptoms began and whether they are stable, improving or worsening.