Woman's Lips Ballooned To Triple Their Size After Allergic Reaction To Cheap Fillers

A woman's lips ballooned to three times their normal size after she suffered a severe allergic reaction to a $350 discounted lip filler. Basia Query, 24, from Las Vegas, Nevada, went into an anaphylactic shock after getting a procedure that doesn't involve needles.

@basiaquery/ CATERS NEWS

Her beautician fired the filler into her lips using a hyaluron pen which uses highly-pressurized air to get it below the skin. But the 24-year-old suffered an allergic reaction that made her lips swell so much that it became difficult to eat, drink and even speak.

Anaphylactic shocks are when the immune system floods the body with chemicals that can cause a drop in blood pressure, risking airways narrowing and closing. Shocking images show how both her lips swelled to a 'huge' size in what she said was the 'scariest thing ever' and left her fearing they might be 'cut off'.

@basiaquery/ CATERS NEWS

Speaking about the reaction, she said: 'I was terrified and thinking "what if they cut my lips off, or stay this way forever". I didn't know what to do.

Doctors saw her at the hospital within five minutes and gave a shot of adrenaline, which sped up the heart to raise blood pressure and stop the airways tightening.

The swelling in her lips had subsided within 24 hours, but they were left 'super bruised'. Ms Query has now sworn off lip fillers and other cosmetic procedures.

@basiaquery/ CATERS NEWS

 She said her family was left 'terrified' and 'really angry' by the experience.

"My parents were pretty angry with me, and my boyfriend was terrified as he was out of town and didn't know what to do.

Ms Query went to get her lip filler on October 21 at her normal clinic. She had been twice before without issue. Unlike other lip fillers the hyaluron pen does not use a needle. Instead it uses highly pressurized air to force chemicals into the skin. Once inside the hyaluronic acid works by attracting water molecules to the area which bind to it, causing the skin to swell by raising its water content. The effect lasts for around six months.

@basiaquery/ CATERS NEWS

Ms Query said that after her appointment her lips 'almost immediately blew up' and became 'really uncomfortable'. Within about two hours they had reached three times their initial size.

'I had never seen lips this big, and the woman who did my lips said other people had had a reaction but never that big.'

She hurried to the pharmacy — wearing a mask to hide her lips — to get histamines.

"They were huge, they were hurting a lot and were uncomfortable as they had expanded so much. I was told to get kids Benadryl an antihistamine and I took myself to ER."

@basiaquery/ CATERS NEWS

She was seen by doctors within five minutes who gave her an Epi-Pen to calm the reaction and then some IV drips. She was kept on the wards for three hours before being discharged. She said that the reaction was caused by Lidocaine, an anaesthetic used to numb pain which she had not received before.

She shared her experience on TikTok, where it has gone viral and being viewed more than 17million times.

'I was sharing it because friends said it was funny,' she said, 'but I didn't know it was going to go viral and now I am getting trolled.

'A lot of people are saying to me to just love yourself, and some are making fun of it, but I am making fun of myself and I don't even read the comments.

'I will not do it again, I am done with getting filler. I was also going to get botox next month but have cancelled it.'

She is yet to ask for a refund for the procedure.

@basiaquery/ CATERS NEWS

She added: 'I have learnt to always do research into what I am putting into my lips, it's the same thing with botox or getting a boob job, it's different for everyone.'