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11 Side Effects Of Skin Whitening Injections You Need to Know

Dr. Zafar Ahmed

3 min read

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Skin whitening injections can make your skin more radiant, fair, and glowing, but are they devoid of side effects? Not really. So if you’re considering going for such a treatment, like any other sensible person, you would want to be fully aware of the outcomes. So keep reading as we reveal all the harmful outcomes that may arise with the use of skin whitening injections.

Cosmetic treatments can give delightful results but only after a painful process. All of such treatments have drawbacks, loopholes, and side effects. Skin lightening or skin whitening injections such as Glutathione are especially common in Asian countries.

But what harm could skin whitening injections cause? According to research on skin lightening, a greater percentage of people using skin whitening injections end up having some severe diseases, or complications as well as other adverse effects.

Can we avoid them? Well, not all but most. Here are a few possible side effects that may occur after getting a skin whitening injection:

  • Aggravate symptoms of asthma
  • Weight gain
  • Losing pigmentation of hair
  • Nausea
  • Eye infections and disorders
  • Allergic reactions on skin
  • Partial loss of sensation
  • Pain in breasts
  • Toxic epidermal necrosis
  • Steven Johnson’s syndrome
  • Diarrhea and stomach problem

1. Aggravate symptoms of asthma

Since you’re using a medication for purposes other than treating some disease. This will obviously affect your normal body function one way or another. Some skin whitening serums injected in your first layer of skin (epidermal layer) affect your lungs directly. So, prior to the initiation of your treatment, you need to let your consultant know if you’re suffering from any lung disease, allergy, or breathing problems.

2. Weight gain

Adding puffiness to your skin will never make you look fat but affecting your hormonal balances and your fat-sensitive areas, these meds may lead to a slight weight gain. Is it that much of a problem? Don’t worry and no need to be scared. Everybody reacts to a change differently. Some people do show this symptom but that’s only 2%. So, you might have a better chance at this. Moreover, the puffiness can be gone easily if you keep yourself happy with your treatment and focus on the main goal.

3. Losing pigmentation of hair

Being a whitening treatment, it affects your melanin firsthand. With melanin, other pigmenting products of your body are prone to this effect as well. Therefore, if you experience some white hair it’s just normal to have it after a whitening treatment. Its worst form can be hair loss but that too is negligible after a while.

4. Nausea

I won’t call this a side effect since it’s only a natural reaction of your body to something you are injecting into a healthy body. The human body cancels outs anything extra one takes. The feeling of throwing up is a temporary feeling you’ll get immediately after any dose is taken.

5. Eye infections and disorders

If the medication enters your bloodstream can affect your eyes easily. It may reduce your eyesight and in some cases can cause irritation and redness.

6. Allergic reaction to skin

The chemicals being injected into your skin make it more susceptible to any environmental microorganism that can cause any allergy. It makes your internal hormones imbalanced that can cause an allergic reaction to your skin consisting of redness, scales, or small bumps in a few cases. No need to be scared, it’s not persistent. It’ll go in a flash if you take good care of your skin.

7. Partial loss of sensation

Partial loss refers to numbness. If you’re thinking it’s just as the dental numbness then you’re absolutely right. Since you’re needling your skin it will shut down your sensations for a while. This shut down leads to the cut-off of any sensory information being transferred. It means that you won’t be able to feel any sensation such as touch, pain, or cold for a while.

8. Pain in breasts

It won’t be severe but can be irritating. While you’re still in the process you may feel pinching of pain in your breasts and nipples. This like all the other side effects is not persistent s no need to get worked upon it.

9. Toxic epidermal necrosis

This looks like a heavy term. Allow me to break this down for you. Basically, necrosis means accidental death of your cells. So, your skin cells when being modified might die in some conditions. It can cause a slight scaly peel off but still, it’s not that harmful. Plus it may be good for some skin types that are suffering from acne.

10. Steven Johnson’s syndrome

It is another possible skin disease you can get from getting skin whitening injections. Why so many? A valid question. Well, the basic logic for all these skin diseases is the same that is, you’re getting a medication that may react to a few things depending on each person.

In this particular syndrome, you can get rashes all over your face. These rashes may turn into small itchy bumps that can be treated by a dermatologist. It’s not life-threatening or even chronic, it’s just a state you might experience.

11. Diarrhea and stomach problems

Apart from being a skin treatment, you are taking drugs, and drugs entering your bloodstream can easily affect you digestive tract and stomach. Diarrhea may occur or maybe a mild stomach pain. This side effect can get worse so, see your doctor as soon as the problem starts.

After reading all these side effects you may be having second thoughts but just for your satisfaction. Skin whitening injections are used for their side effect. Astonished? Don’t be, it’s just that the drugs being used were used for treating cancer in past. Later it was noticed that these medications caused skin whitening as a side effect. This is why saying that these injections are used for their side effects won’t be wrong.

Hence, no need to worry about these side effects because each body reacts differently to every drug. Still, taking care of yourself should be the first priority. Knowing all the possible results is beneficial for your current and your future experiences.

Before opting for skin whitening injections, make sure to consult an expert dermatologist or cosmetologist. You can book appointments with the best dermatologist in Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad through oladoc.com and consult them in-person or online.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are intended to raise awareness about common health issues and should not be viewed as sound medical advice for your specific condition. You should always consult with a licensed medical practitioner prior to following any suggestions outlined in this article or adopting any treatment protocol based on the contents of this article.

Dr. Zafar Ahmed
Dr. Zafar Ahmed - Author Dr. Zafar Ahmed is one of the best Dermatologists in Karachi. Not only does He have a number of certifications including MBBS, CRCP (Dow), D.Derm, and Diploma in Dermato-Surgery but He also has 24 years of experience in his field. He is also a well-trained Cosmetologist.
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