Sharon Habib, a medical surgical nurse in Dearborn, Michigan, calls herself an Arab American. Her parents came from Pakistan when she was a child and encouraged her to work in medicine. She is cautioning other Arab American women about the growing black market in illegal Botox injections: “Because of Middle Eastern culture, the way a woman looks is extremely important to her standing in the community.They see Botox as an instant cure for blemishes and wrinkles. I have seen too many Arab American women who have been disfigured by Botox injections given by unlicensed and untrained hucksters. In all these cases, the cost of reversing the disfigurement has been much more than if they had simply gone to a licensed specialist for treatment in the first place.”
She says that unless done under strict medical supervision, Botox injections can lead to HIV or hepatitis infections as well.
