LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Oil injection for sports purposes: a deadly danger to health

Inyección de aceite con fines deportivos: un peligro mortal para la salud

Cynthia Reyes Flores ^1*, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3817-8632

¹ Guantanamo University of Medical Sciences. Guantanamo College of Medical Sciences. Guantánamo, Cuba.

^* Corresponding author: reyescynthia492@gmail.com

Received: 23/03/2024

Accepted: 05/05/2024

How to cite this article: Reyes Flores C. Oil injection for sports purposes: a deadly danger to health. Med. Es. [Internet]. 2024 [cited access date]; 4(3):e258. Available in:  https://revmedest.sld.cu/index.php/medest/article/view/258       

Dear Director:

Over the years, there has been a significant increase in the use of modeling substances for the purpose of achieving a better physical appearance, under the justification that they are simple and inexpensive practices. However, their complications and consequences continue to be little known by practitioners. ⁽¹⁾

Today's young people and adolescents, who are regular visitors to gyms in order to achieve muscular and slender bodies, begin to take the behavior of injecting oils into their arms and legs with the idea of ​​accelerating their future bodies, without measuring the magnitude of their actions.

They go to the emergency rooms of hospitals or polyclinics when they notice changes such as redness in the wound, increase in volume, sometimes odor, discharge of pus or liquid, fever, pain, hardening, as well as an increase in local temperature that can evolve into tissue necrosis, in order to perform surgical techniques that could be avoided if this practice is not started.

The side effects are many: the risk of blood clots, cysts and paralysis of muscle fibers; Cardiac arrest in cases where, by mistake, the substance enters directly into the bloodstream and abscesses as a result of applying an oil that is not sterile or using an inadequate technique with respect to asepsis. These oils, due to their liquid state, migrate and produce lesions not only in the place where they were injected, but also at a distance, which causes greater damage. ⁽²⁾

These depend on many factors: route of administration, amount injected, hygienic and environmental conditions, personal pathological history, age, chemical properties of the oil, mixture with other substances, exposure time and arrival on time to a health center, influencing the stay and evolution. ⁽²⁾

Those who commit these acts do not think about the importance of proper disinfection of syringe needles. They use the ones that are lent to them, without knowing the origin, and this is the way in which they acquire viruses such as hepatitis C and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). In addition, they are a gateway for microorganisms and that is why antimicrobial therapy is essential, with broad-spectrum drugs for Gram-positive and negative germs.

This activity not only causes personal damage, but also medical expenses for treatment and rapid recovery. Therefore, health personnel must be trained in this current issue and carry out health promotion activities with a call to attention to the vulnerable population in this situation.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

1. Palomino Cabrera A, Cruz González M, Rodríguez Santallana I. Autoinjerto de piel con aplicación de lisado de plaquetas homólogo en la alogenosis iatrogénica. Informe de un caso. 16 de Abril [Internet]. 2022 [cited 02/08/2024]; 61(284):e1461. Available in: http://www.rev16deabril.sld.cu/index.php/16_04/article/view/1461

2. Martínez Estupiñán L, Martínez Aparicio L, Martínez Aparicio L, Morales Piñeiro S, Mata Cuevas R. Inyección de aceite en miembros superiores con fines estéticos. Acta Médica del Centro [Internet]. 2019 [cited 02/08/2024]; 13(4):[aprox. 10 p.]. Available in: https://revactamedicacentro.sld.cu/index.php/amc/article/view/1138

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

CRF: Conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, visualization, writing - original draft, writing - review and editing.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

SOURCES OF FINANCING

The author did not receive funding for the development of this article.