This article is not written to frighten anyone. Injectable treatments carried out by an experienced practitioner, in appropriate doses, with proper assessment, are generally very safe — and the overwhelming majority of what people notice afterwards is minor, expected and short-lived. But every medical treatment carries risk, and the single most useful thing you can have is a clear sense of what is ordinary and what warrants a phone call.

What is normal

After injectable treatment, it is usual to see some combination of:

  • Redness and small raised bumps at the injection points, settling within hours
  • Swelling, particularly around the lips, which is often most noticeable the following morning
  • Bruising, which can take a week or so to fade
  • Mild tenderness or a feeling of firmness in the treated area
  • Slight asymmetry in the first days while swelling settles unevenly

None of these mean anything has gone wrong. They are the ordinary consequence of putting a needle through skin, and they resolve.

What is worth a phone call

Contact your practitioner within a day or two if you notice:

  • Swelling that is getting worse after the third day rather than better
  • A lump that is not settling after a couple of weeks
  • Increasing redness, heat or tenderness in the area, which could suggest infection
  • Asymmetry that is still obvious once swelling has fully settled
  • Anything that is simply worrying you — a good practitioner would far rather look at something that turns out to be nothing

What needs urgent attention

A small number of signs need to be acted on immediately rather than waiting for an appointment. After dermal filler, contact your practitioner straight away — and seek urgent medical help if you cannot reach them — if you experience:

  • Severe or escalating pain, particularly pain that is out of proportion to the treatment, or that comes on after the anaesthetic has worn off
  • Skin that turns white or blanched, or develops a dusky, mottled or lace-like pattern
  • Any change to your vision — blurring, loss of vision, or pain around the eye
  • Skin breakdown, blistering or ulceration in or near the treated area

These can indicate that a blood vessel has been compromised, which is rare but is a genuine emergency: outcomes depend heavily on how quickly it is recognised and treated. This is precisely why we stress elsewhere that you should know who treated you, be able to contact them, and be confident they are equipped to manage a complication.

Signs of a severe allergic reaction — difficulty breathing, swelling of the tongue or throat, widespread rash — are a medical emergency; call 999.

How to reduce the risk in the first place

Most of what protects you happens before the needle: a practitioner with medical training and detailed anatomical knowledge, a proper assessment of your history and medications, appropriate products from legitimate sources, sensible dosing, and unhurried technique. Our guide to checking your practitioner is qualified covers what to ask.

After treatment, follow the aftercare you are given — it is specific to what you have had done, and it exists for a reason.

Our approach

At ELM Aesthetics, every patient is given clear aftercare guidance and knows how to reach us if something concerns them. Melody Steel is a Nurse Prescriber with over 19 years’ experience and a background in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery unit at St James’s Hospital, and we would always rather hear from you early than have you wait and worry.