Many women desire for a bigger and/or fuller breasts size at some point in their life. While breast and butt implants usually cost between $3,500 and $5000, several women fall victim to risky black market and unconventional procedures in order to attain their desired look.
In a recent incident, Sonia Perez Llanzon, 39, an Argentine athlete and mother, paid her life for her beauty enhancement when she injected herself Vaseline. The do-it-yourself (DIY) boob job cost her life.
Llanzon was immediately admitted to the Lucio Molas hospital, after she found difficulty in breathing, reported La Capital.
The athlete suffered several injuries on her breasts due to Vaseline injections. Llanzon, initially did not claim to have any knowledge of the circumstances but later confessed that she injected petroleum jelly in the hope of making her breasts bigger.
For several weeks she carried out the dangerous procedure, which resulted in dangerous blood clot in her lungs. She died of pulmonary embolism - a sudden obstacle in the lungs. The clotting occurred as Vaseline entered the woman's blood vessels that affected her lungs, the doctors said.
"In all my medical career, I've never seen a case like this. The human body has antibodies to remove bacteria and viruses, but it hasn't got any mechanisms against this type of product," said Julio Pla Cardenas, chief of surgery at Lucio Molas.
There have been cases where men injected themselves with Vaseline in unconventional ways in order to augment their penis size, Cardena added.
Petroleum jelly, the main ingredient in Vaseline, is safe when used to cure flaky and dehydrated skin and diaper rashes. However, there are "different grades of purity" of this petroleum jelly, explained Dr Alan Dattner, founder of HolisticDermatology.com to The Huffington Post.
Users do not generally know the non-toxic level of their petroleum jelly-based products. Moreover, if Vaseline enters the lungs, it can cause lung inflammation or lipid pneumonia.
