What Is Botox?

Botox is a prescription cosmetic product that is used to eliminate lines and wrinkles on the faces that are caused by our daily expressions and muscle movements. Scientifically it is called botulinum toxin type A, and it is a type of botulinum toxins, which are a group of chemicals that are capable of paralyzing muscles.

Physician Injecting Botox in Woman's Wrinkles

Botulinum toxins are made by the bacterium that is the same one that is responsible for food poisoning which is also known as botulism. There are several Botulinum toxins, of which only type A and type B have been approved for use in many parts of the developed world. Botox is the first and best of the products from these toxins that is being used or cosmetic purposes.

Originally Botox was approved for treatment of a condition in which spasms of the muscles of the eyelids, or cross eyes caused by one or more of the eye muscles being pulled too tight. It is now also approved for another condition where the muscles of the neck have tightened causing severe pain and pulling the head into an abdominal position and another condition that causes extreme sweating of under the arms. Do not be put off by the connection between Botox and botulism poisoning. Botox has been in use or many years with a very good safety record when it is administered by a qualified cosmetic surgeon.

What Is Botox Cosmetic Used For?

Botox as a cosmetic is used to treat and improve the fine lines and false wrinkles that are caused by our daily expressions such as smiling, squinting and frowning. A tiny injection of Botox on the facial muscles causes the lines and the wrinkles to stop because the muscle becomes paralyzed and therefore the wrinkles cannot appear.

Botox is approved for use cosmetically in the area between the eyebrows and the forehead. However once it has been approved physicians will always experiment here and there and that is why the medication is now used for all other wrinkles on your face without any serious problem whatsoever. It has been used tit teat wrinkles widely and very effectively since 2002.

The treatment with Botox may not completely eliminate wrinkles that are long standing although it might actually lessen their appearance. It will keep you from furrowing your brow or squinting. But when your wrinkles are superficial and caused by anything else other than aging, it can actually smooth them completely.

How Does Botox Work?

Under normal circumstances when your body wants to move a muscle, you brain will send electrical messages telling them to contract. This electrical message gets transmitted to the muscle by a substance called acetylcholine. Now what Botox does is to block the release of acetylcholine so that the particular muscle does not receive the message to contract. Essentially, this means the muscle has been stopped from doing any movement and is therefore paralyzed. And it is going to stay like that until the effect of Botox wears out.

Most people do not realize that they go though everyday with furrowed brow or vertical lines between their eyebrows. The effect is that they end up looking tired, angry or even worried. Botox can help people like that smooth out their foreheads by not only eliminating the lines and wrinkles but also making them looked more relaxed and happy.  Botox may also help you forget about the need for a facial plastic surgery for a number of years and it can also be used in conjunction with several fillers.

What to Expect at Your Botox Appointment

Doctor Injecting Woman

The areas that are most commonly treated with Botox are the forehead, the area between your eyebrows at the top of your nose, and the outer eye area. The doctor will use an extremely fine needle for injecting Botox into the muscle or group of muscles causing the wrinkle or the furrow. It is usual to get several injections into the muscle and the whole procedure will take roughly 30 minutes and it’s over.

There is very little pain that is associated with the injection because of the small size of the needle that is used. There will be some slight discomfort from the injection that may actually feel like a bit of stinging or feeling of great pressure.

Weeks after Your Botox Treatment

After your therapy is over it will take anywhere between a few hours and a few days for you to see any changes due to the effect of Botox. In the first hour or day the doctor will instruct you to move the treated muscles as little as possible. Maximum benefits of the treatments are however reached in about one to two weeks after the treatment has taken place.  Your skin will look smoother and a great improvement in the appearance of fine lines and superficial wrinkles in the areas where you were injected. You will know when the effects have worn off because you will begin to notice a gradual fading and that will signal it is time for you to fix your next appointment for another round of treatment.

Botox Side Effects: Risks, Complications, and Contraindications

Botox treatment is basically very safe but there some few risks and potential complications. The major risk is when there is too much of the toxin used or the injection being placed at the wrong place. Also the wrong muscle could get paralyzed or too many muscles get paralyzed my mistake. What might happen is that you may end up with a drooping eyelid or eyebrow or possibly double vision, an inability to move one or both eyes properly or the inability to move other muscles on your face. However local injections with antibiotics have been shown to reduce paralysis in some patients but in any event the side effects will wear of as Botox wears off in a few weeks.