| name: | Botox |
| also known as: | Botox Injections; Botulinum Injections; Oculinum; Dysport; Neurobloc; Oculinum; Dysport |
| also see: | Wrinkles; Botulism; Facial Resurfacing; Age Spot; Wrinkle Fillers; Facelift; Eyelid Lift; Aging Skin; Facial Spasm |
| description: | There are two types of wrinkles, fine wrinkles and deep wrinkles. Fine wrinkles occur when the collagen and elastin within the skin begins to deteriorate, causing the skin to form a wavy pattern. Think of skin cells as bricks and collagen and elastin as cement; as cement gets older and begins to crumble, the bricks will shift in relationship to each other. The deeper wrinkles occur when the skin begins to detach from its underlying attachments of fat and muscle leading to sagging, combined with the constant pulling action of the facial muscles. Deep wrinkles include smile lines, frown lines, squint lines around the eyes, and smoker's lines around the mouth. Botox® is a synthesized, purified form of the botulism toxin, and is used in medicine to treat certain conditions, such as spastic vocal cords, facial ticks and facial spasm, and the wrinkles of aging. Although no longer common in the USA, botulism was/is a serious, non-contagious infection where the toxin produced by a specific bacteria (Clostridium botulinum) severely affects the brain and nervous system, seen in incompletely cooked contaminated foods, risk increased in infants and with home-canned foods. Botox® is NOT the bacteria and a person injected with botox CANNOT get botulism. When Botox® is injected into a muscle or a muscle group, the muscle become reversibly paralyzed. Since Botox® is a foreign protein, the person's immune system recognizes the protein as foreign, and, over time, will breakdown and remove the protein from the body. This process is variable but includes anywhere from a few months to six months or so. Botox® is a common anti-aging treatment that temporarily blocks the nerve impulses that create the muscle contractions responsible for creating expression lines on the face. Treatment (Botox®) can relax the muscles that cause expression lines, thereby preventing wrinkles from forming and improving the appearance of existing wrinkles caused by facial expressions. Botox Cosmetic® was approved in 2002 by the U.S. FDA for treatment of the glabella region. Although an off-label use, it is the standard of care to treat other wrinkle areas, such as the forehead and crow’s feet. There are few if any side effects and these might include mild swelling or bruising that can occur from any type of injection, as well as mild headache after treatment and possible mild flu-like symptoms after your injections. Results develop within 5 to 10 days after treatment. Treatment is temporary. Within 4 to 6 months you will see movement return to the treated area. Other uses of botox injections include facial spasm, achalasia, spastic dysphonia, twitches. |
| signs & symptoms: | Includes fine wrinkles or fine lines, deep wrinkles or grooves, as well as sagging. |
| diagnosis: | Based on signs, symptoms, history and exam. |
| treatment: | Botox works by being injected into a muscle or muscle group and that muscle becomes paralyzed. With people who suffer from spastic dysphonia, one of the four vocal cord muscles is injected, reducing or eliminating the vocal cord spasm for a variable period of time. People with facial spasm might have those spasm muscles injected periodically, as well as achalasia. Although not approved by the FDA (nor disapproved either) an off-label use for Botox is to reduce wrinkles about the face. The most common wrinkles treated in this manner include forehead, frown lines between the eyes, smile lines and squint lines about the eyes, and smoker's lines about the mouth. |
skynetMD suggests the following:
| if: | If the person would like a plastic surgery Internet Resource |
| go to: | Go to American Society of Plastic Surgery www.plasticsurgery.org |
Last updated 8/3/2009