"BOTOX COSMETIC"
Botox is created from a toxin that can cause food poisoning known as botulism. However the effects of Botox are used in the cosmetic industry, Botox shots are used to paralyze or weaken the face muscles. Botox facial treatment was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in late 2002. FDA gave Botox green light for treating the moderate and severe facial wrinkles. In order to benefit from the Botox effects you will need a doctor prescription.

Botox is a trademark of Allergan, Inc.
Botox is the most studied drug of its class named botulinum toxins. There are more types of Botulinum toxins (A, B, C, D, E, F, G) but the one used in dermatology, named Botox-Cosmetic (USA) and Vistabel® (Europe) is the Type A. Botox can be prepared in laboratories under strict conditions only, and must be used in small doses. It was approved in US and other 70 countries. This treatment is not a new one, in fact it has been used for more than eleven years.

BOTOX IS NOT LIKE ORAL TREATMENTS

• Oral treatments must be taken by mouth and spread by the blood system in the entire body
  
  
• Botox injections have a specific target being administrated straight into the desired place. After treatments Botox mustn’t be present in the blood at measurable levels if right dosages are used. Although Botox is intended to remain in the treated muscle only, sometimes it may affect the nearby muscles too.

WHAT IS BOTOX USED FOR?

• Over 1 million patients from the entire world, suffering from overactive muscles, were helped by Botox.
• The FDA approved BOTOX on December 27, 2000 as a treatment for cervical dystonia. It is meant to reduce the severity of abnormal head position and neck pain related to this problem.
• BOTOX can also be used as a remedy for blepharospasm associated with dystonia, as well as for VII nerve disorders or benign essential blepharospasm in people 12 years old and above.
• Botox treats facial wrinkles, in particular wrinkles of expression, like those between eyebrows, lines of forehead and crow’s feet around the eyes. Result: the skin remains slackened and smooth, the face is rejuvenated. Little by little Botox replaced the frontal face lift, because it avoids the risk of a surgical operation under anesthesia whose results are far from being always satisfactory.

RESULTS OF BOTOX INJECTIONS

Usually Botox becomes effective 24 after administration. Its results can be seen after 7 or 14 days, and its effectiveness can be established by comparing photos taken before and after treatment. The changes made by Botox don’t last for long, therefore the treatment must be repeated after 4-6 months. In some cases Botox has no effect even after second injection.

RISKS & POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS

The injection, which takes only a few minutes, consists of several punctures on the face. There’s where all the know-how of the doctor intervenes. If the doctor doesn’t inject the right dose of Botox into the right place may cause small accidents. For example, if Botox® is injected too close to upper eyelids, the patient will spend a few weeks with an upper eyelid droop. Another risk: Strabismus, a weakening of the eye muscles. Fortunately these accidents are reversible. The embarrassment caused by them blurs in a few weeks.

According to clinical studies, even if the product is injected by experienced doctors,
24 % of the patients suffer from unpleasant effects such as headaches, flu-like illness, pain and drooping lid or eyebrow area.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

Avoid Botox if you are allergic to one of its components. For example, all patients allergic to eggs should not use this treatment because it is prepared with an albumin (egg) base. Patients with neurological conditions or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding are not treated.

COSTS OF BOTOX COSMETIC TREATMENT

The costs of Botox treatment is determined by these factors: