Botox Blog Part I: Facts and Myths

How can you maximize the chances that, like Larry and Carla, you'll be one of the 97% who are satisfied with their cosmetic Botox treatment? You can assure yourself of the best results by selecting a board certified, appropriately qualified, experienced doctor to perform your treatment in a medical setting. You can find qualified doctors in your area by visiting http://www.botoxcosmetic.com/, an informational web site set up by Allergan, the manufacturers of Botox. Make sure you provide an accurate medical history and discuss your aims and objectives thoroughly with your doctor before treatment, so that you are both on the same page regarding the desired results...

So how does Botox work? Botox is the brand name for botulinum toxin A (BTX-A), a purified protein that binds to the junctions where nerves meet the muscles that they activate (the neuromuscular junctions). BTX-A has been very well-studied over the past century and there are about 3000 publications to date on it in medical and scientific journals. When Botox is injected just beneath the skin into overactive muscles such as those that cause frown lines, it prevents these overactive muscles from contracting (tightening) too strongly and thus removes the undesired wrinkles.

Botox works in the same way when it is injected into the armpits to block overactive sweat glands that cause primary axillary hyperhidrosis - excessive sweating for no known reason. Botox was approved for this purpose four years ago. The effects of Botox begin to wear off after several months, as your body manufactures new neuromuscular junctions, at which point you need to touch up your Botox...

Forehead Lines

Raising eyebrows before, and 2 weeks after Botox. With the right technique, Botox smoothes out fore head wrinkles without changing the shape of your eyebrows.

Perhaps it's not surprising that any news about Botox spawns an explosion of media reports. After all, Botox is now the best known medication in the world, having surpassed even Viagra in media mentions and public recognition. In my next blog, I will focus on a petition about Botox. As you might expect where anything Botox-related is concerned, it's garnered a lot of media attention in recent weeks. We will step behind the headlines and examine the reality behind the rhetoric.

I'll be updating this blog at regular intervals with news about Botox. I welcome your thoughts and feedback regarding the topics I discuss. The more interactive this blog is, the more informative and interesting it will be!

*Patient's names have been changed to protect their identity.

Read Health and Beauty Writer Sue Chung's Blog Not Botox: Smoothing Away The Wrinkles.

[1] Aesthetic Surgery Education & Research Foundation press release 4/28/06: First-of-its-kind Survey Finds That BOTOX Cosmetic has Gone Mainstream.