BOTOX® Therapy

By far the most common use of BOTOX® therapy presently remains cosmetic reduction of wrinkles. Certain natural factors such as sun, wind, and aging give rise to the skin conditions treatable by BOTOX®. Other lifestyle factors including diet, smoking, air and water-borne toxins, and frequent tanning also contribute to the acceleration of the natural aging process. All of these things cause the skin to lose its natural elasticity and the person to look and therefore feel older than they actually are. There is no reason, however, that one need feel this way. BOTOX® therapy revives and revitalizes the skin's natural youthfulness. It brings back the shine and firmness long though lost. This renewed appearance is beneficial not only aesthetically, not only makes one look younger, but also helps one to feel younger, more confident, and more professional. When so many first impressions are based on appearance, it's only natural to want to look one's best.

Aside from its various cosmetic usages, Botulinum Toxin (BOTOX®) therapy can be used to treat a wide array of neuralgic and gastrointestinal disorders. These disorders primarily involve involuntary muscle spasms in the eye, face, neck, voice box, or smooth muscle of the bladder. In terms of neurology, BOTOX® can be used to treat such ailments and symptoms associated with writer's cramp, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, post-stroke spams and tremors, spinal chord injuries, nerve palsies, and Parkinson's disease. For gastrointestinal sufferers, BOTOX® therapy can reduce the effects of swallowing and ulcer problems. It can even be used to ease speech-related conditions such as stuttering.

Recent developments in BOTOX® research have found that BOTOX® is also effective at reducing excessive underarm perspiration. The FDA has recently approved of this use for BOTOX®. People with a condition called "primary axillary hyperhydorosis" produce up to four or five times more sweat than the average person. This debilitating condition has obvious embarrassing effects on one's life. The good news is that BOTOX® is effective at paralysing the nerves surrounding the sweat glands much in the same way that it temporarily paralyses muscles. In one study, 91 percent of the subjects of the study saw their sweating reduced by one half. As is the case with the wrinkle-reducing use for BOTOX®, in this case the patients, to maintain this reduced perspiration, must continually, every 3-6 months, receive treatment.

In addition to its practical value for treating the above medical conditions, BOTOX® treatment is now more commonly associated with cosmetic applications. The reduction of fine lines and wrinkles through the use of BOTOX® has been receiving much attention and praise in the press and general public. This praise has been due to the lack of complications involved in undergoing BOTOX® treatment, its few and minimally harmful side-effects, and more widespread usage. Numerous testimonials exist supporting BOTOX®'s therapeutic effects. In fact, BOTOX® therapy has recently been suggested for use in the treatment of migraines. This accidental discovery was the result of patients returning to their doctors to tell them that not only had BOTOX® therapy been effective in ridding them of wrinkles, but also had left them migraine-free. This, and other "off-label" applications of BOTOX®, point to its increasing acceptance and usefulness.

BOTOX® therapy acts on the muscles to reduce their ability to contract involuntarily. Through repeated BOTOX® treatment, the muscles in a specific area are eventually and temporarily rendered weakened to the point of disuse. BOTOX® works by acting upon the nerve impulses within the muscles themselves and preventing the transmission of the chemical, which controls muscle contraction known as acetylcholine. Although botulinum toxin is the same toxin that causes botulism, a form of food-poisoning associated with improperly canned foods, in minute dosages, much like many other toxic substances in use, BOTOX® has a wide variety of therapeutic advantages.