Botox Injections

All You Need to Know About Botox

Botox injections, are one of the top best and most popular group of medication that makes use of different types of botulism toxin to achieve what many people deem beautiful. For many celebrities and rich persons, this is the go to surgical procedure to beat the natural curse spelt on everyone – aging. The causative agent of botulism, commonly known as food poisoning is the same one that produces the toxin used in Botox injections. Botox injections are primarily use to get reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles and furrows. It is however also used to treat other repetitive problems that include neck spasms, excessive sweating, crossed eyes, over active bladder and even prevent chronic migraines in some persons.

The most common misconception and myth associated with this procedure is that Botox injections paralyze the facial muscles. Although in extreme amounts paralysis may occur, many medical experts inject the right amounts of the botulinum toxin sufficient to only cause limited activity. The injections do not stop the patient from expressing themselves but rather help them to stop making some facial expressions and frowns that have grown into a habit. The crown lines that develop at the corners of the eye can also be gotten rid of in this way.

Although when performed by an experienced surgeon the process is relatively safe, it is not free from risks and side effects. The side effect that are most common include bruising and swelling on ad around the injection site, flu-like symptoms and headaches. In the event that the medication is not injected in the right manner, the medication may spread to other surrounding tissues and cause problems such as cockeyed eyebrows, eyelid droop, crooked smile and dry eye.

And though this is a very unlike event, there are chances (though slim) that the botulinum toxin may spread to other body parts and cause signs similar to those of food poisoning. These signs include muscle weakness spread all over the body, visual problems, difficulty breathing, loss of control over the bladder and problems in swallowing and speaking. If you notice any of these sign, be sure to contact your doctor as soon as possible before the situation escalates and gets out of control. If you are expectant or breast feeding, it is highly advisable that you do not use Botox injections as these may have adverse effects on the fetus or the new born.

In preparation of the procedure, you should have your doctor know if you have had any injections in the past four months or if you have been on any blood thinning medication. This helps to reduce the risk that is involved in the whole procedure. If you take allergy medications, sleeping aids or muscle relaxants, you should share the information with your doctor.

Normally after the procedure, you will have to wait for several days for the treatment to take effect. And depending on the problem that is being treated, the effects may last for close to 12 months, (give or take a few months). You will need regular injections to act as follow ups and maintain the effect of the Botox.

As the experience of the doctor and your location varies, so does the cost of Botox injections. However, assuming all other factors are constant, you may have to part with approximately $ 600 for Botox injections targeting the forehead lines, crow’s feet and frown lines.