While staying young and beautiful is everyone’s dream, especially the ladies, reality sinks in as we look into the mirror and find those uncanny lines on our forehead and crow’s feet around our eyes. However in this day of age where Aesthetic Medicine is becoming a norm, many turn to Botox to erase those lines. Yet, how well do you know about Botox? Dr. Wong Chee Hin debunked myths that revolve around the topic of Botox, have a read!
Uses of Botox
Botox is a drug made from a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum called botulinumtoxin. In cosmetic beauty, Botox contains botulinum toxin type A (the active ingredient), human albumin (a protein found in human blood plasma) and sodium chloride. It is predominantly used as a treatment to reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles and fine lines in older adults. Beyond aesthetic applications, Botox has been found useful in treating a variety of medical conditions including eye squints, migraines, excess sweating and leaky bladders. Botulinum toxin is currently used to treat over 20 different medical conditions, with more applications under investigation. It has proven to be a successful and valuable therapeutic protein when dosage, frequency of treatment and variety of treated clinical conditions are considered
MYTH 1: Botox is toxic.
FACT: While many are of the impression that Botox is harmful to the human body, it is actually a neurotoxin derived from Clostridium botulinum, an organism found in the natural environment where it is largely inactive and non-toxic.
MYTH 2: Botox will give me a ‘frozen’ or expressionless look.
FACT: ‘Frozen’ or expressionless look usually is a result of overdosage of botox unit injection. An experienced injector would know how many Botox units to inject so that you will look natural and not ‘frozen’. Botox reduces muscle activity but does not radically change it.
MYTH 3: Botox can erase all my wrinkles.
FACT: There are two types of wrinkles: Dynamic wrinkles are wrinkles developed from facial muscular movement and static wrinkles that are a result of aging and sun exposure. Botox treats dynamic wrinkles by relaxing the muscle thus improving the appearance of these wrinkles. Static wrinkles on the other hand do not respond to Botox. Treatment of static wrinkle may require a combination of other aesthetic treatment, such as dermal fillers, threading, laser therapy or chemical peeling.
MYTH 4: If you stop getting Botox, it will make you look older.
FACT: Botox will prevent your wrinkles from worsening when you keep up with your treatments. If you decide to stop having Botox treatments, you will slowly lose the muscle relaxing effect of Botox and will resume the normal development of wrinkles with facial movement. Botox will not worsen wrinkles formation but instead wrinkles will slowly return to how they were initially, prior to treatment.
MYTH 5: Botox injections are painful.
FACT: Botox treatments are often referred to as the “lunchtime procedure” because it’s quick and there is little to no downtime. Pains from the injections are completely manageable as the needles are very fine, which means that you would only feel a very slight sting during the injection. But with prior application of numbing anesthetic cream, the procedure is almost painless.
MYTH 6: Botox is addictive.
FACT: No addictive properties are reported to be in a Botox solution, thus there is no potential to make an individual physically addicted to the drug. People become dependent on cosmetic results of a Botox injection because it makes them look younger and fresher.
MYTH 7: Botox will travel throughout my body, infecting everything
FACT: Botox is a purified protein complex derived from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum toxin. Botox itself will not cause any infection in the body. It will not travel throughout the body, as it clots locally at the site of injection.
MYTH 8: Botox is permanent
FACT: Botox isn’t permanent. Its results typically lasts between 3-6 months.
MYTH 9: Botox is only used for aesthetic reasons
FACT: Botox has received approval to treat a range of medical conditions that includes strabismus, eyelid muscle spasms, chronic migraine, cervical dystonia, overactive bladder, excessive underarm sweating and limb spasticity.
MYTH 10: Botox has immediate effects
FACT: Botox works by temporarily blocking nerve signals that cause muscle contractions. Generally, it starts working within 1-3 days post injection, and it takes 7-12 days to see maximum results.
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