What is Botox?

Botox is the trade name for Botulinum toxin A. This neurotoxin, when injected, blocks the neurotransmitters in underlying muscles. This makes the muscles relax, softening wrinkles. There are dangers associated with Botox. If the injected Botulinum toxin A spreads to other parts of the body, you can contract botulism, a rare but serious illness. The injections also inadvertently can relax other crucial muscles, like those that control the lungs or the esophagus, causing death. The FDA in 2008 issued two warnings about Botox after 16 people died after Botox injections and 87 people were hospitalized for adverse drug reactions. Doctors say to seek medical help immediately if you experience dry mouth, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing or droopy eyelids after these injections.

Botox, a trade name for botulinum toxin, is used cosmetically to treat a variety of conditions, including lazy eye and wrinkles. There are also non-cosmetic medical treatments, such as neuropathy, that have received positive results with Botox. Botox definitely has its proven benefits, but as a toxin there are some associated risks as well. Understanding what Botox is and what it can do for you can help you determine if it is a viable treatment to discuss further with your doctor.

Botox is a purified protein that is produced by the clostridium botulinum bacteria, the same neurotoxin that causes a disease called botulism. However, as far back as 1895 the microbiologist Emile-Pierre van Ermengen recognized the possible therapeutic value of the toxin in safe doses. There are no bacteria in Botox. Though the product of these bacteria is a dangerous toxin when found in nature, this is not the case when it is used for medical or cosmetic purposes. Botulinum toxin, in the hands of trained doctors, is safe and remarkably effective in reducing or erasing lines of the face and other conditions as well. In the 1970’s, Dr. Alan B. Scott experimented with the crystallized form of the protein to help people with afflictions such as eye twitches and crossed eyes (strabismus). Coincidentally, he noticed that patients who received his treatments showed a marked reduction in the wrinkling around their eyes. He called his drug Oculinum. In 1989, a company called Allergan bought Scott’s company and changed the name of the drug to Botox.

Botox per allergan pharmaceuticals is a prescription medicine injected into muscles for multiple uses. The FDA approved usages include treatment of urinary incontinence, prevention of headaches, treat muscle stiffness and spasticity upper extremity, cervical dystonia, and ocular muscle problems including strabismus and blepharospasm. Also, used for axillary hyperhidrosis. Off label, Botulinumtoxin A , is used for cosmetic removal of wrinkles and fine lines of the various facial zones. 

Botox® is a drug that is injected under the surface of the skin to treat several medical disorders related to muscle spasms, muscle tightness and over activity of some glands in the body and is also used cosmetically to treat facial lines and wrinkles. In the United Kingdom and other areas outside of the United States, Botox® is known as Dysport.

The drug Botox® is also known as botulinum toxin, one of the most poisonous naturally occurring chemicals in the world. Botulinum toxin is a protein made by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. As a drug, botulinum toxin is given in very small amounts, so that nerves around the area of the injection can not receive certain chemical signals.

Clostridium botulinum first appeared in scientific literature in the late 1800s as the bacterial cause of the disease botulism. In 1944, scientists isolated botulinum toxin from Clostridium botulinum. In 1949, the protein was identified as a toxin that blocks messages from the nervous system to the muscles. The first investigational use of the protein in humans under the name botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) occurred to treat cross eyes in 1989.

In 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved botulinum toxin type A, now renamed as the drug Botox®, for the treatment of frown lines between the eyes (also called glabellar lines). Since 2002, the drug has also been approved for the treatment of excessive underarm sweating (also called axillary hyperhydrosis), cervical dysplasia (a type of neck spasm), eyelid spasms (also called blepharospasm), and cross eyes (also called strabismus).

Investigational and off-label uses of Botox® include overactive bladder, Parkinson's disease, temporomandibular joint disorder, and excessive salivation. Other cosmetic uses are also under investigation.

You should read product labels, and discuss all therapies with a qualified healthcare provider. Natural Standard information does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Botulinum (or botulism) toxin type A (Botox Cosmetic, Dysport) is a prescription drug that may be used to temporarily improve the appearance of moderate to severe frown lines between the eyebrows. Botulinum toxin type A is a protein produced by the bacterium clostridium botulinum. When used as an anti-aging agent, small doses of a purified, sterile form of the toxin are injected into certain facial muscles to temporarily paralyze and weaken them. When the muscles can't contract normally, frown lines disappear.

According to the FDA, Botox treatments should not be injected more frequently than once every three months, and the lowest effective dose should be used. The most common side effects following injections include headache, dry eyes and mouth, flu-like symptoms, nausea and weakness of the muscles near the injection site. Check with your doctor if any of these side effects persist. Less frequent adverse reactions include fever, bleeding at the injection site, irregular heartbeat and vision changes. If you experience any of these side effects, seek medical attention right away. These reactions are most often temporary but could last as long as several months.

More than any other procedure, botulinum toxin type A, more commonly known as Botox, has come to represent the public's fascination with cosmetic surgery.

Originally identified as a toxin from Clostridium botulinum bacteria, Botox was first used in 1977 to treat strabismus, a problem with the eye muscles. The Food and Drug Administration approved it in 1989 for this purpose. When it was later used to treat uncontrolled muscle spasms in the face, patients had fewer wrinkles in the skin overlying the treated muscle. Doctors started using Botox for cosmetic reasons in 1996, and the FDA approved this use in 2002.

Its meteoric rise is due to a number of factors. First and foremost, the drug works. It does what it is supposed to do, with a minimum of associated problems. Combine this fact with the public's increasing desire to look young, the increase in lifespan, and a highly competitive business environment, and you have the formula for Botox's success.

Botox is the most common of the poisons produced by botulinum bacteria. It uses the type A toxin, while other companies market similar products with different toxins. Since this bacterium produces a soup of different toxins, and animals such as snakes also produce paralyzing toxins, expect competing products in the future to promise better or longer-lasting results.

The injection of botulinum toxin, commonly known as Botox, has become very popular for reducing wrinkles and rejuvenating the aging face. The effects are only temporary, but the injections can be done quickly, require no recovery time and are not as complicated as many other cosmetic procedures for the face.

Botulinum toxin is produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. When a small amount of Botox is injected into a muscle, it blocks nerve signals that tell your muscles to contract. The effect is that it temporarily weakens or paralyzes the facial muscles and smooths or eliminates wrinkles in the skin for a few months.

Getting a Botox injection takes just a few minutes.