+ What is Botox?
A bacterium called Clostridia Botulinum produces a neurotoxin that affects the movement of muscles by blocking the nerve receptors in the muscle. Historically, improper canning of food would allow this bacteria to grow. An unfortunate person who ate the contaminated canned goods would become paralyzed from this neurotoxin within the Clostridia Botulinum and would perish from “Botulism.”
Today, with modern science and Research and Development by Pharmaceutical companies, this bacteria is grown in the laboratory, and the neurotoxin can be isolated as a drug medication. Used in very small and precise amounts, multiple medical uses for this neurotoxin are used today.
There are a number of companies that produce this neurotoxin from the Clostridia Botulinum bacterium commercially. The most common trade name is “Botox.”
+ Where is Botox used?
The most common use is in the face to decrease facial wrinkles in certain areas by temporarily paralyzing the muscle that produces the unwanted wrinkles.
Other uses include:
- treatment for migraine headaches
- excess sweating in the axilla: (arm pits) hyper-hydrosis
- muscle spastic conditions
+ Where can it be used in the Face?
There are at least 42 facial muscles on each side of the face that are responsible for facial movement, both in response to emotional and non-emotional stimulation. Some of these muscles over time, and a lifetime of repeated use, produce wrinkling creases in the skin. We do not see these permanent etched creases in the face of a child. We regard the child’s face as youthful. By removing these etched-in lines, the face takes on a more youthful appearance like the child’s face.
Common areas where ‘Botox” is used in the face include:
