What is Botox®?

• Botox® is a drug used to relax muscles that are producing unwanted lines on the face. It is used to remove frown lines on the forehead and between the eyebrows, and fine lines around the eyes.
• Botox® is performed in the rooms and the procedure only takes about 20 minutes. Normal activities can be resumed immediately after treatment so time off work is not necessary.
• There may be a small amount of redness around the injection sites, which will fade quickly. The actual result may take 4-5 days to become apparent, and the result will usually last for 3-6 months.

Botox® is a preparation of a nerve paralysing chemical which is the active agent in Botulism, a severe form of food poisoning. Interestingly it was especially prevalent following the Italian immigration in the fifties and sixties with preservation of their home grown tomatoes providing the perfect growth medium for the particular bacteria responsible for this type of food poisoning.
Botox® nowadays is used for a multitude of facial disorders where it acts directly on the muscle. The effect usually lasts for four months and can be repeated. The treatment is very safe with complications virtually unknown.

Therapeutic uses include the treatment of excessive sweating, Freys syndrome, following surgery on the parotid gland, and hyperkinesis,which can occur with facial nerve disorders.