What other things can botox be used for?
By Afrina Ghazali | August 26th, 2022
Botulinum toxin or what is more commonly known as Botox, is basically a protein made from bacterium Clostridium Botulinum. As the name suggests, Botox is a toxin that can cause a serious illness called botulism. It can set people to paralyse and if it reaches the respiratory system, respiratory failure could occur. Back in those days, these occurrences often lead to fatality but antitoxins have shown tremendous improvement over the past few decades.
Nowadays, Botox is more popular for its uses in cosmetic and medical uses because when used correctly and in small doses, there are a lot of benefits that could be gained. Botox injections are especially popular as the "non-surgical plastic surgery" that can help people reverse their aging signs such as wrinkles, fine lines, in most cases, or at least that is what most people can ring a bell for.
Yes, apart from wrinkles-reducing effect, there are quite a few others to list. Some of them, which you might have heard of and some others, which you might not have discovered yet. Here's a few other conditions that Botox can treat:
It was in the early 90's, when Botox was used to reduce wrinkles but people reported they had fewer headaches in results. Allergan, the producer of Botox then tested the products for headaches and migraines. There were questions in place, if it really works to treat migraines or if it is only the placebo effect but it was FDA-approved around 2010.
It is also reported than people who receive treatment for migraines using Botox get at leas 30 injections in different spots all over the head and neck area. It is said that the effects last at least around 2 to 3 months.
Have you ever heard of this condition? It happens when one's body's sweat glands overact. Hyperhidrosis, or abnormally excessive sweating that can cause one's clothes to get soaked or dripping sweat off one's hands. Not only can this disrupt daily activities, it has been reported that those affected can also be in the state of embarrassment or experience social anxiety.
Patients treated for facial spasms were found to sweat less so Allergan began studying about its effects on hyperhidrosis. It later was FDA-approved to treat hyperhidrosis in 2004. It can be used to treat underarm, hands and feet sweating.
In Chicago, Dr. Linda Brubaker reported, "In my 30 years of medical practice, Botox was one of the most impactful treatments I had never seen for overactive bladder." In another study, she had also found that about 70% women who had undergone treatments with her had experienced reduced number of leaks from 5 to only 3 a day.
Botox is now FDA-approved to be used to reduce urinary incontinence.
Botox has been widely used to treat the neck spasms and stiff shoulders for over 25 years. Patients reported that it is effective to relieve pain. The injection of Botox relaxes the tensed muscles. It blocks the chemical signal between nerves and muscles that make the muscles contract. This then gives reliable relief from spasms that could cause pain and muscle stiffness.
Calf Botox has also followed the lead in Botox treatment. People use Botox to slim down their calf muscles. When injected into the gastrocnemius muscle, it relaxes the muscle that is responsible for bulkiness and rigid definition of the calves. This will then create a leaner appearance of the calves.
Discover more about Botox and its uses on our main page. You can also leave comments or questions if you have any on the treatment pages!
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