What is Botox?
Botox is a prescription medicine injected
to relax muscles, which makes it useful for both cosmetic and medical
conditions caused by muscle contraction.
Aside from cosmetic enhancements,
Botox is also used to relieve medical conditions caused by muscle spasm or
tightness, such as neck/back pain, eye muscle twitching and more. People who
have chronic migraine headaches, overactive bladder and excessive sweating have
also seen relief from Botox injections.
Is Botox safe?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) deems Botox safe for adults over the age of 18 to use appropriately.
Adverse reactions are temporary and include mild swelling, bruising, weakness
and pain at the injection sites. Additional side effects can be dry mouth,
tiredness or headache. These reactions generally last for a week, but they can
last up to months or maybe longer.
Rarely, patients experience
trouble swallowing, speaking and breathing in hours, days, or weeks after the
Botox injection. Botox can also impair muscle function when injected inappropriately
or high doses are used. If this occurs, contact your doctor immediately.
Is Botox injection effective for a
lifetime?
Botox is temporary because the muscle
function returns to normal after a period of time. There are several factors
that can affect the duration of Botox, but its effects generally last for few
months before more injections are necessary. Your doctor will be able to
determine how often you need the injections.
By: Sandy Ezzet & Judy Sommers Hanson
Sandy Ezzet, Doctor of Pharmacy
Candidate 2017, the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy.
Judy Sommers Hanson, PharmD, FAPhA.
Manager, Clinical Program Development. Walgreens.
Sources
Botulinum toxin. UpToDate. Waltham,
MA. (Accessed October 11, 2013)
Highlights of prescribing information: Botox
and Botox Cosmetics Package Insert. Allergan. January 2016.
http://www.allergan.com/assets/pdf/Botox_pi.pdf (Accessed October 2016)
