Botox - Benefits of Medical and Cosmetic Treatment
You might have heard about various celebrities getting Botox treatment to improve their appearance. However, you do not know much more about it than that. The simple fact is that this treatment has become extremely popular around the world for a number of reasons. You might be surprised at how many uses is has. Here are some of the medical and cosmetic applications for Botox that you might not be aware of
Cosmetic Benefits
1. The most popular use for this procedure is to remove wrinkles from the face.
Aging will always bring the
inevitable onset of wrinkles. It is no surprise that people want to do
everything possible to remove these wrinkles from their face whenever they can.
Having smooth skin makes a person look more youthful. There have been many
treatments for facial wrinkles over the years. However, this method has proven
to be extremely effective and last for a long time without the need for
constant treatments. It finally received approval from the Food and Drug
Administration in 2002. This was a huge moment for the cosmetic surgery
industry in the United States as a whole. There are frown lines that typically
appear between the eyes that it was commonly used to treat in the early days
after it was approved. However, surgeons then expanded its use to lines on the
forehead, crow's feet and other frown lines that appear on various parts of the
face. It is important to note that the results are never permanent. The lines
will always return. The amount of time this takes will depend on the age of the
person and the physical condition of their skin. However, five to six months is
the typical time frame that most patients start to notice a return of the lines
on their face.
2. Axillary hyperhidrosis is a condition that causes many people to sweat excessively from under their arms.
It is estimated that more
than one million people are suffering with this particular condition in this
country. The Food and Drug Administration gave their approval to begin using
Botox to help reduce axillary hyperhidrosis in patients in 2004. There was a
study conducted that revealed people were seeing a reduction in the amount of
sweat from under their arms. The patients received a total of four treatments to
experience these positive results.
Medical Benefits
1. People who suffer from painful migraine headaches have been receiving treatment.
Migraine headaches are one
of the most common medical problems. It is estimated that more that 300 million
individuals around the world suffer from this problem on a regular basis. This
particular treatment was discovered by accident. It happened while a clinical
trial was in progress. The results showed that people who had serious issues
with pain from migraines experienced a smaller amount of headaches. They also
had a reduction in the amount of pain they would feel whenever they would get a
headache after going through treatment.
2. People who have suffered a stroke have also received very positive results.
There are many very serious
physical issues that a person has to deal with after having a stroke. It can
cause the person to have trouble moving and controlling their arms and hands.
Treatment using Botox has shown to improve the ability of these people to
control their muscles and improve their overall dexterity. This is because the
muscles become more relaxed after several treatments. This also makes it easier
for these people to exercise and go through physical therapy following a
stroke.
3. Cervical dystonia sufferers have been able to find relief by using this treatment.
Cervical dystonia is a
disorder that is not very common. It involves the neck muscles contracting on
an involuntary basis. This results in the person suffering from this problem to
have his or her head turn to the left or right. They are unable to face
straight ahead without experiencing a large amount of pain. Patients receiving
injections on a regular basis have experienced their neck muscles becoming more
flexible. They are able to move their neck more easily with much less pain than
they felt before the treatment.
4. The treatment has also proven to be effective for people suffering from strabismus in multiple studies.
The condition that is often
referred to as lazy eye has the medical name of strabismus. People who suffer
from this condition will experience a tightening of the muscles that are
located on either the left or right of their eye. This will result in their eye
being forced into a specific direction depending on which side the tightness is
on. The use of this particular method being used as a treatment for lazy eye
goes back roughly 30 years. The Botox treatment will help the muscles
surrounding the eye to go into a relaxed state. This will allow the person to
look straight ahead without feeling any pain.
5. Success in the treatment of blepharospasm has been reported.
There is a very serious
disorder of the eyes that is medically known as blepharospasm. People who have
this problem will experience the contraction of their eyes on an involuntary
basis. This can be a very embarrassing problem for patients because it causes
them to have eyes that are crossed. The treatment has proven very effective
when it comes to reducing the twitching and closing of the eyes of the patients
that were occurring on a regular basis. The number of treatments that patients
need to receive in order to experience results has varied greatly. The age of
the patient seems to be a factor that determines how much time it will take for
the treatments to be effective. The typical length of time for the treatments
when used for this particular disorder is three to four months. However, there
have been certain patients who have reported experiencing very positive results
in a shorter period of time. The bottom line is that every patient is
different. Therefore, the length of the treatment will vary.
