Botox treatments has exponentially increased in recent years as people strive to reduce the impact of ageing. Plastic and cosmetic surgeons frequently use Botox on patients to non-surgically reduce the appearance of wrinkles on their neck or face. Years of facial expressions and movements cause wrinkle which include frown lines, forehead creases, and crow's feet. It is also approved to treat a variety of medical conditions, including ocular muscle spasms, problems with eye coordination, severe armpit perspiration and migraine headaches. Botox is consistently one of the top five nonsurgical cosmetic procedures performed each year.

Botox^® ?

Botox is a trade name for a protein derived from the Botulinum toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum, which is the toxin responsible for Botulism, which is more often known as food poisoning.

Working of Botox

When this protein is injected into muscles just underneath the skin, the toxin will block nerve signals that would cause muscle contractions. The reduction of, or in some cases complete absence of, these muscle contractions leads to the patient's face taking on a relaxed appearance with the skin appearing smoother, hence younger. Botox injections can be given in a very short amount of the time and the results are immediate. There is a relatively short recovery time of one to two days, with most evidence of treatment disappearing within the first twenty-four hours. While Botox is most effective in younger patients when only minor wrinkles are being targeted, it is also used in conjunction with more aggressive cosmetic procedures in patients who are more advanced in age or who have severe skin damage due to Sun exposure.

Botox injection is usually performed with some local anesthesia or a numbing cream. You may feel some minimal discomfort from the shot, but now a days needles are so thin and fine that the procedure is often painless. Depending on the extent of treatment, the procedure can take anywhere from a few minutes to 20 minutes.

Side effects

The most common side effects of Botox include:

• headache
• nausea
• flu-like symptoms
• redness and pain at the injection site
• muscle weakness
• drooping of the upper eyelid muscles

However side-effects usually goes away within few days, and in very rare cases usually upper eyelid drooping may last for a month.

Benefits

The cosmetic benefits of Botox are:

1. Great for reducing laugh lines and crow’s feet.
2. Causes very little discomfort as the needle used is very tiny.
3. Takes very little time to perform. (normally 20 minutes)
4. Causes no loss of sensation in the treated region.
5. Almost nil recovery time.
6. Lends you a more youthful skin.