Botox

Author: Dra. Mónica Alfaro

Boulinum toxin type A (Botox Ò, Nabota) is a relaxing protein or a substance produced by Clostridium botulinum that has different medical and aesthetic uses. This protein relaxes the contraction of muscles, most commonly the muscles of facial expression. This effect is produced by temporarily interrupting the conduction of the electrical impulse between the nerve and the muscle.

Interrupting this nerve conduction relaxes the muscles and minimizes the appearance of wrinkles in aesthetic use. It can relieve pain due to muscle spasticity, tension headaches, or pain in the temporomandibular joint.

In 1979, this protein was used to relax the orbicularis oculi muscle, which closes the eyes tightly. It was used for patients who had blepharospasm or a strong and sustained contraction of this muscle that did not allow them to open their eyes. When using it, the doctors observed that it also had effects on the appearance or rather non-appearance of wrinkles around the eyes.

Around 1989 it began to be used for aesthetic purposes. Among its uses is the treatment of eye contour or crow's feet, forehead, frown, smoker's lips or barcode, marionette lines, chin, neck, and jaw contour. There are also other uses for this toxin at the level of hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating, migraines, and neck dystonia and to treat patients with spastic paralysis.

The effect of this treatment begins to be seen between 4 to 7 days after it is applied; its maximum effect is at 21 days, and its average effect lasts four months. It cannot be used in patients who are hypersensitive to it, are pregnant, or breastfeeding. It is important not to lie down or bend over for 4 hours after application.

Still, to ensure the best results, do not exercise for three days after your injection. Its use from middle age prevents the formation of dynamic expression lines and delays the most noticeable aging and the need to seek other complementary treatments.

Many myths about this treatment lack of information from a serious source. We can clarify the following: Botulinum toxin does NOT plump or deform the lips. You don't have to keep using it all the time, although patients want to keep using it after starting the treatment. It does not create more wrinkles; when you stop using it, the wrinkles we had before return.

It does not change the expression of the face, especially when applied appropriately and without exaggeration. There are no topical creams or products that have the same effect as botulinum toxin since none reaches the site of action, the junction of the nerve and the muscle.

Its application is not dangerous; adverse effects occur in approximately 1% of cases, and most with very mild and temporary, such as redness of the area or headache. Both men and women can use it at any age after wrinkles are already apparent.

If you start using it early, it can have preventive effects. Most important in this type of treatment is to see a doctor with the appropriate knowledge and experience; that also has the personal characteristics required to focus on the needs and desires of the patient. Dra. Mónica Alfaro Escalante, General and Aesthetic Medicine www.bahiaballenadoctors.com