Written by Kennedy Allen in Skin Care
Viewed by 7 readers since 08-27-2009
Botox is most popularly known for its age defying effects. What does Botox do exactly? With the power to reduce the occurrence of wrinkles, as well as stop other unwanted bodily functions, this chemical is most popularly favored by women across the globe to help combat signs of ageing and keep them looking fresher and younger longer. However, Botox has other more medically redeemable uses that transcend their cosmetic ones too.
Botox is the trade name for the purified form of botulinum toxin. This is a strong neurotoxic protein created by the bacteria clostridium botulinum. What Botox does is temporarily freeze or paralyze the muscle it is injected into. Depending on the dosage, Botox prevents nerve impulses from reaching the muscle, causing it to relax completely, preventing unwanted spasm or movement.
By injecting Botox in particular areas of the face, many women can reap what they consider to be great age fighting benefits. Most wrinkles on the face are a result of constant laughing, frowning or scowling. Over the years, these normal expressions set into permanent and unwanted age lines. Squinting into the sunlight can also leave you with unwanted fine lines around the eye area. By paralyzing the muscles on the face responsible for these movements that lead to the setting of wrinkles, Botox helps women keep them at bay.
Another use for Botox is to stop excessive underarm sweating. If Botox is injected into the underarm area it paralyzes the sweat glands and makes excessive underarm sweat a thing of the past. Most commonly, this is used for people with excessive sweating disorders, as it is not healthy to simply stop sweating for cosmetic purposes. However, some doctors will perform this on almost anyone who will submit themselves to it.
One of the first uses of Botox was to treat the excessive blinking disorder blepharospasm. Excessive blinking is a type of dystonia, or unwanted muscle spasms that can occur in many areas of the body and can be quite uncomfortable for the person suffering from it. Since Botox works by relaxing or paralyzing the muscle, uncontrollable blinking was now controlled by making the response time of the eyelid much slower.
Another popular use of Botox is to treat torticollis. This is another type of dystonia which relates to a person’s neck muscles. Torticollis can be a very painful condition characterized by the uncontrollable spasms in a person’s neck muscles, forcing their head into an uncomfortable position and keeping it there. By injecting the paralyzing agent Botox into the spastic muscles, the patient can be relieved of the awkward pull that controls their head movements and can choose where to turn their head versus having their spasm choose for them.
Bottom line is that Botox can do many other things besides their commonly known cosmetic purpose. Even though it should be handled with care and only solicited from qualified physicians, Botox can be a godsend for certain people either suffering with life complicating syndromes or for a quick pretty fix.
