You want to look happy, healthy, and youthful. But you also want to be sure that you avoid any substances that do damage over the long term, whether that’s from the wrong foods or other poor lifestyle choices.
Then you start to think about your Botox® treatments. They sure make you look and feel better, but what’s the long-term cost? Does the botulinum toxin that gives this treatment its power accumulate in your tissues over time?
Does Botox put you at risk for potentially deadly botulism or other problems? Or is it safe to use over your lifespan?
At the Rheumatology Center of New Jersey, our board-certified rheumatologists and team only use FDA-approved and cleared therapies, including Botox. We’ve also been fully and expertly trained in administering the correct dose and placement of all injectable therapies.
How safe is Botox? Read on to find out how to get the most out of this groundbreaking treatment safely.
Botox is made from a form of botulinum toxin called onabotulinumtoxinA (OBA). Although botulinum toxin is highly poisonous, only minute amounts of a highly purified form of the substance is in Botox.
In the 1970s, Alan B. Scott, MD, began investigating the use of OBA to control the overly contracted muscle in a condition called strabismus. If you have strabismus, one or both of your eyes look either to the inside or outside, rather than straight ahead.
Before OBA, the most effective remedy for strabismus was surgery. Once researchers realized that Botox could successfully and safely relax the eye muscles, they began to apply this powerful substance to other muscles.
Based on multiple studies in animals and humans, the FDA approved Botox as a medical treatment in 1989.
Doctors then investigated Botox’s effects on dynamic muscles in the face that cause and reinforce wrinkles between the brows, on the forehead, and at the sides of the eyes. Botox was FDA-approved for cosmetic use in 2002.
In addition to treating medical conditions such as strabismus and migraine, doctors use Botox to remedy a number of aesthetic facial concerns. Botox was the first neuromodulator that the FDA approved to treat frown lines. It’s now the only product FDA-approved to treat:
Botox is available in 98 countries around the world. Since 2002, more than 100 million vials of Botox have been sold in the United States alone.
When administered correctly, Botox has proven its safety profile over the last 30-plus years. Cosmetic use is particularly safe, since it requires such low dosages. Of course, a product’s safety is dependent on the expertise of the injector.
Our injectors are not only trained in injectable therapies in general, they learn specific techniques for Botox, too. We always use the lowest dose possible and never inject more sites than necessary. We also never inject deeper than needed to create an optimal effect.
It’s very rare for Botox to cause adverse side effects when used cosmetically. Those reported are usually due to injector error, such as:
We also make sure that our Botox vials are stored and reconstituted properly. We discard any expired product. We schedule your touch-ups 3-4 months apart.
Each time you get Botox, your previously relaxed muscles need less Botox to attain the same effects. So, over the long term, we administer less Botox during your touch-ups than we did at the beginning.
Feel confident in Botox’s 40-year safety profile as well as the effectiveness of its results. Schedule your first (or next) Botox treatment with our expert injectors at our office nearest you today. We’re located in Monroe, Flemington, and Somerville, New Jersey.
