Botox is technically a toxin, but it comes in several types. Out of the seven types of Botox, from types A to G, only types A and B are used as a medical drug in tiny quantities. Botox injections block nerve signals to certain muscles, thereby preventing their contraction and helps them relax. Apart from its aesthetic purpose in the cosmetics industry, Botox is used to treat certain health conditions as well.
Listed here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of using botox as a treatment for specific health conditions:
1. Advantage: Smoother skin
In the cosmetics industry, Botox is used to make the face look smooth and wrinkle-free. A simple procedure helps reduce or remove wrinkles appearing in the corner of the eyes and the frown lines and creases between the eyebrows and the forehead.
2. Disadvantage: Temporary effects
Whether used for cosmetic or medical reasons, the effects of botox injections are temporary, lasting a few weeks only at a time. When the injections are stopped, the muscles start to go back to functioning normally again as they are no longer being paralyzed. So this procedure, though it may be simple, has to be repeated every few weeks.
3. Advantage: Medicinal potential
As a therapy, Botox injections help relieve certain muscular conditions relating to the eyes such as amblyopia or lazy eye, uncontrollable blinking of eye twitching, strabismus or crossed eyes, chronic migraines, cervical dystonia, hyperhidrosis or excessive sweating, incontinence or an overactive bladder, achalasia, and even some symptoms of cerebral palsy.
4. Disadvantage: Repetitive costs
Repeating the Botox injections regularly involves repetitive costs. Though the cost per injection is not exceptionally steep, when it is recurrent, the cost increases in the long term.
5. Advantage: Cost
The cost of Botox treatment is relatively lesser when compared to alternative surgical procedures.
6. Disadvantage: Potential side-effects
The side-effects of Botox can include mild pain or numbness, swelling, rashes, bleeding, slight bruise or redness at the spot of injection, flu-like symptoms, dry mouth, headache, fatigue, nausea, or an upset stomach.
In rare cases, there could be more adverse side effects of the Botox treatment for specific health conditions. These could include drooping eyelids, blurred vision, weakening of muscles at the site of the Botox injection, breathing trouble, and difficulty in swallowing or speaking.
7. Advantage: Minimal side-effects
The side-effects for Botox injections, if any, are minimal and temporary and tend to disappear in a short time.
8. Disadvantage: Potential for resistance or immunity
The human body might start getting used to regular Botox being fed into it periodically and develop resistance or immunity to the treatment.
9. Advantage: Minimally invasive
Botox injections are administered at specifically targeted points in the body depending on the reason for its use. It is a minimally invasive procedure and a quick process that does not require much time for the treatment itself, to witness its results, or for recuperation.
10. Disadvantage: Cheap or inexperienced practitioners
Health spas and cheap, random places where treatment is offered by inexperienced people must not be chosen for botox treatment for any specific health conditions. Caution must be exercised when undergoing Botox treatment for specific health conditions or even for cosmetic reasons and only certified clinics and trained physicians must be chosen.