Celebrating your twenty-ninth birthday over and over isn’t cheap. If your face is showing the effects of worrying about your kids, your job, your parents and your mortgage, it will set you back plenty to fix it - and that fix is only temporary.
Botox is an injectable drug commonly used to reduce the look of lines and wrinkles and make skin look smoother and younger. It lasts about three to four months before needing to be repeated.
First approved to be injected into muscles to improve the look of crow’s feet and frown lines in adults, it is now used for a variety of other treatments.
What can you use Botox for?
Health Canada’s approved uses for Botox include treatment for:
- Chronic migraines headaches
- Hyperhidrosis, or excessive underarm sweating
- Cervical dystonia (a painful involuntary contraction of the neck muscles)
- Equinus foot in cerebral palsy patients
- Muscle problems in the eyes and eyelids
- Focal Spasticity, or upper limb spasticity in stroke patients
- Bladder disfunction
How does it work?
“In cosmetic use, small injected doses block the ability of underlying facial muscles to contract; this is designed to reduce existing wrinkles on the face,” explains Health Canada. You should always consult with a doctor before considering any treatment. If used incorrectly, it can cause droopy eyelid muscles, muscle weakness, swallowing difficulties and other problems.
Isn’t Botox poison?
Technically yes. Botox is a protein complex produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which contains the same toxin that causes food poisoning (botulism), says Health Canada.
However it’s safe in the doses approved by Health Canada, and it’s not the only drug that comes from dangerous sources. The BBC reported that Captopril, a antihypertensive drug, was originally developed from snake venom, and Byletta, a drug used to treat type-2 diabetes, is based on studies of saliva of the Gila monster, a large venomous lizard.
“Every drug is a poison … Aspirin is a poison… would you take 200 Aspirins? It’s the same with Botox, it’s a drug. All medications are safe in the right doses, Botox is no different. It happens to come from a bacteria, but so do vaccines… all of these lifesaving medications in the wrong doses are lethal,” explains Dr. Michael Weinberg, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery University of Toronto and Medical Director, Mississauga Cosmetic Surgery Clinic.
How are alternate uses for Botox discovered?
“It’s the same way Botox was discovered,” says Dr. Weinberg. “It was initially used for Strabismus, for weakening the muscles that were already over-working.” Patients noticed that this double vision treatment had a welcome cosmetic side effect, and the drug was eventually used for cosmetic purposes.
Following the same pattern, patients using it to minimize wrinkles were finding that they were having fewer headaches. “Why don’t we try it on some headache patients?… that evidence is anecdotal, let’s do a study. It really does work, let’s use it,” explained Dr. Weinberg.
Another drug that found a new use this way is an eyelash medication called Latisse, which was originally used by glaucoma patients, explained Dr. Weinberg. After taking the drug, those patients notice that they had fuller eyelashes, and an alternate use was created.
What does it cost?
It takes 20-30 units of Botox at $10-$15 per unit to diminish “11’s” on your forehead, but prices vary depending on the doctor and the location. As this is a cosmetic procedure, it’s not covered by provincial health plans. When used for prescribed medical uses, it may be covered by government or private plans.
Dr. Weinberg says for hyperhidrosis it costs “$200-$250 for the injection fee, and if it’s covered, they would then charge the insurance company for the cost of the Botox. Migraines are often covered.”