While Botox has become the world’s most popular anti-wrinkle injection, there’s much people still don’t know about it.
Botulinum toxin or BTX is more popularly known as Botox, clearly, to hide the word toxin in its name. Botox is a neurotoxic protein that is produced by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum and its relatives.
While many people believe Botox to be a filler or something that could give you bigger lips or fuller cheeks, it actually doesn’t work that way. Being a neurotoxin, it prevents the release acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter, from axon endings at the neuromuscular junction, causing flaccid paralysis. This is exactly how it works on hiding wrinkles and signs of old age, it paralysis the neurotransmitters in the area preventing it from moving.
But Botox wasn’t always a cosmetics trick. For centuries before it became a beauty parlor favorite and until this day, it has many more uses that are more medical, medicinal and therapeutic.
Botulinum toxin is a very popular treatment to a number of overactive muscle movement disorders. In other words, spasms. These include post-stroke spasticity, post-spinal cord injury spasticity, spasms of the head and neck, eyelid, vagina,limbs, jaw, and vocal cords.
In the same way, it is also used to relax clenching muscles. It has been proven very effective in the oesophagus, jaw, lower urinary tract and bladder, as well as the anus.
In some cases, it is also used to improve eye alignment.
Some other uses of Botox include treatment of hyperactive nerves disorders like excessive sweating and neuropathic pain, and also some allergy symptoms.
More recently, it is being used to combat migraines, depression and even erectile dysfunction.
Even though it might not be the best thing to inject into your body, and despite being extremely toxic, Botox is actually a very useful toxin that has helped thousands of people live more comfortable lives.
