Archive for August, 2008:
Aug 24 2008
Who was the youngest person ever to get BOTOX on their lips?
Cherry asked:
I am 14 and my doctor said that the only way to help my lip be normal ever again is to get Botox…who was the youngest to ever get botox??
..i was paralyzed when i was 9..on side of my lips were complletly frozen and didnt move. My other side of my lips go up and down each time i talk.
I am 14 and my doctor said that the only way to help my lip be normal ever again is to get Botox…who was the youngest to ever get botox??
..i was paralyzed when i was 9..on side of my lips were complletly frozen and didnt move. My other side of my lips go up and down each time i talk.
Aug 24 2008
Immunity to Botox – Fact or Fiction?
rare to hear a patient say…’my Botox seems to be wearing off earlier than usual’…or…’I had Botox but it didn’t seem to work’. Some few patients even suggest that they may be immune to Botox or that they are becoming resistant ot it. Many physicians and even manufacturer reps say that such immunity is impossible. But is it? Is immunity to Botox real?
First and foremost any drug, no matter what its mechanism of action, poses the potential of diminished effectiveness with repeated use. The most classic example is that of antibiotics. (although this really represents resistance of the infecting bacteria not necessarily how the body responds to it) But immunity or developing an immune response to a toxin, an unnatural molecule that the body may eventually recognize as both foreign and harmful, is particularly likely. While I hold most responses on the internet as not a source of absolute scientific information, there is too many patient responses on many different websites that claim a lack of response after injection or a dramatic dropoff in effectiveness after a period of years of successful use. (most common) While some, if not many, of these may be the result of using overdiluted or old Botox or from poor injection technique, all of them can’t be completely drug or injector-related issues. Resistance to serotype A of botulinum toxin (Botox and Dysport) has been reported in some physician series but the incidence is quite low. (usually less than 1%) The point is…it has been reported in professional medical journals in large patient series. Anectodal statements by some physicians such as ‘I have never seen it’ and the like does not count as scientific evidence. Never having seen it does not mean it doesn’t exist. Most of us have never seen a platypus in the wild either, but we know they do exist.
Once you develop Botox immunity, what can you do? There is no absolute answer to this uncommon problem. Perhaps waiting a period of time ( 6 months to a year?) before trying repeat Botox is one option to see if your immune response lessens. The other option is to use a different serotype, type B (Myobloc), and see if you get a response. In theory, different serotypes have slightly different molecules so your immune response may be quite specific to type A only.
Whether someone can be completely immune to Botox, without PRIOR injections, is a different matter. There would be no natural immunity to Botox since most of our immune systems have never seen the molecule before. When a first-time patient of mine calls and tells me they have had no response, actual examination everytime demonstrates that they actually have had a response it is just not as profound as they thought it to be. This is an issue of managing expectations and dosing, rather than some natural resistance to the drug.
By far, the most common patient experience in my practice with Botox is that patients actually develop a somewhat lesser need with Botox over time. After three or four treatments, many patients find that the Botox seems to ‘last longer’ and they may only need injections twice a year as opposed to every three or four months. This is not because the patient has developed greater sensitivity to the drug but because they have most likely ‘retrained’ their expressions. which are learned movements anyway. Once you have not moved or have less movement of any muscle for a long enough period of time, you may have inadvertently retrained your expressions to some degree.
Acquired Botox immunity is a real but uncommon event. It usually presents in the patient who has had Botox for multiple treatments, after a year or two, with a diminished response to a proven dose or sometimes as no response at all. Botox resistance without prior exposure is more likely an issue of expectations and proper dosing rather than a natural immunity.
By: Dr Barry Eppley
About the Author:
First and foremost any drug, no matter what its mechanism of action, poses the potential of diminished effectiveness with repeated use. The most classic example is that of antibiotics. (although this really represents resistance of the infecting bacteria not necessarily how the body responds to it) But immunity or developing an immune response to a toxin, an unnatural molecule that the body may eventually recognize as both foreign and harmful, is particularly likely. While I hold most responses on the internet as not a source of absolute scientific information, there is too many patient responses on many different websites that claim a lack of response after injection or a dramatic dropoff in effectiveness after a period of years of successful use. (most common) While some, if not many, of these may be the result of using overdiluted or old Botox or from poor injection technique, all of them can’t be completely drug or injector-related issues. Resistance to serotype A of botulinum toxin (Botox and Dysport) has been reported in some physician series but the incidence is quite low. (usually less than 1%) The point is…it has been reported in professional medical journals in large patient series. Anectodal statements by some physicians such as ‘I have never seen it’ and the like does not count as scientific evidence. Never having seen it does not mean it doesn’t exist. Most of us have never seen a platypus in the wild either, but we know they do exist.
Once you develop Botox immunity, what can you do? There is no absolute answer to this uncommon problem. Perhaps waiting a period of time ( 6 months to a year?) before trying repeat Botox is one option to see if your immune response lessens. The other option is to use a different serotype, type B (Myobloc), and see if you get a response. In theory, different serotypes have slightly different molecules so your immune response may be quite specific to type A only.
Whether someone can be completely immune to Botox, without PRIOR injections, is a different matter. There would be no natural immunity to Botox since most of our immune systems have never seen the molecule before. When a first-time patient of mine calls and tells me they have had no response, actual examination everytime demonstrates that they actually have had a response it is just not as profound as they thought it to be. This is an issue of managing expectations and dosing, rather than some natural resistance to the drug.
By far, the most common patient experience in my practice with Botox is that patients actually develop a somewhat lesser need with Botox over time. After three or four treatments, many patients find that the Botox seems to ‘last longer’ and they may only need injections twice a year as opposed to every three or four months. This is not because the patient has developed greater sensitivity to the drug but because they have most likely ‘retrained’ their expressions. which are learned movements anyway. Once you have not moved or have less movement of any muscle for a long enough period of time, you may have inadvertently retrained your expressions to some degree.
Acquired Botox immunity is a real but uncommon event. It usually presents in the patient who has had Botox for multiple treatments, after a year or two, with a diminished response to a proven dose or sometimes as no response at all. Botox resistance without prior exposure is more likely an issue of expectations and proper dosing rather than a natural immunity.
By: Dr Barry Eppley
About the Author:
Dr Barry Eppley, board-certified plastic surgeon of Indianapolis, operates a private practice at Clarian North and West Medical Centers in suburban Indianapolis. He writes a daily blogs on topics and trends in plastic surgery at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com
Aug 21 2008
Botox: a Treatment to Reduce Wrinkles Around the Area of the Eyes
Sometimes there are occurrences of certain fine lines or wrinkles in and around the areas of the eyes. More particularly, with the advancement of age such wrinkles do usually appear. But at present there is a proper solution to overcome this through a process called botox. Botox is generally a process which helps in reducing the fine lines and the wrinkles around the areas of the eyes. Botox cannot be considered as a permanent treatment to overcome fine lines and wrinkles but it is helpful in reducing it to a suitable extent. Botox is only a temporary procedure for removal of wrinkles and fine eye lines. Botox is a sort of treatment which can in otherwise also make a person go sick who undertakes it.
But what exactly is a botox? The answer to this can be explained as such that, botox is a substance which is usually injected to make the areas around the eyes more soften and relaxed. It consists of a toxin which is called as botulin toxin. Botulin toxin is generally considered as an enzyme which breaks the fusion proteins which lead to the formation of wrinkles. On the other hand, it helps in the release of acetylcholine which helps in the reduction of the fine lines and the wrinkles around the eyes.
Botox as it is effective for reduction and smoothing out of the wrinkles, it is also quite prone to certain side effects like dry mouth. It can also to an extreme level impair and paralyze the muscles which work in the process of breathing. Thus in certain pretext botox can be very much deadly. But in spite of all these side effects, botox has been enormously used for removal of wrinkles and the fine line around the areas of the eyes. Botox is considered as a basic treatment which can be meted out for the purpose of removing the wrinkles. Botox also helps in the relaxation of the eye muscles and thus lessens the appearance of wrinkles and the fine line in the area of the eye which is called the crow’s feet or the laugh lines.
But if we overrule the side effects of botox, we can confidently refer botox as the “vital cascade of youth.” Botox is a general form of therapeutic treatment which works appropriately over the muscles and the nerves around the area of the eyes. The way that it works for the reduction of the wrinkles is through the process of blocking the transmission of the nerves in order to reduce the facial contraction of the muscles. Thus in this way the wrinkles and the fine lines around the eyes are eventually reduced to a certain extent.
By: Farzina Naznin
About the Author:
But what exactly is a botox? The answer to this can be explained as such that, botox is a substance which is usually injected to make the areas around the eyes more soften and relaxed. It consists of a toxin which is called as botulin toxin. Botulin toxin is generally considered as an enzyme which breaks the fusion proteins which lead to the formation of wrinkles. On the other hand, it helps in the release of acetylcholine which helps in the reduction of the fine lines and the wrinkles around the eyes.
Botox as it is effective for reduction and smoothing out of the wrinkles, it is also quite prone to certain side effects like dry mouth. It can also to an extreme level impair and paralyze the muscles which work in the process of breathing. Thus in certain pretext botox can be very much deadly. But in spite of all these side effects, botox has been enormously used for removal of wrinkles and the fine line around the areas of the eyes. Botox is considered as a basic treatment which can be meted out for the purpose of removing the wrinkles. Botox also helps in the relaxation of the eye muscles and thus lessens the appearance of wrinkles and the fine line in the area of the eye which is called the crow’s feet or the laugh lines.
But if we overrule the side effects of botox, we can confidently refer botox as the “vital cascade of youth.” Botox is a general form of therapeutic treatment which works appropriately over the muscles and the nerves around the area of the eyes. The way that it works for the reduction of the wrinkles is through the process of blocking the transmission of the nerves in order to reduce the facial contraction of the muscles. Thus in this way the wrinkles and the fine lines around the eyes are eventually reduced to a certain extent.
By: Farzina Naznin
About the Author:
With the advancement of age, fine lines and wrinkles appear in the face and in the skin. But there is no denying the fact that one can get relieve of them to a great extent through certain forms of surgeries. Farzina Naznin’s articles for the sites like http://www.fitnesstrainerworld.com/ http://www.yourfitnesshealth.com/ http://www.greathealthservices.com/ will help her readers to get reliable help in this regard.
