A little history about Botox

Botox has been used safely by doctors for more than 20 years to treat several conditions such as eye spasms, CNS disorders, and muscle spasms. Its use in reducing wrinkles is incidental.

What is botulinum toxin?

Botulinum toxin is a pure toxin that blocks the release of acetylcholine in muscles and thus the signal from nerve to muscles is blocked.  It relaxes the muscles that cause wrinkles, softening their appearance. 

What are the areas that can be treated?

Botulinum toxin is injected into the muscles that express the vertical wrinkles between the eyebrows and on the nose, the wrinkles around the eyes, the horizontal wrinkles on the forehead and the platysma muscle bands in the neck. It can also be used to lift the eyebrows.

How the treatment is done ?

The treatment consists of injecting small amounts of botulinum toxin into specific overactive facial muscles to relax them.  The treatment is well tolerated by patients, lasts 15-30 minutes and it needs not any recovery time. The effect starts to appear  3 to 7 days later and it last for about 4-6 months in the future, when muscle activity returns and wrinkles reappear.

Other indications

The injection of Botox can be used to treat even hyperhidrosis in armpits, palms of the hands and in the soles of the feet. Botox is also used in migraine headaches.

Effects of use

These are usually minimal and local side effect. The most frequent is the bruising, in some cases can cause headaches, temporary weakness of the treated area, temporary drooping of the eyebrow or eyelid. Careful! Botox has a special value in preventing the appearance of wrinkles. That's the reason why its application is recommended to start in young age.

What are fillers?

They are substances that are injected into the skin to fill wrinkles, atrophic scars or dimples and restore facial volume. They are different, but today the most commonly used is hyaluronic acid, a natural component of human tissue that fills the spaces between the collagen and elastin fibers in the skin. Areas that can be treated with filler are the lips, nose nasolabial folds), wrinkles below the corners of the lips (marionette lines), wrinkles between the eyebrows, fine wrinkles on the cheeks between the mouth.

How long does the effect of filler injections last?

Corrections made with collagen have an efficiency that lasts about 3 months, while those with hyaluronic acid continue to have for 6-12 months. Transferring the individual's own adipose tissue from another area is a more time-effective alternative.

How is the treatment done and does it have any side effects?

Before starting the filler injection, a numbing cream is applied locally to make it as comfortable as possible for the patients. A visible result is seen immediately after injection but it may be accompanied by swelling, redness and mild pain. Those  side effects  are temporary and last from a few hours to days. Hyaluronic acid rarely causes severe side effects and allergic reaction. (1 in 5000 cases).

As, it is worth noting that Botox and Filler are two very important non-surgical facial regeneration alternatives, quite different in terms of the type of substance that is injected, the mechanism of action and the efficiency in different areas. a prior consultation with the doctor and choosing the right treatment is very important to achieve a satisfactory result.

Botox and Filler can be applied together for the full treatment of the regeneration of different areas, as well as they can be combined with laser or radiofrequency procedures.

   Dr. Irena Savo Jorgaqi

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