The
medical use of Botox, a toxin produced by a bacterium, is one of many examples
of poisons and toxins used to good effect in medicine. The muscle relaxants used
in anaesthetics originated, for example, in the jungles of the Amazon where indigenous
hunters dipped their arrows in poison to paralyse their prey. Today these derivatives
are used in every operating theatre in the world, to make possible life saving
operations. The product is so safe that it is actually
registered for use in spastic children. In the doses used cosmetically, it is
one of the safest products on the market. It works by blocking the signal from
nerve to muscle. It has no adverse effect on either. The only time it should not
be used is in pregnancy, feeding mothers, certain neuro-muscular diseases, or
when the patient is on certain anti-biotics. This is why it should be administered
by a trained medical practitioner, in a controlled setting, after an interview.
Botox parties should be avoided. You wouldn’t allow your baby
to be vaccinated at a get together which starts with a glass of wine. This
is not a miracle product, but it can produce an absolutely dramatic improvement
to the way a person looks and feels. The important thing is to be well informed
as to what is possible, and what to expect. It is especially effective for smoothing
the forehead, reducing crows’ feet around the eyes, and raising the corners
of the mouth. One of the most effective uses is to smooth out frown lines, the
vertical lines between the eyes on the forehead which make us look tired and angry.
All in all, judiciously applied Botox can strip years off a person’s face. A
bonus in many cases is that tension headaches disappear for months when
used on the forehead. Fillers. Botox
smooths out wrinkles; it does not fill them in. For this we use
fillers. In South Africa hyaluronic acid fillers, a natural product, are most
commonly used. There are other products available, but do not seem to offer the
same advantages as hyaluronic acid fillers. For this procedure, the area is deadened
with a topical cream, and the filler injected. Most of them last 8 months to a
year. Fillers are useful for nose to mouth corner lines, enhancing lips, and filling
frown lines. Restylane Vital. This
product is injected in tiny quantities into the skin through multiple sites. The
course is repeated 2 weeks later, and topped up every 6 months. The procedure
revitalizes tired skin with fine wrinkles, and is used on the face and neck. All
these procedures can be used singly or in combination. Cost varies according to
amount of material used. A consultation to determine what
treatment to apply is free. Dr H Martin
35 Scorpia Rd Fishershill. My
offices are near Roseacres Clinic, in Fishershill, next to Bedfordview. Please
phone 011 828 1287 for a free appointment to discuss Botox and fillers | 
