Botox – What is it?

Adrian Richards, Leading Plastic Surgeon for Aurora Clinics explains what Botox is. For more information or should you wish to book a FREE Consultation with our specialist plastic surgeon, please call us on 01844 214362.

Botox – What Is It

Hello. My name is Adrian Richards, and I’m the Surgical Director of Aurora Clinics. Now I’m going to be talking a little bit about Botox. We’re going to start the series of videos on Botox with a short description of what actually is Botox, how was it found and where does it come from.

Botox is actually the name of a type of botulinum toxin. So botulinum toxin is produced by a bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, and this bacteria which is found naturally in nature basically secretes this protein. In the last hundred years, scientists have known about this protein and have been investigating ways to use it.

The type of botulinum toxin we use in medical use is a botulinum Type A. There are different types of botulinum, but it’s Type A that we tend to use. There are a number of different companies which make botulinum Type A. The one you’ve probably heard of most is Botox, which is a type of botulinum toxin made by Allergan, which is a large pharmaceutical company.  It’s important to know that not all botulinum toxins are Botox. Other manufacturers also make different types of botulinum toxin and these go under the trade names of Dysport, Myobloc, and  Xeomen. So there are a number of different types of botulinum toxin, and it probably is quite important for you to ask your practitioner which type they’re using on you.

Botulinum toxin is a very strong therapeutic agent. It was initially used in children with medical conditions. The medical conditions initially used were strabismus, which is where the eyes are cross. This is caused by abnormal muscle activity in the muscles which control the position of the eyes. By weakening one of the muscles which is pulling the eye in or out or up, you can get the eyes looking forward. That was really first used in the late ’70s, ’80s. The other medical condition it was initially used for is blepharospasm, which is uncontrolled blinking of the eyes; a very debilitating condition, and the Botox can be used just to weaken the muscles. It’s important to realise that Botox is used in a lot of medical conditions and was initially used in those conditions rather than the cosmetic field. In fact, most of the botulinum toxin used in the UK isn’t used for cosmetic uses. It’s used more for medical conditions.

How does it work? The botulinum toxin blends with nerve endings which secrete a transmitter called acetylcholine. What the Botox does is really prevent release of the acetylcholine. The acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter, or the messenger, for muscle and for sweat glands. Basically by blocking the release of acetylcholine, you reduce the innervation to the muscles and sweat glands. For muscles, the innervation tends to reduce for three to four months. For sweat glands, it’s slightly longer, normally about six months. But it’s reversible. The nerves do recover after, as I said, three to four months for muscle, six months for sweat glands. The sweat glands and muscle will be reinnervated, and that’s why you need repeat treatments if you choose to do so.

Botulinum toxin is very safe in the doses we use it. It’s very important that you go to a registered practitioner who is using proper medical grade botulinum toxin from a regulated source. Very safe, very few side effects reported, but it is important to ask a few basic questions from your practitioner.

I hope that’s been helpful. If you’d like any more information about Botox treatment or any other treatment offered by Aurora Clinics, please don’t hesitate to contact us either via our phone number, 01844 214362, or via our website. Thank you very much.