Botox Treatment · Dermatologist · Cosmetic, Laser Dermatology NYC

Botox Treatment

No matter what reason you’ve decided to have a Botox treatment from your NYC dermatologist, your treatment follows a similar course. In fact, the treatment is similar whether you get Botox, Dysport, Xeomin, or Myobloc, all of which use botulinum toxin as a foundational ingredient. The amount you need for any specific treatment varies by brand, so you can’t swap one out for another. Each of the formulas is effective; Botox is simply the most well known.

Botulinum toxin is derived from the same bacteria that can cause botulism, a deadly disease. But when it’s formulated and diluted as Botox, the toxin is rendered completely safe. In fact, side effects are rare, and no one, not one person anywhere in the world, has suffered any serious consequences as a result of a Botox treatment.

Why Get a Botox Treatment?

Botox was originally used to treat eye muscle disorders, but it gained popularity as a cosmetic treatment to temporarily hide facial wrinkles. In particular, Botox is effective at reducing or eliminating glabellar lines, forehead furrows, and crow’s feet. Other uses for the toxin followed. Botox is now approved to treat:

• Migraine headaches
• Some muscular eye complaints, like lazy eye
• A condition that causes you to blink excessively
• People who sweat too much
• Muscle disorders, including multiple sclerosis
• Muscle cramping

How Botox Works

Botox works the same way for all its uses. The active ingredient, botulinum toxin, paralyzes the nerves of muscles it encounters. This reaction essentially freezes the muscle, preventing it from working. When you get a Botox treatment to get rid of facial wrinkles, for example, the toxin affects the muscles that normally cause those wrinkles. If they can’t contract, they can’t create wrinkles.

For the other uses of Botox, the effect is the same. To prevent muscle cramping or spasticity, your Manhattan dermatologist or other medical specialist injects enough Botox into the offending muscle to paralyze it. Once Botox starts to work on a muscle, that muscle can’t communicate with your brain, so it can’t contract.

When you get a Botox treatment to prevent and ease migraines, doctors actually don’t know how it works. But it does. By injecting the toxin into a series of muscles all around your head and by your neck, those muscles perhaps can’t contract enough to cause or further your headaches. As a result, migraines don’t start as often and go away more quickly.

Choosing the Best Professional

A Botox treatment involves a series of injections by a trained dermatologist in New York City. Choosing your doctor for this procedure is the most important factor for ensuring the success of your treatment. If your chosen dermatologist doesn’t have experience with Botox, find someone else.

If Botox is administered incorrectly or imprecisely, not only won’t you get the desired results, but the treatment can create side effects that can impact your daily life for as long as the Botox stays active up to four months. Find a medical professional, therefore, who has a proven track record with Botox. Make sure the doctor is certified. Ask for referrals.

Remember that your insurance company won’t cover any procedure it deems purely cosmetic. Find a dermatologist you feel you can trust; discuss any concerns you may have. Let the doctor know your expectations. A correctly administered Botox treatment makes a huge difference in your quality of life for the next four months.

Preparing for Your Botox Treatment

When you arrive at your Manhattan dermatology office for your Botox treatment, make sure your treatment area, whether that’s your face, your head, or some other part of your body, is clean and free of makeup. Tell the doctor if you’ve had a Botox or similar treatment within the previous four months. Your dermatologist may ask about other medications you take.

You normally sit in a chair with head support if you’re getting Botox injections in your face. You must remain still during the procedure. You can ask your doctor to numb the injection area before the treatment, but most people find that the Botox injections aren’t painful at all.

The Botox Treatment Procedure

The actual Botox injections use a very thin needle to deliver a small amount of botulinum toxin. The Botox is injected just below the surface of your skin, into the target muscle. Each muscle receives multiple injections, but there are many variables, depending on your particular procedure:

• Where your dermatologist injects the Botox
• How many injections do you need
• How much Botox, in units, you require
• How long the procedure may take

For a facial treatment, to eliminate wrinkles, you may need 50 units of Botox in very localized areas. To treat you for migraines, you may need 150 units or more. The amount of Botox and the purpose of the treatment determine how long the procedure lasts and how much it costs.

Results

When your dermatologist in NYC has completed the series of injections, you can resume your daily activities. Botulinum toxin often takes several days to take effect, so don’t expect immediate results. Botox is a temporary treatment that requires additional treatments, spaced three to four months apart.

You may be warned not to exert yourself for a couple of days after your treatment, as the increased circulation can cause the Botox to migrate to unintended areas of your face or your body. Also, do not rub the injection sites for the same reason. When Botox migrates, it causes side effects.

Potential Side Effects

Botox, administered appropriately, is safe. Side effects are rare but happen most often because of:

• A medical professional injected Botox improperly.
• The injected Botox moved to an adjacent muscle or to other parts of your body.

A vast majority of side effects occur because of the second reason. And still, only about two percent of Botox recipients have any side effects at all. The most commonly seen side effects are:

• Pain or swelling at an injection site
• A temporary, mild headache
• Symptoms that resemble the flu but are gone the next morning
• Adjacent muscles that are inadvertently affected by the Botox
• Minor aches or weakness in other muscles
• Higher than normal blood pressure

Rarely, Botox recipients may experience serious side effects that require immediate medical attention, such as:

• Impaired breathing
• Double vision
• Trouble pronouncing your words
• Swallowing difficulties
• Muscular weakness in other areas of your body
• Lack of control of your bladder

Important Reminder: This information is only intended to provide guidance, not definitive medical advice. Please consult dermatologist NYC about your specific condition. Only a trained, experienced board certified dermatology doctor or pediatric dermatologist could determine an accurate diagnosis and proper treatment.