One of the most unlikely medical treatments that has really taken off in the last couple of decades is Botox. Best known for its ability to reduce wrinkles and the signs of ageing, it is now something that many people use to rejuvenate themselves at places like this Botox treatments Cheltenham based clinic doctorkate.co.uk/doctor-kate/
However, Botox has many more medical uses than this. Despite being one of the world’s most deadly toxins, this medical marvel has many uses and can be used to treat a wide range of different conditions.
Until 1978, Botox was simply regarded as being nothing more than a deadly toxin. This changed when Alan B Scott wanted to test this as a drug to cure strabismus (crossed eyes). He got permission from the FDA and in 1989 got approval in the United States for medical use. At this time, the full benefits of Botox, and all of its uses were still not clear. Since then, there have been many more uses for the drug.
The uses for Botox as an anti-ageing product were something that was stumbled on by accident. Trials in 1987 on a patient with blepharospasm, led to the lady being injected with it commenting that when it was injected into her forehead, her wrinkles disappeared! This came to the attention of dermatologists who ran trials on the ability of Botox to do this and in 1992 they published the first study on the use of Botox as an anti-wrinkle drug.
Something else that was noticed in the early 90s by a doctor in Beverley Hills who was giving Botox as an anti-wrinkle treatment was also the ability that it had to cure patients who were suffering from migraines. Many of his patients reported that they had fewer headaches since they had been having Botox, and the use of Botox against migraines also became approved by the FDA in 2010.
It is also widely used to cure excessive sweating – when injected into the sweat glands of the armpit, it can reduce how much a person sweats, a condition which is known as primary axillary hyperhidrosis. It has also been used to treat sweaty hands and feet, giving people who suffer with this condition a much better quality of life, without the embarrassment of excessive sweating.