Botox 50U

BOTOX (onabotulinumtoxinA) important information

Botox is a muscle relaxant used to treat a number of conditions within the body. It contains the active substance botulinum toxin type A and is injected into either the muscles, the bladder wall or deep into the skin. It works by partially blocking the nerve impulses to any muscles that have been injected and reduces excessive contractions of these muscles.

When injected into the skin, Botox works on sweat glands to reduce the amount of sweat produced, or to give a temporary improvement in the appearance of vertical lines between the eyebrows seen at maximum frown (glabellar lines) or fan-shaped lines from the corner of the eyes seen at maximum smile (crow’s feet lines) or forehead lines seen at maximum raised eyebrows.

When injected into the bladder wall, Botox works on the bladder muscle to reduce leakage of urine (urinary incontinence). In the case of chronic migraine, it is thought that Botox may block pain signals which indirectly block the development of a migraine.

• BOTOX can be injected directly into the muscles, and can be used to treat the following conditions:

o persistent muscle spasms in the ankle and foot in children aged two years or older with cerebral palsy, who can walk, Botox is used to support rehabilitation therapy.

o persistent muscle spasms in the wrist and hand of adult patients who have suffered a stroke;

o persistent muscle spasms in the ankle and foot of adult patients who have suffered a stroke;

o persistent muscle spasms in the eyelid and face of adult patients;

o persistent muscle spasms in the neck and shoulders of adult patients.

• BOTOX is used to reduce the symptoms of chronic migraine in adults who have had headaches on 15 or more days each month of which at least 8 days are with migraine and who have not responded well to other preventative migraine medications.

• In adults, BOTOX can be injected deep into the skin and can work on sweat glands to reduce excessive sweating of the armpits, which affects the activities of daily living when other local treatments do not help.

What Botox looks like, and contents of the pack

Botox is presented as a thin white powder that may be difficult to see on the bottom of a transparent glass vial. Prior to injection, the product must be dissolved in sterile unpreserved normal saline solution (0.9% sodium chloride solution for injection). Each pack contains 1, 2, 3, 6 or 10 vials.

Dosages for injection: The dosage of Botox depends on the area of injection and the individual characteristics of the patient. It should always be determined by a qualified physician following a thorough examination of the patient. But the standard or commonly used dosage typically includes:

• Forehead: usually 10 to 30 units.
• Between eyebrows: from 20 to 30 units.
• Corners of the eyes (crow's feet): from 5 to 15 units on each side.
• Jaw: from 20 to 50 units, depending on the purpose of correction.