BOTOX is most commonly used by plastic surgeons to reduce the appearance of wrinkles in aging skin. However, this is by no means the extent of its usefulness. For many years, doctors have been experimenting with off-label uses of the product. Off-label uses consist of treatment purposes the drug has not received official FDA approval for. Pharmaceutical companies cannot legally market the drug for these purposes.
One of the more common experimental uses of BOTOX is as a treatment for migraines. Several studies have evaluated the drug’s effectiveness in reducing the pain of these devastating headaches. While there is no conclusive evidence that BOTOX is a migraine wonder cure, many patients have experienced a serious reduction in their symptoms and pain after receiving treatments.
Recently, there have been several other potential uses of BOTOX that may indicate that we have a wonder drug on our hands. Consider the following:
- BOTOX has recently been found to clear up acne. Acne is caused by the sebaceous glands in your skin releasing too much oil, also called sebum, into your pores. Bacteria feed off of this sebum, causing an inflammation that you experience as a pimple. BOTOX stops the production of sebum, and as a result, the bacteria in your pores have nothing to feed off of.
- BOTOX has been found to cure baldness in some people. This treatment was discovered by accident, when a doctor using BOTOX to treat headaches found that the patient began growing more hair after having the drug injected into her scalp. BOTOX dilates the blood vessels in your scalp, causing an increase in the flow of nutrients to the hair shaft. This stimulates the hair follicles and causes new hair to grow.
- Psychologists have been examining the effects of BOTOX on depression. There is growing evidence that your facial expression strongly impacts your mood. Therefore, if you scowl or frown frequently, you will be more likely to feel angry or depressed. If you smile regularly, you will feel happy. For many people, BOTOX injections cause their face to become fixated in a somewhat smiling expression. This has been found to positively improve the mood of these people. Look out Prozac, here comes BOTOX!
Of course, there are the more bizarre uses of BOTOX as well. Women have experimented with injecting the drug into their feet to reduce the pain caused by wearing high heels. Perhaps the most off-the-wall use of BOTOX came at the hands of Sharon Stone last fall, when she tried to use it to prevent her 10-year-old child from having smelly armpits.
What will come next? We will have to wait and see. But one thing is clear: just as Windex proved the cure-all for a loud Greek family in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” BOTOX may be the next cure-all for middle- and upper-class American suburbanites across the country. When in doubt, get BOTOX.
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