What is Toxin Injection?
Toxin Injection is a drug with neurotoxin properties. It is not the poison of any insect or snake. It is a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum, which is responsible for some food poisoning.
What does Toxin Injection do?
It reduces or stops the muscle contraction in the applied area for an average of 4-6 months. (The drug temporarily paralyzes the muscle fibers it is applied to.) Therefore, it is good for the problems that arise due to the contraction of the muscle in that area.
Does the brand of Toxin Injection used matter?
Yes, it's definitely important. Although there are not many brands in Turkey, there are many Toxin Injection brands used around the world. As a specialist doctor, the product I use most is Dysport (Abobotulinumtoxin A). In addition, Toxin Injection (Onabotulinumtoxin A) and Xeomin (Incobotulinumtoxin), which are not available in Turkey, are other commonly used high-quality Toxin Injection brands.
Myobloc (RimabotulinumtoxinB) is a type B botulinum toxin used by neurologists in neurological diseases with an average duration of action of 12-16 weeks and is rarely used for aesthetic purposes.
For what purposes is Toxin Injection used? For whom is it done?
ATTENTION: There are many aesthetic or non-aesthetic procedures in which Toxin Injection is used. After the examination, doctors should decide whether the patients are suitable for these procedures and how much they can benefit.
Patients of all ages with strong dynamic wrinkles in the relevant area are the most ideal patients for cosmetic Toxin Injection application when mimics (especially upper face mimics such as getting angry, surprised, frowning, smiling and squinting, wrinkling the nose).
* It is primarily applied to the upper face area and to the mimic muscles that cause wrinkles on the skin on our face to remove and reduce wrinkles. In addition, as we age, it is very useful for delaying the time or age when these wrinkles become apparent and become visible even when they are stationary (even when not mimicking).
(Patients who are quite advanced in age and have deep and stagnant wrinkles in the crow's feet, between forehead and eyebrows, although they do not move their mimic muscles at all, see a very limited benefit from cosmetic Toxin Injection application, and this benefit is in the form of not being able to deepen their existing wrinkles even more during mimics. But static wrinkles won't go away.)
Other application areas:
To ensure that the gums are not visible when you smile and a more aesthetic smile is obtained,
In people with low nasal tip, to lift the tip of the nose a little by suppressing the downward muscle activity,
In women with a masculine chin corner and a prominent chewing muscle in that area, in order to soften this appearance, (Toxin Injection reduces the size of the muscle for a while because it prevents the contraction of the muscle to which it is made).
To lift the corners of the lips by making the muscles in this area in people whose lip corners are too low and look sullen,
To reduce the appearance of wrinkles or bands in the neck area,
For hair mesotherapy in order to increase the blood supply of hair root cells,
For women whose lower legs look very muscular and masculine, to reduce the back leg muscles,
To stop attacks or reduce their frequency and severity in the treatment of migraine,
To prevent excessive sweating in the armpits, forehead, palms and soles, or on the cheeks during meals in patients with Frey syndrome,
To provide muscle relaxation in neurological diseases that cause muscle spasm,
For the treatment of diseases such as vaginismus, anal fissure,
Toxin Injection is used for weight loss in the treatment of obesity.
What is micro Toxin Injection?
Applications where botulinum toxin is applied in smaller doses and into the skin, that is, at a more superficial level (not intramuscularly), are called micro Toxin Injection or meso Toxin Injection.
Micro Toxin Injection is applied to increase skin quality by reducing oil secretion, especially in oily and thick skin.
In addition, in the case of wrinkles on the lower eyelid, this method is often applied to reduce the activity of the muscle without completely impairing its strength.
What is Baby Toxin Injection?
In relatively younger patients (between 20-40 years), it is applied to fewer areas and at lower doses intramuscularly. The aim is to avoid less mimic and expression loss in the upper face area. It is especially preferred by actors and theatergoers.
What is scrotox?
It is the external application of Toxin Injection to the scrotum, which contains the testicles, in men. After this procedure, the wrinkles in the scrotum are reduced and the scrotum appears larger by drooping more.
What is Brotox?
It is Toxin Injection applied to male patients. Since male patients have more muscle mass and stronger mimic muscles, higher amounts of toxin should be administered than female patients.
Is Toxin Injection harmful?
Toxin Injection is such a reliable drug that most of the plastic surgery and dermatology specialists who make this application in professional business life also use this drug for themselves and their relatives. However, although rare, there is a risk of side effects.
These side effects are:
- Pain at the injection site for a few days
- Swelling, redness
- Bruising (Especially those who use blood thinners-anticoagulants- may have bruises.)
- Allergic reaction, infection in the procedure area
- Temporary loss of strength in the muscles adjacent to the treated muscle
Does Toxin Injection Used in Medical Applications Poison People?
No, it's definitely not poisonous. Because in order to poison it, it is necessary to apply tens or even hundreds of times the dose normally used.
Who should not be given Toxin Injection?
In rare cases, Toxin Injection should not be applied.
- People who are allergic to active and additives (! botulinum toxin, albumin, lactose, saline!) present in the drug content,
- Persons with skin infection in the application area
- People with muscle diseases such as Myasthenia Gravis, Lambert-Eaton Syndrome,
- Patients with coagulation disorders,
- Those who use aminoglycoside group antibiotics (gentamicin, amikacin, etc.),
*Also, since there is no study on the safety of botulinum toxin during pregnancy and lactation (pregnancy category C), it is not recommended to be applied during these periods.
How is Toxin Injection applied?
After the examination and informing of our patient, numbing cream is applied to the areas to be treated and 15-20 minutes. (even 30-40 minutes if there is time) is expected.
Subsequently, the planned dose of the drug is freshly prepared for the patient and the application is carried out in 5 minutes with very fine-tipped (32-33 G) Toxin Injection injectors.
Redness and swelling may occur in the application areas, but this redness and swelling disappear after 30-40 minutes. Bruising is rarely seen after Toxin Injection application. Therefore, patients can return to their work and social life after the procedure.
When does the effect of Toxin Injection start and how long does it last?
The effect starts 2-4 days after Toxin Injection is applied. Therefore, patients should not expect a change after it is done. The result evaluation should be done 10-15 days after it shows its effect. Because the effect starts and does not stay at the same level, it gradually increases and starts to decrease at the end of an average of 2 months. Patients usually return to their previous state after an average of 4-6 months, and this situation should be noticed in front of the mirror and remind the patient that the procedure should be done again. In some patients, the duration of the effect may extend up to 8-9 months.
If Toxin Injection is done regularly and for many years, will the need end after a while?
No, it doesn't end ☺ After regular applications, the effect time of the drug is slightly prolonged, but the temporary effect does not turn into a permanent effect in any case.
No matter how long it is done, after the Toxin Injection application is stopped, as the muscles will regain their strength over time, dynamic wrinkles will appear again and therefore the need will not end.
Will my face be worse if I no longer want to have it done after regular Toxin Injection applications?
No, it will not happen ☺ The eyes of the patients get used to their younger faces under the positive effect of Toxin Injection and the normal aging process continues. For this reason, when the application is stopped, with the return of muscle strength, facial expressions and wrinkles may appear worse than before, but the effect of Toxin Injection does not cause this. This is caused by your memory and the time that keeps flowing in all circumstances.
What should be considered after Toxin Injection?
Patients should not massage or rub the injection areas on the same day after Toxin Injection application. In addition, they should not stay in a forward-leaning position for a long time (such as reading a book, drawing a picture by leaning on the table for a long time) during that day.
1-2 hours after Toxin Injection, make-up can be applied, face wash or bath can be done and light sports can be done.
Is retouching absolutely necessary after Toxin Injection?
Most patients do not need it. However, if strong muscle activity continues in the treated areas 10-15 days after the application, or if the application was made to raise eyebrows, but your eyebrow was lifted more than you wanted, retouching can be done.
On the other hand, some patients, such as the lower parts of the crow's feet, may experience wrinkling in the cheeks due to the movement of the neighboring muscles (laughing muscle), whose function should not be impaired, even though the muscles (orbicular muscle) are sufficiently inactive. In such cases, toxin application is not applied to the muscles whose function should not be impaired, because the patient's smile is impaired ☺
I had Toxin Injection but the effect never showed up. What should I do?
You should inform your doctor.
Botulinum toxin is an imported drug. It should be transported with a cold chain and stored in the refrigerator. The drug may lose its effectiveness if it is exposed to heat for a sufficient period of time during storage and transportation.
In addition, it is a sensitive structure, and even pressurized spraying of the serum physiological during the dilution phase or shaking the bottle vigorously has the possibility of impairing its effectiveness.
On the other hand, alcohol-containing disinfectants used in cleaning the field can reduce the effectiveness of the drug.
Therefore, in my own practice, I carry out my applications by paying attention to these properties of the drug, and despite this, if the drug effect never occurs in my patient due to possible ineffectiveness in the shipping process, I repeat the procedure with a new drug free of charge.
How much does Toxin Injection cost?
Since Toxin Injection application is very reliable and the risks of side effects are very low, it is a procedure performed by different professional groups without authorization. For this reason, there are many different pricing in the market.
However, it is possible to distribute the drug to many people so that it is cheaper or more profitable for the user, it is possible by diluting it and doing it in a diluted form. This is a situation that should be paid attention and avoided because the person who develops antibodies will not have any effect in later applications, thus depriving the benefit of Toxin Injection.
For this reason, the authority, experience and reliability of the practitioner are very important.