What exactly is Botox?
Botox is a popular brand name which stands for Botulinum Toxin, a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Botulinum Toxin is one of the most dangerous poisons there is – being a hundred times more dangerous than cyanide (it has been estimated a few grams of Botulinum Toxin could kill millions of people). Botulinum Toxin is known for causing Botulism, a serious illness which results in paralysis and can eventually result in death. The name ‘Botulism’ is derived from the Latin word for Sausage (literally Sausage Disease), as Botulism was frequently a result of eating contaminated or putrid sausages (as well as many other rancid meats).
So how is this dangerous toxin such a popular, not to mention, safe treatment? Millions of people undergo Botox injections every year; 4.4 million people in America had Botox treatments in 2020 alone, while it is estimated 900,000 people undergo Botox treatment every year in the UK.
Botox is a paralytic agent which stops the release of specific chemical signals from our nerves. This means that, when applied correctly, small, concentrated doses of Botox can be used to prevent the contraction of certain muscles – temporarily relaxing them. Therefore, it is so effective at dealing with facial wrinkles – as Botox prevents the muscles responsible for those distinct lines from contracting and so reduces the appearance of the wrinkles.
When used by a professional, Botox Clinic Glasgow is a safe and well-regarded treatment with extensive study and practice behind it.
A Brief History of Botox – Early Botox Work
Botulism was first properly linked to Botulinum Toxin in the 1820s by Justinus Kerner, who found a link between tainted sausages and hundreds of deaths. Later in 1895, Emile Pierre van Ermengem found that Botulinum Toxin was the toxin product of the spore forming Clostridium botulinum. From the beginning, there was an interest in Botulinum Toxin as a potential medical treatment – but actual work with it would not begin the 1950s.
In 1953 the physiologist Dr Vernon Brooks experimented with small doses of Botulinum Toxin and found it had success as a muscle relaxant – especially for hyperactive muscles. However, it’d be during the 1960s that ophthalmologist Alan B. Scott helped to massively develop and advance the use of Botulinum Toxin.
Alan B. Scott was an ophthalmologist interested in finding cheap, effective treatments for people who were suffering from conditions like strabismus (crossed eyes) and eye twitching (blepharospasm). Existing treatments involved extensive, complex, and expensive surgeries. Scott found that small doses of Botulinum Toxin worked well on the eye muscles and had no negative side effects, and the first injections on humans occurred in 1977. In 1978 the FDA approved further trials for human testing.
By the late 1980s, Botox was considered a superb treatment for a wide variety of conditions involving
