How long has botox been used as a medical treatment?

Are you tired of looking like a walking prune? Do you want to eliminate those wrinkles that make you look like an old hag? Well, look no further because Botox is here to save the day! But have you ever wondered when this miracle drug was first used for medical purposes? Fear not, my friend. I am here to tell you all about it.

The Discovery of Botulinum Toxin

Let us start with the discovery of botulinum toxin. In 1817, German physician Justinus Kerner observed several patients who had eaten contaminated sausages and developed severe muscle weakness. Kerner conducted experiments on these patients and discovered that the source of their illness was in fact botulinum toxin – produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria found in spoiled food.

Fast forward 100 years later, and researchers discovered that small doses of the toxin could actually be useful for treating various medical conditions.

Early Uses

In 1940, Dr. Edward Schantz isolated crystalline botulin from C. botulinum bacteria and worked on developing therapeutic uses for it at his lab at Fort Detrick in Maryland.

It wasn’t until 1989 that Ophthalmologist Dr. Alan Scott administered injections of minute amounts of diluted form botulism toxins into properly selected eye muscles exhibiting strabismus or misaligned eyes which caused eye twitching among other symptoms (a result also known as Blepharospasm) to treat them effectively under clinical observation as he understood the potential safely limited application based on previous studies made during World War II era.

Shortly after its successful effect on Strabismus, another breakthrough occurred somewhere else in Los Angeles where dermatologists Jean Carruthers began using BTX-A (‘Botox’) treatments for cosmetic purposes., particularly aimed towards reduction/prevention lines resulting from facial movements like squinting, scowling or raising eyebrows.

FDA Approval

In 2002, Botox was finally approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to treat frown lines after its success in treating other medical conditions. This meant that Botox had successfully gone through rigorous clinical trials to prove its efficacy and safety for human use.

By 2013 over more than ten million procedures with BTX-A having been performed worldwide up till ~2019 aimed towards therapeutic as well as cosmetic benefits. Projections suggest that this number might increase considerably over subsequent years since it’s release a quarter century ago!

Potential Benefits of Botox

Botox is mainly used for:

  • Reducing wrinkles
  • Treating migraines
  • Relieving muscle spasms
  • Uncontrolled facial twitching.
  • Excessive sweating known medically as hyperhidrosis
    And More….

Conclusion

So there you have it! From Kerner’s observations in the early 1800s to Dr. Alan Scott’s successful treatment of Strabismus & Jean Carruthers’ breakthrough treatments on combating dynamic wrinkles between eyebrows and elsewhere, the discovery of botulinum toxin has come a long way from being just another source behind food contamination into developing an entire industry dedicated towards enhancing confidence among individuals dealing with undesirable features due to ageing processes or other related issues what we commonly know now as ‘aesthetic medicine’.

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