In our beauty conscious culture, people will go to great lengths to improve their appearance. Liposuction, tummy tucks, silicone implants--it's all been done. But surely we wouldn't resort to injecting ourselves with a
toxic1 substance that causes botulism, would we? Of course we would, in the form of Botox injections, widely advertised as a quick, easy way to remove wrinkles and crow's-feet.
Botox is the
marketing2 name given to a neurotoxin called botulinum
toxin3 A. This toxin comes from the
bacterium4 that produces the poisons responsible for causing botulism. Botulism is a form of food poisoning, the most serious symptom of which is
paralysis5. Botulism-related
toxins6 attach to nerve endings, where they block their ability to trigger muscle
contractions7. If muscles can't contract, they can't move, resulting in paralysis.
So why would anyone risk injecting Botox into his or her body? There are
legitimate8 medical reasons, such as treating
spasms9 and involuntary muscle contractions. Although the paralyzing effects are not permanent, they can last up to eight months. And as long as Botox is injected directly into a particular muscle group, there's little chance that it will spread to other parts of the body.
As a beauty treatment, Botox does what it's meant to do: paralyze muscles. For example, injecting botox into muscle groups near the eyes will temporarily paralyze those muscles, keeping them from
scrunching10 up. Consequently the wrinkles, or crow's feet, they cause temporarily disappear. In time, however, wrinkles reappear. Not even Botox can
permanently11 reverse the march of time.
