Ever since we can remember, botox has become the worlds most popular anti-aging treatment.  What about you?  Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have a treatment or two? Have you also thought about what some of the dangers of being treated with Botox might be?  Here are a few of them, some things that you may not have considered.

Are You Sure it's Botox?

When you go for your first or your next Botox treatment, you should check to make sure that the doctor isn't using a homemade injection.  This may sound odd, however this has proven to be the case in more than one instance.  So far, there have been four near-fatal accidents from poorly prepared Botox injections in ONE U.S. cosmetic surgery clinic.  Imagine what could be happening in other clinics that we have not heard about?

Botox is a toxin from a germ called Clostridium Botulinum.  Before it was invented for cosmetic surgery use, Botulism, the paralysis brought on by it's effects, was from poorly prepared food.  There has been more than one instance  where doctors have misused Botulinum.  A U.S. doctor had obtained Botulinum in it's pure form and making up his own concoction...made himself and three other people sick with 2000 times the lethal dose! (They had gotten the dilution wrong) They were saved by anti-toxin and weeks of mechanical ventilation.  The doctor was given three years in the slammer!  This Las Vegas doctor and his wife were arrested for administering a less expensive form of Botox not approved by the FDA.  The form of botulism toxin they administered was being advertised as Botox, but was in fact a toxin purchased from a company based in Tuscon Arizona. This toxin was supposed to be purely for research purposes and not for human consumption.

It All Started As A Way to Save Money

Botox Parties basically started as a way to save money.  Botulinum toxin Type A, has a short shelf life and buying it in bulk cut costs for each user by reducing the chance of wasting the reconstituted drug which should be used within four hours -- but then it became much more.  It is as if people tended to love the idea of being together, supporting each other.  Some parties take on a spa-like festive atmosphere becoming both group therapy and a spectator sport too!

What Can Go Wrong At A Botox Party?

Less than two months after the government approved the prescription drug Botox as a temporary wrinkle reliever for the brow, doctors, medical societies and patients are stepping forward to frown on the casual use of the toxin...especially at parties.  At $450, 100-unit vial of powder, mixed with saline, might treat two typical "movement disorder" patients, but it can dose three to five cosmetic patients.  At $300 to $1,000 per face, three or four times a year - all cash of course, insurance won't cover cosmeti

When people are at a party, there is always that subtle peer pressure to at least "try it".  Some parties even have alcohol which can pose a problem at the injection site, making the blood vessels dilate and causing it to bruise easier.  Although there are many doctors who forbid alcohol at parties, Botox does not belong in hotel rooms, hair salons or other non-medical settings like your living room!  What would you do if someone has a medical history that you are unaware of and they pass out in your living room?  Are you prepared to handle this type of an emergency?  In a doctors office they have oxygen and an EKG machine to check the patients heart.  What if biomedical waste is disposed of improperly?  There is also the possibility that the drugs effectiveness may be reduced due to a lack of refrigeration.  Another thing that can go wrong is the injection could go astray because the patients' head is not in a headrest and patients may faint.

Other Things That Can Go Wrong:

Bad shot in the forehead area: This can cause droopy eyes or double vision, chronic use will give you what some call the "Joan Rivers Look" a devilish V-shape droop of the eye.

Bad shots in the lip and neck area: The lips and kneck are where unskilled or incorrect cosmetic Botox injections can really be dangerous.  There have been cases reported of people unable to speak or swallow after injections of the lips or neck.

Face Criminal Charges: There have been cases, one in particular of a non-medical person in Tallahassee, FL., a beauty salon owner who has faced criminal charges for practicing medicine without a license, and illegal possession of prescription drugs - for giving Botox injections.

The Academy of Dermatology and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery have both announced their disapproval of injecting Botox in casual social settings.  In Florida, Pennsylvania and several other states, Botox is supposed to be administered by a doctor, nurse or under a doctor's supervision.  Unfortunately, there is now competition among doctors (trained and untrained) to jump on the lucrative Botox band wagon.  What people are unaware of is...Even in the best of hands, the paralyzing poison can have unexpected results!  A woman from Southhampton, PA consulted a dermatologist and he suggested Botox for her forehead furrow.  A week later, both of her eyelids were so droopy that she had to lift the skin with her fingers to apply eyeshadow.  This went on for a couple of months where she appeared to be looking sleepy all the time.  Of course the dermatologist who, by the way refused a refund, told her she should come back in three or four months for another 'try'.  This was in a dermatologists office.  Imagine what could happen in someone's home, beauty salon or spa?

It's Your Choice

Ultimately the choice as to whether or not Botox injections are for you is yours and yours alone.  If considering this information doesn't make you raise an eyebrow at the practices and scruples of some in the medical and even non-medical field, then buyer beware, Do your research! (If you've recently had Botox...feel free to raise your eyebrow in another two to three months).