It had to be too good to be true.
Despite saying for years that injections of Botox stay where they’re put and don’t travel through the body, Health Canada now says there’s enough evidence to the contrary for them to require a change in labelling. The beautiful thing about getting a Botox needle ‘tween the eyes was that it supposedly paralyzed the muscles and eased the wrinkles without seeping into other parts of the face or the rest of the body until it broke down and was carried out, naturally. Now it’s known to be a traveller and Health Canada says the consequences are potentially fatal, although that’s never happened.
Botox is getting more scientific attention now that it’s become a theraputic treatment, beyond just cosmetic use. Doctors are using it to treat excessive sweating and muscle spasms like those in Parkinsons patients. (Although my Dad, who has Parkinsons, absolutely refuses to try it!) Doctors now have to be aware of the potential for breathing, swallowing or speech problems as early signs that the toxin has spread.
It feels like the ol’ days when the synthetic fat alternative Olestra, touted to be the most amazing thing to reduce the calories in snacks like potato chips, started causing the unexpected side effect of “severe anal leakage” and was pulled off the market. The Segway?? The most incredible vehicle since the car? You can’t actually, legally drive it anywhere. And now Botox. Touted as perfectly safe and wonderfully easy to take a bit of strain off the face, could – although it’s unlikely – kill you. I don’t eat potato chips and I don’t have a Segway and I don’t use Botox. But it would it be nice to know I could if I wanted to.