Contents:
- Medical Video: Besides Eliminating Wrinkles, Botox Injections Can Also Overcome Chronic Migraine
- What is Botox?
- Is it true that Botox can treat migraines?
- How to treat botox for migraines?
- Botox side effects to treat migraines
Medical Video: Besides Eliminating Wrinkles, Botox Injections Can Also Overcome Chronic Migraine
Botox injections were not only known to beautify themselves and make a younger face look. Apparently, this one treatment is also said to overcome migraines. So, is Botox really effective to help overcome migraines?
What is Botox?
Botox is a neurotoxin or poison made by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. When poisons are accidentally eaten, you will experience life-threatening food poisoning, also known as botulism.
However, when injected into the body, toxins can block certain chemical signals from the nerves and eventually cause temporary muscle paralysis.
Even so, Botox injections are safe for the body because the toxins are not digested in the stomach and the dosage used is much smaller than if you eat it. Botox injections are usually used to help disguise wrinkles because they help relax facial muscles.
After that, the researchers found other benefits of botox for health such as overcoming recurrent neck spasms, twitching eyes, and overactive bladder.
Is it true that Botox can treat migraines?
Migraines are attacks of recurrent headaches which are followed by severe pain and make the sufferer become helpless.
You will feel a throbbing head that is quite intense or quite extreme pain like being hit by a hard object. Although migraines often attack one side of the head but it is not impossible to attack all parts of the head.
In 2010, the Food and Drug Administration, America or BPOM equivalent in Indonesia approved the use of onabotulinumtoxinA or botox A as a treatment for chronic migraine. Chronic migraine is a headache that appears repeatedly for 15 days or more in one month.
So, how does Botox work to treat migraines? Quoted from WebMD, experts believe that botox works by blocking the pathway sending pain signals to the brain.
Well, Botox acts as a barrier by stopping the signal from being received in the brain and eventually you don't feel sick. Treatment of migraine with botox injections helps reduce migraine symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound, and also odor.
How to treat botox for migraines?
Keep in mind, this method is only recommended for people who experience chronic migraines. Usually, the doctor will ask you to inject every three months at the beginning of the meeting. Then, the doctor will see the body's response to the treatment given. After that, the doctor will provide a treatment plan according to the conditions.
Each Botox injection session usually lasts 10 to 15 minutes with 30 to 40 injections per session. The doctor will inject several doses of the drug into certain points along the bridge of the nose, temples, forehead, back of the head, neck, and upper back.
After you receive a botox injection, it takes 10 to 14 days to feel the effects. But in some cases, the first injection still has no effect that you can feel to help reduce the pain caused by migraines.
Be sure to talk to the doctor on the next visit.
Botox side effects to treat migraines
The most common side effects of Botox injections are pain and stiffness in the neck at the injection site. In addition, weak muscles around the neck and upper shoulders can also make it difficult for you to straighten your head. However, don't worry, because these side effects will disappear on their own within days after treatment.
In cases that are quite rare, botox can spread to areas outside the injection site. If this happens, the muscles will weaken, vision problems, difficulty swallowing, and drooping eyelids appear.
In addition, botox injections can also cause allergic reactions that are characterized by itching all over the body, shortness of breath, and swelling in the lower legs. For that, make sure this one treatment is done by experts.
Remember, Botox injections for beauty and coping with migraines are two different things so the doctor is different. Make sure that you choose a doctor who is expert and experienced in Botox injections specifically for migraine.
