subject: What To Expect With Botox Treatments [print this page] Getting Botox treatments is no more complicated than getting any other small series of injections. When you decide that you want to give the wrinkle-smoothing effect a try, you should find a reputable provider who has been dispensing Botox for a while. According to studies, the skill of the provider makes a difference in how well the Botox works.
Almost certainly, the physician will want you to come in for a consultation to ensure that he actually can help you. Once he has determined that Botox treatments will be useful for your particular facial wrinkles and you present to his office for the injections, he will likely add saline to the vial of Botox, which is a crystalline substance when it is shipped from the manufacturer. Do not be fooled if the physician adds more water or less than the standard mixture. What makes a difference in the results is the amount of medicine, not how diluted it is when it actually enters the muscles.
You will be placed in a raised position on the medical table and then, as always when you receive any type of injection, the areas to be injected will be cleansed. Sometimes you will get a local anesthetic cream just to minimize the discomfort from the needle pokes. If this isnt offered and you think it would help you, you might be able to ask your provider for it. After this, if its given, the Botox will be injected into all the desired areas, usually four or five spots on the bilateral sides of the forehead and then two or three around each eye. Sometimes there is bleeding, and if there is some, it will be controlled with simple pressure.
After the series of injections is completed, you will usually remain on the table for a few minutes to make sure there is no sort of reaction to the procedure. Then, you will be let go, but asked not to lie down for a while so that you dont get bruises at the sites of the injections. There are some differences of opinion as to what to do over the next few days. Some physicians tell their patients to work the areas where the injections were given and other physicians tell their patients not to use the affected muscles if at all possible. No formal studies have yet been done to identify which of these is more efficacious as far as avoiding bruising but also which gives the longest lasting effect after the treatment.
The results will start to be noticeable after about three days typically, and then will last about three to four months. After that, you can consider the entire process and results and decide if you want to have the Botox treatments again.
