Asking Questions and Being Prepared Leads To Successful Botox Treatments.
(PRWEB) August 11, 2014
It’s become a common occurrence when you turn on the tv or surf the internet. You’ll hear a Greek chorus of local news, entertainment shows, and websites all stoking up the hysteria of people getting a frozen face due to Botox injections. One common example of this is the lists of Hollywood celebrities who have their looks altered drastically due to the cosmetic procedures that they’ve undergone. The point of all this hype is not to inform the public but rather to whip the flames of sensationalism and get more viewers or page counts.
As the use of Botox continues to rise with every passing year as an effective means to give a more youthful appearance due to the smoothing out of wrinkles, so too does the misconceptions and stories of botched procedures increase as well. The fact is that the use of Botox is the number one non-invasive cosmetic procedure in the United States.
The number of Botox injections numbered 6.3 million in 2013. Overall, a staggering $2.5 billion was spent on injectables in 2013, with a full $1.9 billion going towards skin rejuvenation procedures. The use of Botox is not only as a valid medication for a host of health issues (chronic migraines, overactive bladders, cervical dystonia, misaligned eyes, spastic cerebral palsy, and uncontrollable blinking), but is used safely over ten thousand times a day to reduce facial wrinkles and improve appearance, but many people are still quite concerned about Botox and hesitant to undergo the procedure.
This concern over the side effects of Botox is driven by media hype in an effort to boost ratings. People are worried that once they have gotten some Botox injections, their face will be frozen into some terrible tableau akin to a wax statue or a plastic mannequin. Photos appear regularly in gossip magazines showing poor souls whose facial expressions are no longer natural but frozen in a parody of the real thing. However, such a result is rare and need not occur if some basic steps are taken to ensure the proper treatment with Botox. The result of such a frozen face is due to too much Botox being injected or having it injected in the wrong location. That is why you should always have the procedure done by a qualified physician, such as Dr. F. Victor Rueckl at Lakes Dermatology in Las Vegas. In fact, many of the frozen faces of celebrities hyped on the news are due to the celebrity undergoing several other cosmetic procedures in the past that may have been more intensive.
How to Ensure Receiving a Proper Botox Treatment
There are several steps that a patient can take to ensure that they receive the best possible treatment available. The first criteria is to not get Botox injected at one of the increasingly popular Botox parties as such a situation is not safe. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery recommends that you have a Botox procedure in an appropriate setting from a qualified physician. Many doctors choose to perform the Botox injections themselves, such as Dr. F. Victor Rueckl at Lakes Dermatology, rather than leave it to an assistant to ensure a smooth and safe procedure. Other preparatory steps include:
- Consult with the physician to see if Botox is the right treatment for you. There might be other options available or ones that are more suitable for your issues. The physician will also discuss any potential side effects and how they will be handled if they surface.
- Fully discuss your medical history with the physician and alert them to any allergies that you may have.
- Inform the attending physician of any medications that you are currently taking or have taken recently. Some medications may cause bruising or bleeding, so the doctor may have you stop taking such medications a few days before the procedure.
- Inform the physician if you have had Botox injections in the past.Once you have asked all the questions needed and are comfortable with the results, then schedule your procedure with your doctor. Once the procedure is done, there are a few things that the patient needs to be aware of to make the entire process a success. These include:
- Do not touch or massage the area that was injected. This may accidentally cause the Botox to spread to an unintended area.
- Verify with the doctor that it is okay to take medication or painkillers afterwards.
- You should avoid strenuous exercise or any kind of vigorous activity for the rest of the day.
- Lastly, do not panic if you don’t see immediate results. Dr. Rueckl of Lakes Dermatology notes, “It usually takes ten days for Botox injections to fully take effect. If you do not see any improvement after ten days, you should call your doctor immediately.”
If you follow these basic steps in both preparing for your Botox procedure and then during the recovery, then there should be no cause for alarm. As long as you’ve had your injections done by a qualified and licensed health care professional, such as Dr. Rueckl of Lakes Dermatology, and followed the doctor’s instructions, then there’s no need to worry about having the expression on your face frozen into place due to a Botox treatment.
Despite all the media hype, such incidents are rare and occur mainly due to the improper injecting of Botox or are the result of other cosmetic procedures. Just remember that your local news and entertainment websites are not designed to actually give you solid information but rather to hype some imaginary crisis in order to garner ratings. Your best recourse to put your mind at ease over the fears of having your face frozen is to talk to a health care professional and get the facts.
References:
1) http://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/past-press-releases/2014-archives/plastic-surgery-procedures-continue-steady-growth-in-us.html
2) http://www.surgery.org/media/news-releases/the-american-society-for-aesthetic-plastic-surgery-reports-americans-spent-largest-amount-on-cosmetic-surger
3) Quote from Dr. F. Victor Rueckl, dermatologist at Lakes Dermatology
