Skin care

5 Surprising Uses for Botox

Much more than simply a wrinkle freezer, these days, the injectable is being used for a bunch of shocking things. (Breast lift, anyone?)

by Audrey Fine

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Here's the story about how one of today's most revered and popular wrinkle treatments came to be. (And how it's been morphing into something much more.)

Once upon a time in San Francisco, an ophthalmologist named Dr. Alan Scott sought a cure for crossed eyes. By the mid-'60s the good doctor realized that if he could just weaken the muscles that caused the crossing that he'd have the solution. Several attempts with various paralytic potions failed and then, one day, he got lucky. A biochemist who'd been working with a purified strain of botulism (as a potential military biological weapon) sent him some to try and, hooray, it worked. Dr. Scott named the drug Oculinum and got it FDA approved to treat those crossed eyes. In 1991, the miracle med was sold to Allergan for $9 million. They changed the name to Botox, secured some of their own FDA approvals, began marketing it as a wrinkle paralyzer and we all lived happily, furrow-free, ever after.

See five weird uses for Botox now.

It's amazing to think how, in less than 20 years that it's been FDA approved for the "treatment of glabellar frown lines," Botox has become a verb used in the vernacular with astonishing regularity, right up there with others like "TiVo" or "Xerox." But, because it's so famous for its wrinkle reducing effects, Botox's (many) other uses have been overshadowed.

With six FDA approvals for wide-ranging uses (and an estimated 90 patent applications pending), thanks to Botox, Allergan rakes in an astounding $1.3 billion worldwide on both medical and cosmetic uses. "The therapeutic [uses] will end up being bigger than the cosmetic [ones] because there are some big unmet medical needs there,� says David E. I. Puyott, Allergan's CEO, of the seemingly limitless future of the product.

So, if it's not just for wrinkles anymore, what else is Botox being used for -- both legitimately with FDA approval and "off label" with doctors experimenting in their own practices? From helping with benign enlarged prostates to working on several pancreatic disorders, Botox, as the "New York Times" says, is a crossed eye medication that can be "serially reincarnated for other applications."

Let's take a look at the most promising ones as well as the ones we'd raise our eyebrows at -- if we could�

SEE NEXT PAGE: Gummy smile (not FDA approved)

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Older comments

Really nice post. Its must satisfy the real experts.

by nyilmaz Saturday, March 30, 2013 at 02:02PM Report as inappropriate

Nice info

by EricaC123 Friday, December 28, 2012 at 05:07PM Report as inappropriate

I just want to make clear that Botox is 100% natural. Natural is not necessarily good for you as this poison it the most fatal we have on earth. Actually out of the 10 most deadly poisons there are, 8 come from mother nature herself.

by SpiritSings Friday, December 28, 2012 at 02:15PM Report as inappropriate

Okay I totally thought that girl was getting scalp botox...

by schien Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 03:12PM Report as inappropriate

how do people accept treatments that are not FDA cleared?

by lilas Saturday, October 6, 2012 at 03:41PM Report as inappropriate

Pure Argan oil works the best for me. I started using it 3 months ago and started getting results after 2 weeks. Unlike botox, It's all natural. Here's the site if interested. purearganoil.net My sample bottle lasted a month and a half

by StacyW46 Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 08:40PM Report as inappropriate

The problem with Botox is that it fades & you keep having to get more injections. I have heard that people can build an immunity to it so they eventually have to start getting bigger injections more frequently.

by pynkNymphette Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 12:52AM Report as inappropriate

I think if you have uncontrollable sweaty armpits, or have chronic migraine, the payoff is worth the risk. Other than that, no thank you!

by powerwoman033 Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 11:17PM Report as inappropriate

Even with its other uses I think it is best to stay clear of Botox, it cannot be good for the body to inject these kind of substances into it

by RaraGiggles89 Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 05:27AM Report as inappropriate

I wonder if for older people who are hunched of if this would help them stand up more straight

by jujug Monday, March 5, 2012 at 02:11PM Report as inappropriate