While Botox is commonly used for smoothing out wrinkles, it has recently been approved by the FDA to treat chronic migraine headaches in adults. According to the FDA, Botox injections have shown to be effective in preventing migraine headaches. Migraine headaches are said to affect approximately 12 percent of Americans.
Botox is suggested for patients with chronic migraines. Chronic migraines are when migraine headaches are experienced more than 14 days out of the month and when they last for more than four hours each.
Botox treatment
Botox is given in intervals of about 12 weeks as multiple injections around the head and neck. These injections are said to dull future headache symptoms.
It is very important to speak with a doctor before beginning Botox treatment as there can be a risk for some migraine headache sufferers.
According to the company that makes Botox, a qualified medical specialist will administer 31 Botox injections into seven specified points in the head and neck. If this process is administered correctly, it is expected to produce results last up to three months depending on the patient.
The FDA’s approval for use of Botox for migraine headaches was based off of the results of two studies involving more than one thousand adults in both North America and Europe. These reports state that patients treated with Botox experienced a major decrease in the frequency of migraine headache days.
Botox side effects
While side effects can be serious, they do not happen in a large number of patients. Doctors will only suggest treatments if they truly believe that the help from the medication or procedure outweighs the risk.
Most commonly patients who are given Botox injections for chronic migraine headaches have neck pain and headache. Botox can also cause swallowing and breathing problems because it can cause symptoms similar to botulism if the Botox toxin spreads to another area other than the injection site. However, there have not been any confirmed cases of this. Other risk factors include severe underarm sweating, muscle spasms, weakness, double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, loss of bladder control and hoarseness.
Botox is a usually used as a last resort for migraine headache treatment. There are many reasons for this, most commonly being that it is the newest form of treatment.
Tags: headaches, migraine attacks, migraine treatment, Migraines, side effects, symptoms, treating migraines, vascular headachce
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