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This non-invasive treatment will help you refresh your look for a natural, rejuvenated, and youthful appearance.

Juvederm
This smooth, injectable gel filler is one of the most popular facial fillers on the market today, partially thanks to the fact that it is made of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring sugar already present in the human body.

Found to play a key role in the health and hydration of our skin, production of hyaluronic acid slows over time due to the combined effects of aging, pollution, and ultraviolet rays. Replacing the lost sugars can help to restore the lost volume while promoting the creation of collagen to keep the skin elastic and well nourished. This makes Juvederm an ideal filler as results are natural, instant, and long lasting with virtually no recovery time required.

Botox
Short for botulinum toxin, this neurotoxin is produced by clostridium botulinum, which is a bacterium. When properly administered by a registered professional, it’s one of the most versatile medical treatments available and is currently used for a wide variety of purposes including the treatment of crossed eyes, pain disorders, muscle disorders, uncontrollable blinking, and migraine headaches. Its usage in the cosmetic industry is largely in the prevention of fine lines and wrinkles caused by the muscles around the eyes and mouth.

Treatment Areas
A soft lift is a great non-surgical replacement for the traditional facelift because it targets many of the same regions of the face for a complete, natural rejuvenation of the patient’s appearance.

For more information about the Soft Lift procedure, contact the staff at Med-Aesthetics today.

Used for many cosmetic purposes including the prevention of wrinkles and fine lines, Botox is also used by the general medical community to treat and prevent everything from migraine headaches and temporomandibular joint disorder to uncontrollable blinking and crossed eyes. It is also used to treat a condition known as hyperhidrosis, which causes chronic or excessive sweating even when at rest and not under stress.

What is Hyperhidrosis?
This medical condition affects up to 1% of the population of men and women in North America and usually occurs in the underarms, palms, and feet. Those who suffer from this condition can sweat up to four times the normal amount as the body struggles to maintain a comfortable body temperature. Many of these patients acknowledge that their condition causes discomfort and embarrassment in social situations as well as making some aspects of their day-to-day lives more difficult.

While there are several other treatment methods available, Botox injections are considered one of the most effective and least invasive treatment options currently offered. Alternative treatments include prescription antiperspirants or pills and surgical options such as sympathectomy or the severing of the nerves that signal the sweat glands.

Unfortunately not all patients find prescription medications to be a successful solution to their problem and surgical options have their own obvious drawbacks.

How does Botox work?
By injecting this neurotoxin into the skin of the underarm, Botox can be used to suppress the overactive sweat production and limit it to more appropriate levels. This is because our skin contains sweat glands which respond to increases in body temperature, automatically releasing sweat to cool the body.

Botox prevents the signals from the nerve endings from reaching the sweat glands, blocking their ability to trigger the release of sweat. The effects last up to 8 months at a time and require little to no recovery time required. Studies have shown that there is no harm in blocking the sweat glands in specific areas of the body as the skin is riddled with plenty of glands to handle the task of keeping your body cool.

For more information about using Botox to control overactive sweating, contact the experts at Med-Aesthetics to book an appointment today.

• Botox for Migraines - People who suffer from migraines know how painful they can be and how disruptive they are to daily life. If you have tried over-the-counter and prescription medications and had no luck, you might want to think about trying Botox injections to relieve pain. Botox is injected into different areas of the head and neck to reduce the pain, nausea and sensitivity to light associated with migraines.

• Botox for Hyperhidrosis - Hyperhidrosis is a condition that causes excessive sweating in various parts of the body, including the feet, hands, face and underarms. By injecting Botox into the problem area, chemical messengers are blocked, preventing sweat glands from working. This can significantly reduce the amount of sweat experienced by patients who suffer from hyperhidrosis.

• Botox Pain Treatment - Botox can also help manage pain from certain muscle syndromes. Injecting Botox into areas experiencing muscle pain keeps nerve signals from triggering painful muscle tightening and spasms. For people with cervical dystonia and spasticity, this treatment can vastly improve daily living and make life more comfortable.

If you suffer from chronic migraines, hyperhidrosis or neck pain and have not had success with traditional treatments, Botox could offer a viable solution.

First, let’s just state that Botox and other facial fillers work by relaxing muscle movements in certain areas which lead to wrinkles; Botox injections don’t target areas of the skin that crease when you move (for example, the creases that result from smiling or frowning), but rather, these injections target areas where wrinkles never existed before (like on your forehead or around your eyes). Women tend to receive Botox treatments more often than men, and treatment is usually focused around the face, because women actually have thinner facial skin than men do — meaning that wrinkles are more likely to appear, and tend to appear earlier. The average Botox patient is between the ages of 40 and 59, but it isn’t unusual for younger patients to receive Botox treatments, too. And part of the reason why Botox attracts younger patients is because this treatment isn’t just for preventing and eliminating wrinkles.

Many patients have reported fewer migraines after receiving facial Botox injections. Similarly, when injected into the shoulders, neck, and/or back areas, Botox relieves muscle tension too. Because it is so effective as a muscle relaxer, Botox has often been used to ameliorate arthritis pain as well. And if you’re suffering from hypotrichosis (excessive sweating), Botox has been proven to reduce sweating by inhibiting the chemical acetycholine, which stimulates the sweat glands.

So if you’re still associating Botox with wrinkles, but you suffer from any of these physical pains, it may be time to start doing some research and talking to your doctor about the types of Botox pain treatments that are available — and safe — for you. Botox cosmetics treatments actually increased by 8% between 2012 and 2013, as more research became available showing how effective these treatments are. You have every right to feel comfortable in your body — and Botox might just help you with that.

Hyperhidrosis can be an uncomfortable and embarrassing condition. People with hyperhidrosis may find themselves uncomfortable in social situations, afraid that people will notice the sweat stains on their clothing. They may try to avoid raising their arms in normal situations, like dancing. They may even hesitate to buy new clothes, afraid they’ll be ruined by sweat stains.

Everybody sweats, but hyperhidrosis takes it to a new level. People suffering from hyperhidrosis sweat excessively all the time, not just as a result of physical exertion or warm weather. They have often tried every antiperspirant on the market, to no avail. In this case, Botox is a treatment option they can consider.

A Botox injection to the affected area temporarily blocks the chemical signals from the nerves that stimulate the sweat glands. When the sweat glands don’t receive chemical signals, the severe sweating stops. About 15 injections are made into the underarm area, and the entire procedure only takes about 10-15 minutes. While this is not a permanent solution, the effect does usually last for about six months.

Hyperhidrosis affects people of all ages, both men and women. Sadly, people with severe sweating often don’t seek treatment, because they don’t realize their sweating is a medical condition that can be treated. If you are experiencing excessive sweating, and have exhausted all the usual options, check with your dermatologist to see if a Botox treatment might work for you.

But not many people know that Botox treatments can be used for several different reasons. Botox pain treatment has been around for many years, but it is rarely highlighted in the news or by medical professionals.

A condition known as axillary hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating, affects many Canadians. The cause for the condition is not clear to doctors, but they believe it has to do with an overactive sympathetic nervous system, stimulated by excitement, nervousness, and even some foods. For these patients, Botox can be beneficial, as it blocks the impulse sent by the nerves to the sweat glands.

In addition to Botox for sweating, these injections can also be effective for migraines. These painful headaches are considered a nervous system disorder, and according to the World Health Organization, globally, they affect about 10% of adults ages 18 to 65. They can be debilitating, and make every day activities feel impossible. Botox for migraines has gained repute as a treatment for these chronic headaches. Pulsating muscles can be arrested with Botox injections, relieving the pain.

There have also been reports that Botox can be used for back spasms in children with cerebral palsy. Classified as a movement disorder, cerebral palsy affects about 17 million people around the world. Sufferers have difficulty controlling their limbs and body, because their muscles are spastic. This often places cerebral palsy patients in a specialized wheel chair to help them gain control over their movements. In one study, Botox injections helped children with cerebral palsy calm their back spasms for a period of time.

While Botox will likely still be known as a cosmetic treatment by most people, its therapeutic properties are gaining in popularity. As more studies are conducted on the alternative health benefits of Botox, these injections could become a significant treatment for more illnesses.

Botox, short for “botulinum toxin,” in addition to offering the most effective means of cosmetic wrinkle treatment, has numerous therapeutic benefits as well. It is effective for calming painful muscle spasms brought on by such disorders as dystonia and arthritis. This relieves pain and tightness in the extremities, so those afflicted can lead a comfortable and happy life.

Botox can also relieve the crippling pain from migraines, when locally injected in the neck or shoulder areas. It eases symptoms by constricting peripheral neurotransmitters. This basically means it interferes with the pain processing systems which register migraine pain. This is also the guiding principle doctors see when using the injection to successfully treat neck, back and shoulder pain.

In addition to the many tension easing and pain relieving benefits Botox can offer, it is very effective in treating hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating. There are few topical ways to curb excessive sweating, but Botox injections block neurological signals to the sweat glands, preventing perspiration in the first place, especially to the underarms. Talking to your doctor about Botox for hyperhidrosis can effectively prevent embarrassing sweat stains.

Originally introduced as an aging skin treatment, Botox has been discovered to offer many more benefits in recent years. Inhibiting neurological function, treatment essentially paralyzes muscle to inhibit contraction and spasm. This is fundamental to its tension easing and pain relieving principles.

“Some days, I would be in my room with ice packs, taking what seemed like hundreds of pills, and just praying that I would die,” she says.

Over the years, she consulted a long line of professionals and specialists, most of whom had been disappointing at best. The worst were those who dismissed her pain as being all in her head.

“One of them even asked me if I was happy in my marriage, and another told me I likely had a brain tumour.

“Nothing really worked,” she says of the different treatments she tried. “Changing my diet helped a little, exercise helped a little, I tried allergy shots, massage, but as the years went by, the pain seemed to be getting worse.”

Then she went to see Dr. Mark Baily, who was featured in a newspaper article about the therapeutic use of Botox, a muscle relaxant produced by American-based drug company Allergan Inc.

Baily explained he could treat her symptoms with Botox, a protein toxin produced by the same bacteria that causes botulism, a lethal form of food poisoning. The toxin produces prolonged muscle relaxation and, in minute dosages, has been used for several years to treat eye diseases and to control spasms in people with cerebral palsy.

It’s also been used cosmetically for about 10 years, to ease the furrows and frown lines on the forehead and around the eyes. (Botox demonstrations attracted some of the biggest crowds at last weekend’s New You cosmetic surgery and anti-aging show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.)

The cosmetic use of Botox led to the discovery that the toxin can also reduce migraines.

“People who were being treated in a cosmetic way with Botox, and who also suffered from migraine headaches, started to report they weren’t getting headaches, or if they did they weren’t as severe,” says Baily, who specializes in headache and pain management treatment at his clinics in Brampton and Toronto. He also trains other physicians on using Botox to treat pain.

Patricia Niesczeri, a Botox medical consultant with Allergan, explains Botox is cleared from the body within 48 hours, but its muscle relaxation qualities can last for three months or longer. It has no reported side effects.

The diluted substance is injected locally into the head, facial muscles, neck or shoulders, depending on the source of the pain.

Most medical insurance companies will cover the cost of therapeutic Botox treatments, which can cost up to $700 every three months. Cosmetic use is not covered.

Foster began noticing a difference in her pain a couple of weeks after her injections into her head and neck.

“Fibromyalgia is sort of like arthritis pain,” she explains, “except that it can be all over your body.

“Every joint and muscle seems to be affected. It is a gnawing pain that eats away at you.” Her neck is particularly affected by debilitating pain, she says.

“After Botox, the pain was down so much I could think again. Before, I was living in a blur. Now … it is so much better.”

Foster has also been able to cut back on her medication, which has helped her relax a little more about her overall health. “Botox really has changed my life and that is not an exaggeration,” she says.

Deanna Pietramala of Newmarket also knows the agony of chronic pain. She had suffered from severe migraines for more than 20 years, starting in her mid-teens. Hundreds of medical appointments and specialized tests never did determine why her headaches were so constant. Medications rarely helped.

“Every single day for 20 years, I had a headache,” says the 33- year-old mother of one. “You are in terrible pain, but you still have to work, and look after your kids. I started Botox last year and had the best year of my life. Within three weeks of the first treatment, I didn’t have a headache.”

Pietramala is an education specialist who designs programs for children with special needs, including autism. No matter how bad her headaches were, she had to keep working.

“You can’t say, ‘Sorry, I have a really bad headache, so I can’t meet with you today,’ when parents and children are counting on you to help. I’ve been in a darkened room, wearing sunglasses and working on my laptop, on medications that were narcotic, so I was kind of out of it. It wasn’t fun.”

Now, she only gets a sinus-type headache when she’s due for another treatment. She had to pay for her last treatment when her insurance company refused to cover it, but she has launched an appeal.

“This is a real quality of life issue for me and, in the long run, it saves a lot of money because I am not taking the other medicines, which they will cover.”

Baily says most insurers are starting to understand the long- term benefits of Botox and are covering treatment. Pain resulting from soft-tissue injuries such as whiplash has been particularly difficult to treat in the past, he adds.

“Now, we have a treatment that works, and works well, so they (insurers) are starting to see the benefits of getting people well and productive again.”

Dr. Amber Brown is a Brantford-based general practitioner who discovered Botox when she was establishing a cosmetic arm of her family practice. The more she learned about the therapeutic uses of Botox, the more she could see the benefits for many of her patients.

“The more I heard about the pain management effects, the more intrigued I became.”

Her own mother had suffered from debilitating low back pain for years, so Brown had a personal reason to discover whether Botox would work.

“If you can keep people away from the pill bottles and from things that don’t affect the whole body- that could affect your liver and kidneys- I think you have to try,” she says. “It is so rewarding to see how well these patients do.”

Brown has seen many women who have been living with pain for years. Statistically, women seem to suffer headaches, particularly migraines, more often than men, possibly because of hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle. In her experience, the ratio is about 8 to 1.

Chronic pain, she points out, “impairs so many areas of life.

“Imagine being unable to dress yourself, or make your bed, do your own grocery shopping, or cook a meal.”

Deanna Pietramala sees her Botox treatment results as nothing short of miraculous and is thankful for every pain-free day.

“This stuff is a godsend. It has changed everything. To have a day without a headache?

“A year ago, I just couldn’t have imagined it.”