How Does Botox Dissipate Inside Our Body?

I believed that Botox is toxic. How does our body dispose it.?Does it affect our organ such as liver and kidney?

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6 Doctor Answers | Asked by yny in Singapore

Doctor Answers (6)
Community Comments (2)

Botox very safe in doses used clinically

You are right that Botox, (generically called Botulunum toxin type A) is in theory harmful because it is the same thing that causes botulism poisoning. However, it would take many many times the doses used in practice to do any harm, and I can think of few things that have a better safety record than Botox, which has been in clinical use for 20 years on millions of patients. To be more specific, the molecule is a protein which is fairly rapidly broken down before it leaves the area into... more

An Excellent Question!

Botox is the most toxic substance known to man. Therefore, only very small amounts are necessary for therapeutic effects. The toxin is a protein that prevents the release of a neuromuscular transmitter or the chemical from a nerve that goes to the muscle to tell it to contract. Because the nerve shuts down but continues to get signals from the brain that the muscle should work it sprouts new nerve endings. These don't have the Botox in them and as they hook up with the muscle the muscle... more

Botox and toxicity

When Botox is injected into the skin, it may migrate up to 3 cm from where it was injected. Even if some molecules were to go into the bloodstream and travel to distant sites in the body, the cosmetic doses (typically less than 100 units) used are significantly lower than the toxic dose that would be harmful systemically (2500-3000 units. Once the protein stops functioning at the neuromuscular junction, it is broken down into its harmless break-down components (amino acids) and either... more

Botox travels through the body

Dr. Chen has provided a concise review. I would also add that in addition to traveling through the bloodstream, a recent animal study showed that Botox can travel backwards through the nerve to the Central Nervous System. The effect and consequences of this were unknown.

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

32 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Botox is not toxic

As stated, the doses are very small and not considered to be in a "toxic range." We typically use Botox for various non-cosmetic indications and use a much larger dose than when we do lines and wrinkles. In fact, Botox was first used for non-cosmetic reasons for over a hundred years, before being used for cosmetic purposes. It has a remarkable safety profile and as far as I am aware, there are no toxicity concerns for cosmetic use. The protein is broken down into its components... more

The small doses of BOTOX are very well tolerated.

Dear YNY The doses of BOTOX injected for cosmetic purposed are extremely small. They have no effect on the liver or kidneys. In fact very little of the BOTOX circulates in the body. This is because the dose used for cosmetic purposes is so small most of it is locally absorbed by the muscle where it is injected. When BOTOX is used for medical reasons, higher dose are used and these may be associated with systemic effects. However, this dose is orders of magnitude higher than cosmetic... more

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD

8 reviews

Los Angeles Oculoplastic Surgeon

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Comments (2)

Kobu 15 Feb 2013

With due respect to the physicians comments....there is scientific literature that has shown circulating ACTIVE toxin in the bloodstream as long as 15 days after an individual was known to have botulnum toxin in their system. Also....the scientific literature also shows that there IS NO UNDERSTANDING of exactly how or when the body actually breaks down and expells to toxin. In fact, there is documented literature that indicates that the toxin remains active in the autonoc nervous system for time periods much longer than when movement is regained at the neuromuscular junction. Please read some of the posts in the discussion forum from individuals who are suffering horribly from the spread of the toxin systemicay and are quite disabled as a result.

anonymous104 1 Mar 2013

Kobu is right and shame of these doctors for answering as if they have knowledge. They do not know the answer to this question any more than they know what lies at the botom of the ocean. There have been NO clinical studies to document how botox breaks down in the body and expells. There are also NO studies regarding the LONG TERM EFFECTS of botox on healthy muscles. HOWEVER - there are scientific studies that prove botox causes muscle atrophy and turns healthy muscle into fat. Disturbingly - there have been studies where botox was found in the FINGERNAILS of cadavers YEARS after they had been injected with botox proving not only can it remain the the body for years, but it can also travel a great distance. It is very scary stuff and even scarier that uneducated doctors are tossing out their guesses as if they knew. Shame on them.

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