Botox allergy? Confused. What is it?

Question

In January I had an extremely bad reaction to Botox to my forehead and frown lines I have had Botox for about 4 years It started with welts , itching , swelling I did a Botox allergy test with both Botox and the mixture used to mix it with in my fore arm the dr did a " double blind "test noting happen I had no reaction to either injection ??? My question is so what actually happen in January with the reaction so confused

Elham Jafari, MD · Answer

Hi and thank you for your question! I have performed several thousands of Botox injections and have yet to see a reaction similar to what you experienced. While there is always a small possibility that your reactions were related to Botox, the fact that you did not see further reactions following Botox challenge suggests that Botox might not be the underlying reason. You may want to carefully think about other potential causes of an allergic reaction that might have coincided with the Botox treatment. I hope it helps and good luck!

Alex Eshaghian, MD, PhD · Answer

Thank you for your question princessberni. I am sorry to hear about your situation. Botox
is a purified protein used to address wrinkles associated with facial
expression. In my experience of treating thousands of patients with Botox I have not seen a case as described. Some patients have an allergy to latex, which is in the gloves that many doctors use. However the amount of contact with the skin is very minimal and such allergies are rare. If I had a patient who had such a reaction occurred once and never occurred in 4 years with Botox treatments I would suspect that it was unrelated to the Botox treatment. Please consult with a doctor for specific recommendations. Good luck!

Melvin Elson, MD · Answer

the type of reaction you describe are not due to Botox and have not been reported. I would suspect something used to prep the skin or latex gloves or something like that

Botox allergy? Confused. What is it?

Answers (3)