I fear to get Botox in my jawline, can it cause problems swallowing?

Thank you for your question mxndieu. I understand your concern. Botox is a purified protein used to address wrinkles associated with facial expression. When injected into the skin Botox will relax the muscles and smoothen out the overlying wrinkles. The most common areas of treatment are in the upper face. These include the horizontal lines seen on the upper forehead when one raises the brows, the vertical lines seen between the brows when one frowns (frown lines), and the crow's feet seen around the eyes when one smiles.It is difficult to make an assessment without a formal exam where the entire medical history is reviewed. However, I hope the information provided here is useful.Although Botox is most commonly used in the upper face, it can also be used in various areas in the lower face and neck. Botox can be placed just under the jawline in what is called the Nefertiti lift to relax the platysma muscle which pulls down on the lower face, thereby improving jawline definition.If Botox spreads to nearby muscle it could also relax those. In the neck there are muscles used for swallowing. However, these are very deep and I have never seen a case of difficulty swallowing after a Botox treatment. If I had a patient with the concern described here I would recommend not worrying.With any injection, there are risks such as pain, bleeding, bruising, redness, swelling, tenderness, and infection. We take special precautions to minimize these risks such as using a painless technique. We also treat bruises with a laser as early as the next day. Bruises usually resolve within two weeks if untreated. After a laser treatment bruises usually resolve in 1-3 days, but may still take two weeks for full resolution. In addition to these risks, with Botox there is also a risk that the product spreads or diffuses to nearby structures. Spread to nearby muscles can lead to side effects such as the temporary appearance of droopy eyelids or a temporary asymmetric smile.

After a Botox treatment, I recommend that my patients avoid heat exposure, alcohol consumption, and strenuous exercise for 24 hours and not lie down flat for four hours. This is because all of these activities may possibly lead to the movement of the product and consequent side effects such as droopy eyelids. Although there have been no definitive studies shown that these actually occur and some physicians do not provide such aftercare instructions, in the absence of data I err on the side of caution and recommend that my patients avoid such activities.

Please consult with a doctor for specific recommendations. Good luck!

Thank you for your question! I suspect what you had Botox injected into the masseter muscles which is a treatment for face reshaping while Botox injection to the jawline (platysma muscle) is for increased jawline definition. With the dose you had injected, difficulty swallowing would be extremely rare. Best of luck!