Whether you are looking to get Botox on Maui, or anywhere else in the world, you should first be aware of the potential Botox side effects. Some are fairly common, and not serious, such as bruising, and others are more rare but also more serious.

Common Botox Side Effects

Because you are receiving an injection, Botox can sometimes cause swelling, pain and bruising at the site where you are injected. Areas, like around your eyes for “crows feet,” contain more blood vessels, and therefore are at a higher risk of bruising.

How to Avoid More Serious Botox Side Effects

Ensuring that a trained medical professional does your Botox is the best way to avoid more potentially severe side effects. If you have an injection that is not placed properly, is not the proper dosing, or contains a diluted products, the Botox can travel through your blood vessels to other locations and cause things such as crooked facial expressions. This could results in something like droopy eyelids or a lopsided smile, giving you a look that you are always very tired or like you have just had a stroke. A very low percentage of Botox treatments have this result (about 2%), and usually a skilled plastic surgeon can treat other areas of the face to lessen the effects until they fade over time.

Another way to avoid negative Botox side effects is to avoid activities that raise your blood pressure or increase circulation for a minimum of a few hours after receiving the treatment. This is because that is how long it takes for Botox to bind to acetylcholine receptors, so doing something like going to the gym an hour after your injections can increase swelling or the chance that Botox will migrate to an unwanted area, which can lead to more serious side effects.

Rare Botox Side Effects

One of the very rare, but also life-threatening Botox side effects is an allergic reaction to the product. Also, sometimes the bacterium can travel to other parts of the body, causing vision problems, muscle weakness or trouble breathing and swallowing.

There is also a small percentage of people that Botox simply won’t work for. This could be because they have been exposed to the real botulinum toxin in the past and their immune system made antibodies that bind to the protein. Also, certain antibiotics can keep Botox from working correctly.  The best way to avoid this outcome before having Botox injections is to let your doctor know if you think you may have been exposed, and if you are on any antibiotics.

When you get Botox injections, you may have trouble making the full rage of facial expressions that you were able to before. There is some evidence to show that our ability to feel emotions like happiness, sadness or anger can be related to our facial expression that is linked to the particular emotion. In this way, Botox may lessen your ability to feel these emotions if your facial expressions are restricted. This could be considered a bad thing when it comes to happy emotions, but also can be good for people who are suffering from things like depression. A 2012 study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that people who received a Botox injection in their frown lines while they were suffering from severe depression showed dramatic improvements in their symptoms.

The very best way to avoid Botox side effects on Maui, or anywhere else, is to do your research on the procedure and your options for treatment beforehand, and make sure you have all the facts and select a trained medical professional to do your injections. Here is a list of Botox doctors on Maui.