For some or other reason, many women feel that it is fine to have their nails done in either acrylic or gel, and then go monthly to have their hair chemically colored. When I ask what the difference is between those beauty treatments and Botox, the answer I often receive is that Botox is toxic.

This is, obviously, not entirely the case. Most of our modern drugs are some or other diluted form of a poison obtained from a plant. If you had a major cardiac event today and ended up in hospital most of the drugs that would be used to save your life, Digoxin, Atropine, Lidocaine or Adrenalin are all chemicals extracted from plants, microbes or animals that are used in a controlled fashion. Some drugs such as Digoxin are extracted from the foxglove plant can actually stop your heart beating if they are used in a strong enough strength. Atropine is derived from the Belladonna plant. If we dilute them they have less effect but could stop your heart from beating uncontrollably and allow it to beat normally.

Botox is an extremely mild dilution of Botulinum toxin, which can cause a serious form of food poisoning.

The safety of Botox is also ensured by its selective administration into a certain muscle or a group of muscles, which leaves it largely incapable of action outside the given area. The toxic dosage of Botox is 3 000U. No one is going to come CLOSE to that number when doing Botox injections. Considering that you need about 5 paracetamol tablets to go into liver failure, it makes Botox a safer option that your classic over the counter pain meds.

Yes, allergies and anaphylaxis can occur, and as with all drugs, it is a noted risk. This is the reason one should only go to trained medical professionals for the treatment.

To put it into perspective, I am going to borrow the words of Paracelsus: “The dose makes the poison”.