Can Children Benefit from Botox?

Last week, we discussed how Botox can change your skin. Today, we are addressing the Safety of Botox and whether or not children can benefit from it. To read more about Botox, check out last week’s article. For more on skin care, check out Dr. Iman’s series.

Botox prices in Doha can differ but most of them are pretty expensive if you consider they are safe for children. According to Dr. Iman Al Haj, renowned plastic surgeon at Tadawi Medical Center, “perhaps the most interesting fact about Botox is how safe it is as medication in the hands of the right people.” She also added, “cost is dependent on the amount of units used per area.”

Although we know that Botox is a toxin that paralyzes the muscles for a period of time, Dr. Al Haj says it is “100% reversible, and is best used for expression line 11 or 111 between the eyebrows, forehead, wrinkles, and crow’s feet.”

Dubbed the best place for Botox in Doha, Tadawi Medical Center’s skin clinic expert Dr. Al Haj, understands that it’s all about the quantity of Botox injected that gives the quality results. “Amount used is variable. However, a good Botox treatment starts at 20 iu,” said Dr. Al Haj.

“Botox was discovered in children with lazy eye disease where the spastic muscle was injected and sure enough those patients had no wrinkles in their forehead,” said Dr. Al Haj. So, it seems that Botox can be used for children who suffer from lazy eye to allow their eye to shape up and not give them problems in the future.

Another benefit to Botox can be to stop excessive sweating. We all sweat and this can sometimes cause problems if you are ferociously sweating all the time. Although most children do not sweat much to a point that it causes them social problems, when they are nearing puberty, their condition may worsen. Botox injections can be given to stop the sweat glands from producing too much sweat.

“Botox should be done 3 times a year and not every month as tolerance (muscle stop responding to treatment) may happen,” said Dr. Al Haj. “Other similar products to Botox are available and are as effective and may alleviate the headache associated with Botox in certain patients. No difference in potency or efficacy has been reported,” she added.

Medical alternatives to Botox are Dysport and Xeomin, according to Dr. Al Haj, who also stated the side effects and warnings for using Botox as, “headache and muscle ache in the first 24 hours is normal. However, Botox should only be done on healthy, non-pregnant individuals. If you are sick or taking antibiotics, please reschedule, as Botox may worsen your sickness, and your antibiotics will kill your Botox.”

This only proves a small chance of side effects actually permanently damaging the skin. New technologies have proven to have reversible action and delicate accuracy. However, mistakes may happen. Dr. Al Haj said that “**Botox is still used on kids for myriad conditions.” **She also said that droopy eyelids are 100% reversible, “this could be because of technical issues or too much Botox treatment is available.”

Here it is: Botox is considered safe in professional experts’ hands. It can be considered beneficial for children if they suffer from health-inflicting issues such as droopy eyes or lazy eyes that might hinder their vision. It can be used for beauty purposes and to keep the face looking younger. However, as is the case with everything, having too much of one thing may be more dangerous and have more impact on your health, as well as maybe having too little.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

**This article does not propose that children should get Botox or be under any influence of drugs. It is merely an opinion piece based on local fac