Botox injections in Nashville, an Update – By Dr. Melvin Elson

Although Botox® has become a household name and is now the most common medical procedure performed world-wide, it is not the only FDA approved botulinum toxin. There are actually 3 currently approved by the FDA that have the same actions—Botox, Dysport® and Xeomin®.

Although they all possess the ability to decrease muscular function and improve the appearance of wrinkles, the only one that is pure toxin (no extraneous proteins) is Xeomin. It has the same effect as Botox and same side-effects and may have less of a tendency to invoke any allergy as the extraneous proteins are absent. It is also less expensive than Botox.

Uses and Benefits of Botox

What are the uses for these materials? The most common is to improve the appearance of the frown line (the 11’s) on the forehead, but also uses in the face include improving forehead lines, crow’s feet, lip line-s, lines under the eyes and can produce a lift of the face (so called Nefertiti lift).

It is also used to decrease the fine wrinkles over the face and the décolleté. Additionally, these injections can decrease the pain from migraine headaches and decrease the problem of sweating under the arms and on the palms and soles.

The injections are not painful, have very few side-effects (most common is bruising especially around the eyes), and it must be remembered that there is a delay in its action since it is actually treating the underlying cause of the wrinkles, i.e. the muscles. Most commonly it begins to work in about 3 days, reaches its peak in 7-10 days and will last anywhere from 3-8 months depending on the area injected and the skill of the injector.

If you want to consult with Dr. Melvin Elson about Botox injections in Tennessee, particularly in the Nashville area, you can click here.

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Rosacea: What is it and How to Prevent it? – By Dr. Melvin Elson

Although Rosacea was described as a clinical entity a number of decades ago, the etiology has remained a mystery until recently. It is characterized by redness over the face that continues to get progressively worse over time and eventually increases the appearance of blood vessels of the face with many breaking and leaking. One of the characteristics is that in one of the stages of rosacea, there is a significant breakout of stopped-up oil glands that has the same appearance as acne . This is the reason that the moniker applied to this condition is acne rosacea, which is incorrect.

What causes Rosacea?

It occurs both in males and females and is generally worsened by stress, alcohol, exercise, spicy foods and anything that will increase blood flow to the face. If allowed to continue untreated over decades, some will develop rhinophyma or an enlarged nose, characteristic of W. C. Fields. This is the reason the association has occurred between alcoholism and rosacea. However, there are many alcoholics who do not have rosacea and many with rosacea who are not alcoholics.

In addition to the problems with the skin of the face, there is also associated a conjunctivitis or inflammation of the eye making it feel as though there is gravel in the eyes.

Rosacea Treatments

Classically, treatment has been aimed at clearing the acne-like bumps and killing an organism that lives in the oil glands, hence the prescribing of tetracycline and a topical called Metrogel. The conjunctivitis was also treated with tetracycline.

Recent research, performed mostly in Ireland, has disputed most of these old ideas and delineates the fact that rosacea is actually a disorder of blood vessels and that accounts for all the manifestations of the disease, including the oil gland problem as the oil gland difficulty arises from the increased fuel to the glands (I.e. blood).

Clinical trials have shown that topical treatment of a drug that has been used for the treatment of glaucoma decreases the blood vessel problem and therefore clears the rosacea. This medication is now available by prescription under the name of Mirvaso.

The conjunctivitis should be treated with prednisolone 1% ophthalmic solution and should be administered properly. The eye, just as the skin, has memory, so that if treatment is started and discontinued too rapidly, the problem will simply return. The eye drops should be used 3 times a day for 2 weeks, twice a day for 2 weeks and then once a day for a month before discontinuing it.

It is also prudent for the patient to avoid anything that causes more blood to flow to the face. One of the strange characteristics about the skin of rosacea is that it is very dry—not oily—and requires significant moisturizing with good moisturizers. Topical steroids, which are often used to treat redness of the skin, may actually irritate rosacea skin.

If you want to treat your Rosacea by Dr. Melvin Elson, you can contact him by clicking this link.

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