What is Botox?
The word Botox names one brand of injectable neurotoxin. Its label and the consent form define what you are getting.
Let the label and consent form define the product
Read the label and the consent form for the exact product in your treatment plan. Have the provider point to the lines that matter for you.
Read the Botox label as the primary document
Treat the product label as the source document. Look for what it says about use, who should not receive the product, and which side effects to report.
Put these three questions to the provider:
- Which product is it, by brand name and lot?
- Where is the written label or patient information?
- What does the consent form say about risks and follow-up?
For background, read the medical center page on what Botox is, with results and side effects and the plastic surgery society page on recovery after botulinum toxin injections. Neither one stands in for the label or the consent form.
Open the paper titled Botulinum Toxin Deaths: What is the Fact? to see how safety questions show up in the literature. Take any question it raises to the provider.
Underline the label lines you cannot explain
- Request the label and the consent form by email ahead of the appointment.
- Underline each line you could not explain to someone else.
- Raise every underlined line with the provider.
Leave treatment decisions with your clinician
Decisions about treatment belong with your clinician, made from the label and your history.