Preventive Botox: Does It Really Work?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsUnderstanding Preventive BotoxHow Effective Is Preventive Botox?How Botox WorksSide Effects of BotoxSafety Precautions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Understanding Preventive Botox

How Effective Is Preventive Botox?

How Botox Works

Side Effects of Botox

Safety Precautions

The only preventive indication for which Botox is approved is prophylaxis (or prevention) of headaches in adults withchronic migraine. People are considered to have chronic migraine if they have 15 or more days per month where they get a headache that lasts four hours or longer.

Botox has potential benefits for many other indications but is used as a treatment in response to symptoms rather than for prevention purposes in these cases:

Participants were adults who had 15 or more headache days lasting four hours or more per month. They received either a placebo, an injection that did not contain any medication, or Botox at a dose of 155 units or 195 units every 12 weeks. They received two treatments, as the study ran for 24 weeks.

People who used Botox experienced 7.8 to 9.2 fewer headache days per month, translating to 107 to 134 fewer headache hours per month. The effects started, on average, around week 4 of the study.

The recommended dose for treating migraines is 155 units, divided into 5-unit injections into muscles in the head and neck. Each injection is 0.1 milliliters, a very small volume of liquid.

The effects of Botox typically last around three to four months, so that is how often you can expect to receive injections if Botox is effective in preventing migraines for you.

Possible side effects of using Botox include:

Botox is not recommended for everyone and should be limited to approved uses. Some individuals should avoid Botox or use it with caution, such as if they:

Summary

4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.FDA.Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) prescribing information.Burstein R, Blumenfeld AM, Silberstein SD, Adams AM, Brin MF.Mechanism of action of onabotulinumtoxinA in chronic migraine: a narrative review.Headache. 2020;60(7):1259-1272. doi:10.1111/head.13849Becker WJ.Botulinum toxin in the treatment of headache.Toxins (Basel).2020;12(12):803. doi:/10.3390/toxins12120803Brin MF, Burstein R.Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) mechanism of action.Medicine (Baltimore).2023;102(S1):e32372. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000032372

4 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.FDA.Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) prescribing information.Burstein R, Blumenfeld AM, Silberstein SD, Adams AM, Brin MF.Mechanism of action of onabotulinumtoxinA in chronic migraine: a narrative review.Headache. 2020;60(7):1259-1272. doi:10.1111/head.13849Becker WJ.Botulinum toxin in the treatment of headache.Toxins (Basel).2020;12(12):803. doi:/10.3390/toxins12120803Brin MF, Burstein R.Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) mechanism of action.Medicine (Baltimore).2023;102(S1):e32372. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000032372

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

FDA.Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) prescribing information.Burstein R, Blumenfeld AM, Silberstein SD, Adams AM, Brin MF.Mechanism of action of onabotulinumtoxinA in chronic migraine: a narrative review.Headache. 2020;60(7):1259-1272. doi:10.1111/head.13849Becker WJ.Botulinum toxin in the treatment of headache.Toxins (Basel).2020;12(12):803. doi:/10.3390/toxins12120803Brin MF, Burstein R.Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) mechanism of action.Medicine (Baltimore).2023;102(S1):e32372. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000032372

FDA.Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) prescribing information.

Burstein R, Blumenfeld AM, Silberstein SD, Adams AM, Brin MF.Mechanism of action of onabotulinumtoxinA in chronic migraine: a narrative review.Headache. 2020;60(7):1259-1272. doi:10.1111/head.13849

Becker WJ.Botulinum toxin in the treatment of headache.Toxins (Basel).2020;12(12):803. doi:/10.3390/toxins12120803

Brin MF, Burstein R.Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA) mechanism of action.Medicine (Baltimore).2023;102(S1):e32372. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000032372

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