Wednesday, January 14, 2009

New Safety Information Regarding Botox and Botox Cosmetic Products

From Health Canada:
Health Canada is informing Canadians and Canadian health care professionals that the labelling information of BOTOX ® and BOTOX Cosmetic ® will now include the risk of the toxin spreading to other distant parts of the body. Possible symptoms of “distant toxin spread,” which can be fatal, include muscle weakness, swallowing difficulties, pneumonia, speech disorders and breathing problems.

This update comes in light of Health Canada's recent safety review of distant toxin spread from Botox and Botox Cosmetic products. Health Canada has worked with the manufacturer, Allergan, to revise the labelling of these products on the Canadian market. It is important to note that there are no medically confirmed cases of distant toxin spread related to Botox or Botox Cosmetic in Canada.

Health Canada would also like to advise Canadians using Botox and Botox Cosmetic products to seek immediate medical care if swallowing, speech or breathing disorders arise. Canadians with a history of underlying neurological disorders, swallowing difficulties and/or breathing problems should use these products with extreme caution. Botox and Botox Cosmetic products should only be used under specialist supervision in those patients and should only be used if the benefit of treatment is considered to outweigh the risk. ...more

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