Making you look “weird” also makes us look bad! Dr. Bolton’s goal is for you to look like a well-rested, refreshed, confident you! Many people think that getting Botox® injections will make them lose the ability to make facial expressions. This is a myth; the treatment relaxes the muscles at the injection point. With a skilled injector, you will still be able to display the entire range of facial expressions including smiling, frowning and appearing surprised. Bad results with filler products are easily seen across social media, making this an understandable concern from the filler patient perspective as well. Making sure you feel comfortable with your practitioner, confidently choose the correct filler for you and have realistic expectations will lend fillers to be the fantastic tool they are intended to be.

Beauty is pain, right? Wrong. The fact is Botox and fillers are so appealing to patients because there is minimal pain involved. The most pain you will feel during the procedure is a prick. Topical numbing cream and ice will be applied to the area to make sure that the injection is as pain-free as possible and deeper dental anesthetic nerve blocks are also available at no additional charge upon request. Dr. Bolton only uses Comfortox 31gauge syringes which are specifically designed for repetitive esthetic dermal injections. This ain’t your momma’s beauty treatment!

While words like “toxins” and “acids” typically carry negative connotations, I can promise you treatments offered at Emergency Fix are safe. With over 20 years of use for a range of different conditions, FDA approved Botox® has a long and well establish safety history. It would take dose of more than 100 times the average dose given for a cosmetic use for Botox® to be toxic. All the filler products offered are hyaluronic acid based, which is a natural occurring polysaccharide in the body that can be easily dissolved with use of an enzyme if needed. Any unforeseen allergic reactions, although incredibly rare (36 total cases documented between years 1989 and 2003), have already been considered and the clinic has fast acting medication readily available. Plus, did we mention Dr. Bolton is board certified in Emergency Medicine?

Dr. Bolton will inform you if you’re not a good candidate for injectable therapies based on your complete medical history. You should not get botulinum toxin therapy if you have:

-Allergies to any of the ingredients
-Uncontrolled Diabetes
-Bleeding problems or are on blood thinning medications
-Glaucoma or recent eye surgery
-An active upper respiratory infection
-Certain muscle or nerve disorders
-Botulinum toxin therapy is not recommended for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding

Botulinum toxin does NOT cause long-term or life-threatening complications. However, patients can experience adverse side effects. But these can usually be avoided by sharing your complete medical history with Dr. Bolton.

When negative side effects do occur, it’s typically at the injection site. These include:

· Redness
· Bruising
· Infection
· Pain at the injection site

While serious side effects are uncommon, the possibilities include:

· Dizziness or nausea
· Headache
· Muscle weakness
· An increased risk of respiratory infections

Botulinum toxin side effects involving the eye area may include:

· Double vision
· Drooping
· Swollen eyelids
· Dry eyes
· Tearing
· Reduced blinking
· Sensitivity to light

Filler procedures are very quick and often advertised as a “lunch break appointment” as they typically take an hour from start to completion. I caution you to consider the timing of your filler procedure in relation to any important life events. Here’s why…

Immediately after your dermal filler treatment you may notice a few of the following things:

· Swelling
· Bruising
· Red needle puncture marks
· Asymmetry
· Tenderness
· Itching in the area

These above are all very common with dermal filler aftercare, and should resolve over the next few days to weeks. Your final result will be seen at about 4 weeks after treatment. I always recommend a follow up appointment at 4 weeks to see if further treatments are required to achieve the planned results. Immediately after the injections, you face will be cleaned. You should not touch your face for 6 hours. After this you may clean your skin with water and a gentle cleanser. Please also avoid reapplying makeup until the day following your appointment.

Absolutely not! Botox® will not worsen wrinkle formation but instead wrinkles will slowly return to how they were initially, prior to Botox® treatment. The ultimate goal is to gradually require less amount of toxin to treat an area overtime. Keeping a regimented schedule of therapy is ideal but not at all necessary.

We’re glad you’ve chosen Dr. Bolton as your trusted practitioner. She loves it when you arrive with the cleanest face possible. Any makeup present prior to the appointment will be thoroughly removed and the skin again sanitized to ensure the cleanest injection environment possible. It is also a great idea in the week leading up to the treatment to avoid any medications or supplements that can thin the blood as to avoid bruising. These are aspirin, ibuprofen, Aleve, ginseng, St. John’s Wort, Vitamin E, ginko biloba and Vitamin E. Not to kill any vibe, but the margarita with the girls is probably best to avoid in the 48 hours prior to your appointment.

Dermal filler complications include vascular occlusion and infection. Vascular occlusions mostly occur in the treatment chair, and doctors are able to see that they are happening and treat them. An area may go white, or there may be an area of skin that looks like fishnet stockings, or there may be skin discoloration in a distant area where the skin wasn’t injected. After an occlusion, there may be an area that has small blisters on the skin. If the doctor is concerned then they will need to check the capillary return of the skin. If patients see any of these things on their skin, they should call their doctor immediately! Early infections may occur after a few days after the treatment. The patient might notice increasing redness, tenderness, swelling, pain, heat, nodules or pus. Patients should see their doctor if this occurs.