Super-drug Botox Adds New Wrinkle to Treatment
New York Post, Thursday, February 1, 2001
IT’S already a well-known weapon against wrinkles. And now, doctors are calling the poison Botox one of the most important drugs of the century.
The diluted toxin, which is injected into face, neck and eye muscles to remove lines, is now being used as a treatment for more than 44 other conditions including sweating, migraines and movement disorders. “There are certain drugs like penicillin that become legends, and Botox will be one of them,” predicts Dr. William J. Binder, associate professor at the UCLA School of Medicine. One person who’s life has been transformed by the drug is Anthony Giordinao, a 31-year-old Staten Island law-firm billing supervisor.
He, along with 20 million other Americans, suffer from hyperhidrosis, a humiliating medical condition that causes excessive sweating from the brows, palms and armpits. “I swear by this drug,” says Giordinao, who had the toxin injected into his armpits and palms a year ago. “Before, I’d drench a shirt in 15 minutes. I shield away from shaking hands with business associates. Even if it were 100 degrees or zero degrees, I’d still sweat.” Botox paralyzes the nerve signal to the sweat glands, thus preventing perspiration from occurring. It lasts between six months and a year, but having both underarms treated cost around $750 and the palms are a whopping $1,000.