IIRC, isn’t botulism one of those things where the smallest amount would kill you, and that’s why it’s one of those things terrorists are always wanting to put into the water supply? If so, it seems to me that injecting botox directly into your skin would be like taking cyanide. Obviously, it isn’t. What gives? What does botulism do that botox doesn’t?
And also, what those dented cans at the grocery? Is it a myth that they’re supposed to have botulism in them? Is that why they’re always in the markdown bin?
You don’t have to worry that much about dented cans–it’s the cans with convex tops that are much more troublesome. They indicate increased pressure inside the can that indicates that bacteria inside is making gas, possibly botulism. Although a dent could be a problem if it destroys the airtightness of the can.
Yeah, but if you read that whole article, the Botox Cosmetic Web site (a noted authority on such matters ) says it is perfectly safe, and the doctor said they had “never” had a case of botulism from Botox.
How dilute is Botox from regular botulism? How much does it take to kill you?
And, I wonder how they did the human trials for this?
Dr A: Let’s try 1 cc.
::CLUNK::
Dr. B: Nope, that killed her. How about 0.5cc?
::Sounds of incompetent panting and drooling::
Dr. A: That’s no good either. 0.1cc?
::Patient sings slurred version of “I’ll take you home again Kathleen”::
You won’t contract botulism from any ammount of Botox. If I’m not mistaken, Botox is just the toxin secreted by the bacterium, not any infectious agent.
Right. Botox is the purifed protein toxin. A case of botulism involves lots of little bacteria getting into your system, multiplying like crazy and releasing tons of the stuff.
jgroub, I don’t think it’s as bad as all that. If I’m not mistaken, the lethality of botulism toxins fall well short of the likes of cyanide or curare. Also, in a controlled environment, where immediate medical care was guaranteed, it would seem that experimental overdoses of botulism toxins could be readily treated.
Sure, botulism can kill – but doesn’t the healthy patient basically have to avoid medical care for a few days after contraction, all the while tolerating pretty severe symptoms?
Well my copy of “principles of biochemical toxicology” lists botulinum toxin as having an LD50 of .00001 mg/kg body weight (in rats), compare that with an LD50 of .5mg/kg for d-Tubocurarine, 1mg/kg for nicotine and 2mg/kg for strychnine, even terodotoxin is only 0.1mg/kg. I am fairly sure that botulinum toxin is generally held to be the most lethal known substance.
The reason people can survive cases of botulism without medical attention is that the bacteria only produce very small amounts of the toxin.
Compared to boutlinum toxin, curare is essentially Kool Aid. What’s all this BS that looking at Amazonian tree frogs cross-eyed can kill a human? That tipping a single blow dart with curare uses enough toxin to depopulate the earth several times? Just stories, I guess.
Enigmatic, thanks for fighting ignorance. Apparently, lots of folks get food poisoning, but barely any get botulism. I always thought that very roughly, botulism = food poisoning – and that therefore botulism = feeling like utter crap for a spell, then hauling oneself to the MD, then getting over it fairly quickly.
NOT so! Botox is a weak form of botulism and if accidently injected into the bloodstream instead of muscle tissue it can and will often result in death. This was recently discussed on TV as a hazard of the use of Botox for facial improvements in lieu of cosmetic surgery.
) says it is perfectly safe, and the doctor said they had “never” had a case of botulism from Botox.