How much botox is actually injected?

[insane_alien]

This came up in the IRC channel,

 

BoTox is botulinum toxin with an LD50 in the range of 1ng/kg and is the most toxic substance produced in nature.

 

obviously not something people would pay to have injected into their face... oh wait...

 

so, bearing in mind its toxicity, how much is actually in one of the injections?

 

i tried the obligatory google but was overwhelmed by the guff of beauty sites that make less sense than ydoaps after he's been juggling nuclear waste for too long while eating bags of sugar.

[GDG]

Not very much!

 

The dosage is usually expressed in "units" ("U"), where 1 U is the LD50 when administered to a group of 18-22 g Swiss Webster mice. A typical dose for cosmetic purposes 30-100 U. Lethal dose for humans is estimated to be about 3000 U.

 

The quantity of actual protein to make a U varies from formulation to formulation and batch. The original form came in a 100 U vial, containing 25 ng of botox. The (probably current) form is more potent: a 100 U vial contains only 4.8 ng.

 

It is used not only for wrinkles and getting that smooth plastic visage, but also for strabismus (crossed eyes), some forms of dystonia, and related muscle disorders.

 

This article has additional relevant information.

[insane_alien]

thanks gdg, that one was puzzling me.