Botox has been found to be medically useful in curing various afflictions. It is still widely used for cosmetic purposes in a purified and isolated form but Botox is not only found useful in the world of cosmetology but also for other serious illnesses throughout the years.

As of 2007, Botox injection became the most common cosmetic procedure, with 4.6 million procedures in the United States, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Qualifications for Botox injectors differ by county, state and country. Botox Cosmetic providers include dermatologists, plastic surgeons, cosmetic physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and medical spas.

In the 1950s researchers learned that injecting overactive muscles with minute quantities of botulinum toxin type-A would cause a decrease muscle activity by blocking the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction, thereby rendering the muscle unable to contract for a period of 3 to 4 months.

Alan Scott, a San Francisco ophthalmologist, first used tiny doses of the toxin in a medicinal sense to treat crossed eyes (strabismus) and uncontrollable blinking (blepharospasm), but named a partner to gain regulatory approval to market his discovery as a drug. Allergan renamed the drug Botox.

Other uses of botulinum toxin type A that are widely known but not specifically sanctioned by FDA include treatment of Pediatric incontinence,] incontinence due to overactive bladder, and incontinence due to neurogenic bladder.

It is also used for anal fissure, spastic disorders associated with injury or disease of the central nervous system including trauma, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, or cerebral palsy, focal dystonias affecting the limbs, face, jaw, or vocal cords, TMJ pain disorders, diabetic neuropathy, wound healing, excessive salivation, and VCD or vocal cord dysfunction a spasm of the vocal cords.