Botox To Be Used To Help Cure Severe Asthma

Botox may not just be for zapping wrinkles anymore. According to the Telegraph via Jezebel, Australian scientists are now working to test a treatment for severe asthma using Botox. The scientists believe that a Botox shot to the throat (yea, ouch) may lessen the severity of asthma.

Apparently, half of the people with asthma also have voicebox spasms that can make it difficult to perform normal activities such as excercise and walking. The researchers hope to stop the spasms of the voicebox by injecting the box with Botox, not exactly a pleasant treatment I would imagine. But, it is actually similar to something that is already donescientists currently treat a vocal cord disorder called spasmodic dysphonia with Botox. Prof. Phil Bardin, who is directing the trial of thirty patients, hopes to see significant improvements: “They won’t have asthma symptoms which make them unable to walk far or go upstairs or when their chest tightens up they think they are going to die. It will help them live with an illness that disables them.”

The trial will last a year in total, and then will need time for approval in the US. Keep in mind that Botox is already used to treat migraines, although doctors do say that they aren’t sure why exactly the Botox seems to help migraine sufferers. Maybe we’ll find some answers for asthma sufferers as well, and won’t just rely on Botox to help those rich housewives keep their faces intact.