On October 15, 2010, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Botox injection (onabotulinumtoxinA) to prevent headaches in adult patients with chronic migraine. According to the FDA’s Website, chronic migraine is defined as “having a history of migraine and experiencing a headache on most days of the month.” Generally described as an intense pulsing or throbbing pain in one area of the head, migraine headaches are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. Women tend to suffer from migraine headaches three times more than men.

According to director Russell Katz, M.D. from the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Division of Neurology Products: “Chronic migraine is one of the most disabling forms of headache. . . . Patients with chronic migraine experience a headache more than 14 days of the month. This condition can greatly affect family, work, and social life, so it is important to have a variety of effective treatment options available.”

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To treat this debilitating condition and dull future headache symptoms under the new FDA guidelines, botox is given every 12 weeks as multiple injections around the head and neck. “OnabotulinumtoxinA“, marketed as Botox and Botox Cosmetic, has a package warning about the effects of the botulinum toxin as it may spread from the area of injection to other areas of the body, causing symptoms similar to those of botulism.

Botox has been used at the recommended dose to treat chronic migraine, severe underarm sweating, blepharospasm, or strabismus, or when Botox Cosmetic has been used at the recommended dose to improve frown lines.