Precautions and Warnings With Botulinum Toxin Type A

Precautions and warnings with botulinum toxin type A should be reviewed prior to beginning treatment. This includes telling your healthcare provider if you have heart disease or neuromuscular disease, as well as if you have an infection near the injection site. Precautions and warnings with botulinum toxin type A also extend to people who are allergic to any components of the drug and women who are pregnant or nursing.

Botulinum Toxin Type A (Botox Cosmetic)

Botulinum Toxin Type A: What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?

In 2009, the generic name for Botox was changed from "botulinum toxin type A" to "onabotulinumtoxinA." This was done to prevent confusion between Botox^® and Dysport^® (abobotulinumtoxinA), a new botulinum toxin type A product.

We are no longer updating the information on botulinum toxin type A found in this article. Instead, you can click OnabotulinumtoxinA or AbobotulinumtoxinA to read up-to-date information on these medicines.

You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking botulinum toxin type A (Botox^®) if you have:

An infection near the site where you would receive the injections
Difficulty swallowing
Heart disease
Neuromuscular disease, such as:
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Myasthenia gravis
- Lambert-Eaton syndrome.

Also, let your healthcare provider know if you are:

Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant
Breastfeeding.

You should also be sure to tell your healthcare provider about all of the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

(Precautions and Warnings With Botulinum Toxin Type A Continued: Page 2)