Is Botox rare?

Clostridium botulinum is a highly toxic bacterium that survives in an oxygen-deficient environment. It can be found in sealed cans and pickled foods and is extremely deadly. Once people ingest or absorb this toxin, their nervous system will be damaged, and they will experience symptoms such as dizziness, double vision, and difficulty breathing, and in severe cases, they may suffocate to death. In order to satisfy women's love of beauty, some beauty industries also use botulinum toxin to achieve certain effects. So what can we do to avoid poisoning?

To avoid poisoning, you only need to do three things

"In theory, it is possible for botulism infection to occur, and for botulinum toxin to cause food poisoning, but in reality, both situations are very rare."

Data shows that only Guangdong Province discovered a case of human botulism infection in the early 1990s.

The symptoms of poisoning are characterized by symmetrical cranial nerve damage. Such as blurred vision, drooping eyelids, dilated pupils, speech disorders, difficulty swallowing, and difficulty breathing. If the symptoms continue to develop, the patient may die of respiratory failure due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles. The pathogenicity of Clostridium botulinum is the botulinum toxin it produces. Botulinum toxin is particularly resistant to acid and cannot be destroyed by gastric acid solution within 24 hours, so it can be absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. However, botulinum toxin is not heat-resistant. For susceptible canned foods and sealed pickled foods, the botulinum toxin will be destroyed if heated for 5 to 10 minutes. Therefore, canned foods produced in accordance with regulations should not contain effective botulinum toxin.

Tips to avoid botulism:

(1) Eat cooked food. Meat products are best eaten cooked and heated thoroughly. Botulinum toxin is not heat-resistant and can be destroyed by heating at 75-85℃ for 10 minutes or 100℃ for 1 minute. (2) When you prepare food yourself, pay attention to hygiene. (3) Processed food should be cooled quickly and stored at low temperatures.

Botulinum toxin, the most toxic

The discovery of botulism is related to the invention of canned meat encouraged by the Napoleonic government of France in the 19th century.

Abel, a Frenchman who ran a candied food business, found a good way to store food for a long time: put the meat into wide-mouthed glass bottles, plug the bottle mouths with wooden corks, heat them in a steamer, then plug the corks tightly and seal the bottle with wax. This is the earliest canned meat.

Abel did not expect that this popular convenience food, if not undergoing strict disinfection, is likely to become a "free land" for botulism toxin - botulism toxin enters an anaerobic (oxygen-deficient) environment such as canned food and quickly produces botulinum toxin.

Botulinum toxin is the most toxic "king of poisons" among bacterial toxins. In the last century, warmongers used botulinum toxin as a biological weapon. It can block the conduction of nerve signals and cause symptoms such as dizziness, difficulty breathing, and muscle weakness. "0.1 to 1 microgram (one millionth of a gram) of botulinum toxin can kill a person. 1 gram of botulinum toxin is enough to kill one million people," said Professor Wang.

A very small amount of botulinum toxin is a good choice for cosmetic surgery. Botulinum toxin is also the first choice for treating strabismus, migraine, etc.

Many people feel familiar with the word "botulinum toxin", especially the large portraits of Korean plastic surgeons smiling at you on billboards in the streets and alleys today.

That’s right, botulinum toxin has been used extensively in the cosmetic surgery industry in recent years.