Botulism toxin can move from injection sites

Not dead yet!

Well-Known Member
I hear a lot about how helpful botox is in this or that function. But recently I'm watching a TV show about cooking and they asked a doctor what the symptoms of botulism are. The doc said the after effects can last years and include fatigue and neurological problems. So I looked into it a little.

It does actually describe some of the "I can't move" effects of ME/CFS. I can think of a few ways it could've gotten to a group of people... contaminated vaccines, contaminated blood, old botox injections, incomplete immune response to botulism (which is a toxin made by a very common spore forming bacteria) - which would leave it to fester in the anaerobic environment of the gut...

Probably smarter people than me can think of other vectors. But the usual warnings are way out of date. Hardly anyone cans their own veggies and jams anymore, so that's the least likely vector I think.

So this is fairly recent evidence that botox injection sites aren't as "isolated" as we once thought:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160804140515.htm

And I like this discussion on the treatments https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/botulism/basics/treatment/con-20025875

..because they resemble some things I do that help me, such as laxative-clearing of my bowels followed by a brief fast. Actually if I need to do something out of the house, I find that the clearing/fasting is the best and most reliable way to get back on my feet for a brief time. Caffeine or stimulants can only buy me about two hours.

However I wonder if anyone's thought of trying antitoxin for botulism to see if that is part of the problem. I wonder if anyone's been tested for botulism at all. The way Jen Brea talks about paralysis/collapse I would assume she was tested for it. But I haven't ever considered the possibility. The temporary nature of the paralysis could be the body being only partially able to clear a unbiquitous toxin.

I'm not even sure I remember Dr. Horowitz talking about it, but of course there are billions of germs and many with toxins to consider. So I wouldn't be surprised if this one hasn't been thought of before.

I must say though, that the Science Daily discussion of "mutating the toxin" just chills me to the bone. When they set out to prove a scientific theory, they should also consider what else this toxin has been used for (bioterrorism) and take the correct security precautions.
 
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