For years meal times were an emotional battleground for Patricia Webster.

As she chewed her first mouthful, tears would start streaming down her face and she would sob uncontrollably. The tears continued until she finished.

It had nothing to do with the taste of the food she was eating but a medical condition that was ruining Mrs Webster’s life.

Mrs Webster suffers from a little-known condition called crocodile tears.

Sufferers involuntarily cry while eating. Nerve fibres which should be used for salivation become damaged and re-grow into the lacrimal gland, situated under the eye, which control tears.

Thankfully, there was an answer.

Mrs Webster, a 58-year-old mother-of-three from Beechmore Drive, Boxley, is one of around 60 patients attending botox clinics at Maidstone and Pembury hospitals.

In 1991, Mrs Webster was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome, which attacks all nerves in the body.

She suffered some paralysis and fought to regain mobility in her body and face, but a partial facial paralysis remained and the crocodile tears developed as a side effect.

Mrs Webster, who attends the Maidstone Hospital clinic, said: “Over the years, the tears and a sobbing movement would just come when I ate.

“I thought it was just when I ate very hot foods, but it happened with everything.

“It meant I couldn’t go to restaurants and dinner parties. Even having a cup of soup or tea at home would bring it on.

“I could never wear eye make-up because it would go all runny. I didn’t realise initially and I went into a depression because I did not want to go out.”

The treatment was alarmingly simple but needs some show of bravery.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust’s consultant nurse in Ophthalmology, Margaret Gurney, who runs the clinics, injects the botulinum toxin underneath Mrs Webster’s eyelid, into her lacimal gland.

In the same way botox paralyses facial muscles, giving a wrinkle-free side-effect, it blocks the message from the damaged nerves, meaning the tears no longer fall.

Mrs Webster said: “I felt a bit guilty as you keep reading about how expensive it is and felt I didn’t deserve it.

“But it works and it means I can wear eye make up and face the world again.”

The main uses of botox, developed around 30 years ago in the USA, are to treat facial twitches and eyelid spasms. The toxin relaxes the over-active muscles behind the twitching. Tremors and ticks can develop at any age.

The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has begun using botox in urology cases, introducing the toxin into bladders and prostate glands, to ease sudden urges to go to the toilet. It can also block over-active sweat glands.

Mrs Gurney said: “You do have to be careful as there are side-effects. Some people find their eyes can close for a week and many get red blotches.

“The injections look easy, but it has taken years of practice and knowing the physiology of the eyelid.”

Clinics are arranged depending on when patients need injections. Most visit every eight to 10 weeks.

Dennis Wright, 56, from Folkestone, who worked most of his life at the Robins and Day Peugeot dealership in Mill Street, Maidstone, was just 39 when his eyelid and one side of his face began twitching.

Mr Wright, who has botox injected around the eye, said: “It was embarrassing, especially when you talked to people.

“The botox takes a little while to work, but the twitching does stop. I feel more confident speaking to people and without it, driving would be impossible.”

All patients describe having injections as incredibly painful, questioning why people would go though the pain just to look younger.

Mrs Gurney said: “So many people tell me their symptoms make them feel self conscious and it does affect their quality of life. If you are suffering from twitches please do see your GP. You are not being silly.

And she stated for the record: “I would never administer botox for cosmetic reasons. My personal view is that people should grow old gracefully.”