No matter how good those non-surgical cosmetic procedures sound on the commercials, it’s important to remember that none of the procedures is risk-free.
“The perfect filler doesn’t exist,” says Dr. Leroy Young, a plastic surgeon from St. Louis, in a report in the March issue of More magazine. One woman interviewed for the article had had collagen injections for 10 years, then suddenly was “blindsided” by an errant injection that hit an artery, causing necrosis (tissue decay), pain, scarring and redness.
The story discusses the pros and cons of the most common injectables used today, including botulinum toxin (Botox, Dysport, Myobloc), fat transfer, synthetics (Artefill, Radiance) and liquid silicone (AdatoSil 5000, Silikon 1000). Those who choose to go ahead with cosmetic fillers should seek out a board-certified professional through the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, www.asds-net.org, or the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, www.surgery.org.
Poor, wed? It’s cool
Money and social status are the roots of happiness, right? No, says economist R.A. Easterlin in an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and reported in the March Harvard Mental Health Letter. His studies of human behavior found that people don’t become happier as their income level increases, because the more people have, the more people want.
What really makes people happy, says the economist, are a good family life and reasonably good health, something that we rarely judge by comparing ourselves with others, as with ownership of material goods.
He found that marriage increases happiness, and those who are less happy include not only single people but also widows and widowers.
Diseased animals
Animal-borne diseases are becoming a big problem, notes Dr. Jeff Bender of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota at St. Paul. In the March 15 issue of Bottom Line Health, he warns that animals are the source of more than half of new bacterial and viral diseases now threatening humans.
Problem diseases include avian influenza, Lyme disease, mad cow disease, monkeypox, rabies, SARS, tularemia and West Nile virus. Bender is especially concerned about antimicrobial-resistant strains, such as resistant salmonella.
To protect yourself and your family, avoid taking in wild pets such as West African tree squirrels and raccoons. Don’t keep reptiles as pets if you are pregnant or have young children. Protect yourself from mosquito bites and ticks. Finally, have sick pets medically evaluated by a veterinarian, because they may harbor transmittable roundworm or salmonella.
Have kids out there?
Does that person seated in the cubicle next to you seem familiar? It could be your co-worker is a half-brother, half-sister or even your child, born through donor insemination. Some 1 million children have been born through donor insemination in the last 30 years and, in some cases, as many as 100 could potentially have come from the same frequent donor.
Now many of the children are coming forward to seek out their donor fathers and half-siblings, notes a detailed story in the March issue of Men’s Heath. Many of the donors once were financially strapped medical students who were paid $50 to $75 per sample. Some donated twice a week for two years or more, not giving much thought to the fact that these children may someday come looking for them, seeking medical background information or simply a familial connection.
Donor offspring looking for answers can head to the Donor Sibling Registry, www.donorsiblingregistry.com, which already reports 300 matchups between donor offspring and siblings. Another site, health.groups.yahoo.com/group/donor(unde rscore)misconception/, is a forum for adult offspring to explore their ethical and legal rights.
It comprises donor offspring who are angry about having no legal recourse to uncover their heritage. Some want donor insemination outlawed.
