A physician injects collagen into a girl’s lip. Collagen fillers plump up the lips and supply more fullness … [+]
The marketplace for dermal fillers is booming. Many people want fuller lips and cheeks and wish to remove certain blemishes from their body. Although the procedures themselves will not be particularly dangerous, a portion of the population looking for cosmetic procedures may suffer from body dysmorphic disorder, a serious psychiatric condition. This presents an ethical dilemma about what a physician should do if they think BDD and why it’s best to say no in these cases.
The demand for minimally invasive aesthetic procedures is continually increasing worldwide. Cosmetic procedures are popular amongst young, middle-aged and elderly people. The marketplace for aesthetic injectables was growing based on McKinsey, by greater than 10% annually.
Dermal fillers are a non-invasive alternative to surgical procedures. They address various (perceived) problems people can have, including wrinkles, volume loss and sagging skin. Fillers can be used for reconstructive purposes corresponding to repairing damage from accidents or injuries.
Aesthetic medicine can, for instance, increase or restore lip volume through the usage of collagen or hyaluronic acid. While collagen was once probably the most commonly used substance for the lips, fillers with hyaluronic acid have turn out to be increasingly popular in recent times. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance within the body, present in the skin, connective tissue and eyes. It is a molecule that draws and retains water, which helps keep skin plump and hydrated. Doctors inject it into the lip. Such fillers will not be everlasting. They normally last between six and 18 months.
As with almost every medical procedure, there are some Risks is said to lip plumping, as Harvard Health explains. These range from allergic reactions, post-procedure infections, a lumpy appearance under the skin, removal of filler from the intended treatment area, scarring and blocked blood vessels on the face that may result in tissue death.
Patients seek treatments to “improve and balance their functions.” Still, people fighting BDD may mistakenly view these treatments as an answer to their problems. The disease is characterised by preoccupation with an imagined impairment of physical appearance or a distorted perception of 1’s own body image, which ends up in significant psychological stress and impairment in social functioning. Not surprisingly, many BDD patients seek unnecessary cosmetic procedures. The explosion of social media over the past 15 years has exacerbated the issue.
It is estimated According to the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation, 2% of the adult population lives with BDD. And the share of BDD patients who seek a wide range of cosmetic procedures – each surgical and non-surgical – falls in between two to 5 times the number in the overall population, based on the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation. Shockingly, the Cleveland Clinic says that as much as 80% of individuals with BDD have suicidal thoughts. An early pioneering one Paper on BDD reported that suicidality in individuals with BDD was roughly 45 times higher than in the overall population.
Although BDD is a serious and sometimes debilitating mental illness, it could be treated with an appropriate combination of behavioral and pharmacotherapy.
Because appearance concerns are at the guts of BDD, individuals with the disorder often seek and receive cosmetic treatments to correct their perceived “defects” fairly than looking for psychiatric help. However, the improvements normally don’t make their worries go away. The level of stress stays unchanged or worsens. Essentially, the “work done” hides a much larger problem.
The cosmetics industry has Not escaped controversy, particularly with regard to its promotional activities. A British investigation advocated changes Promoting ethical practices, including standardizing training and registration of practitioners, introducing mandatory product safety regulations, introducing age limits and banning “irresponsible” marketing.
An article within the Journal of Medical Ethics Highlights among the ethical challenges that arise when consulting individuals with possible BDD about cosmetic procedures. The creator recommends fastidiously weighing the harms and advantages of cosmetic procedures on a case-by-case basis for individuals who may suffer from BDD.
For those that have been diagnosed with the condition, but additionally for others who may not yet have been properly diagnosed, psychiatric experts advise a precautionary approach that avoids interventions to change an individual’s physical appearance. Rather, they suggest that the main target ought to be on referral to mental health services. The disease can affect patients’ ability to make decisions. Therefore, individuals’ decisions to undergo cosmetic procedures could also be overruled in the event that they are harmful.
