The Health Blog

Douglas, a 26-year-old single copywriter for an advertising agency, successfully conquered his binge-eating disorder while he was still a relatively young man. He had been large since childhood and he had been teased a great deal about his size and weight. His weight and appetite were a continual topic of conversation at home with his parents. It didn’t help that a younger brother was slim and could eat anything he wanted without gaining an ounce.

Douglas was always self-conscious about his size and developed a very shy, insecure personality. In high school his history teacher took a special interest in him and encouraged Douglas to pursue athletics. The teacher introduced Douglas to the football coach, who saw potential in the young man’s large stature. The high school was small and the coach was always on the lookout for students who were either fast or large.

After high school, Douglas went to a small liberal arts college and majored in English. He had a knack for writing and was very creative in his work. He tried out for the college football team but soon found out that college football was highly competitive and lacked the camaraderie of high school sports. He was not enthused about his participation in college football, and after suffering a mild concussion in one of the tryout sessions, he decided that he’d had enough. Without sports, Douglas’s weight during college increased dramatically. He gained 38 pounds during his freshman and sophomore years. Although he was studious, Douglas was shy with other people and did not make friends easily. He was a fun-loving, likeable boy, but very reserved around others. He was particularly shy around members of the opposite sex. As he gained weight, his self-esteem and self-confidence plummeted.

Douglas spent a great deal of time alone. He found solace in food and began to binge several times a week. As he gained more weight and his insecurities increased, his binge eating became worse. His eating was out of control. His weight and his binge eating embarrassed and frustrated him, but he was in no mood to do anything about them. He had given up.

After college, Douglas found a job as a copywriter with a regional advertising firm. He had a real talent for fresh ideas and innovative concepts as far as print media ads were concerned. Over the next few years his career flourished even though his personal life was lacking. Although he had two close friends, he spent most of his time alone. He rarely dated and always felt self-conscious about his weight. He continued to feel secretly embarrassed about his binge eating.

His decision to seek help for his binge eating and weight problem was precipitated by two events. His supervisor at work had a heart-to-heart talk with Douglas about his appearance. As Douglas gained more and more weight he became less concerned about his clothing and personal appearance. In addition, he found it extremely difficult to find clothes that fit him. His clothes shopping was limited exclusively to the “big and tall” men shops that catered to the larger sizes. The second impetus for Douglas’s coming to see me for help was that he met a young woman with whom he became infatuated. They had never actually dated but worked in the same office and enjoyed long conversations with each other.

Douglas was ready for a change. He felt that he really did not have much of a life. His career had potential but his personal life was going nowhere. He wanted to find a companion in life, get married, and have children. He was a caring, deeply sensitive person who had a lot to offer in a relationship.

After four months of treatment, Douglas gained control of his binge eating and began to lose weight. He was determined to change his life and put every one of my recommendations into practice with enthusiasm. He worked on his self-esteem and body image as well as his eating.

Douglas is a true success case. He overcame his binge eating, which is no longer a problem for him. He lost 78 pounds and began dating Patricia, the woman he met at work. He started working out at a local health club, met new people, and began to come out of his shell. Douglas was able to turn his life around. He developed confidence in himself and no longer felt self-conscious. Even before he began losing weight, he said to me, “Just by getting in control of my eating makes a tremendous difference in how I feel about myself. I didn’t think I could do it. You showed me that I could. I feel like I have my life back again. No . . . actually, I feel that my life is just beginning and I can do with it whatever I choose. My life is finally mine to live as I see fit. I can finally start to think about what kind of life I really want. Before I overcame my binge-eating disorder, I was just living life from day to day. I didn’t care. I was putting in my time. I guess I thought that’s how everybody lives. You taught me to put enthusiasm and passion into my life. You were right. Defeating my binge eating and losing weight were only the first steps. I know now that I will never go back to my old habits. Food will never be that important to me again. I simply won’t let it. There is more to my life than being alone and eating. I’m free and I’ll never allow myself to be controlled by food again.

*57\358\8*

Many myths exist about the cause of broken capillaries. It is often said, for example, that exposure to very hot or cold water will make the blood vessels break, which is not true. Likewise, drinking alcohol or coffee does not cause broken capillaries – diet makes no difference whatever. Broken capillaries are caused by hereditary factors and sun damage, and occasionally by the use of strong cortisone creams. Men as well as women seek treatment for broken blood vessels for fear that they will unjustly be accused of drinking too much alcohol.

Many men seek treatment for broken capillaries because they are loathe to cover them with make-up, while women generally do cover them with make-up until they become quite prominent. Wearing yellow or green make-up neutralizes the redness of broken capillaries, which can then be covered with regular make-up to fully disguise them.

For many years diathermy was used to remove these blood vessels. Although this gave good results, the problem often recurred. Nowadays, the best way of treating broken capillaries is with the copper vapour or pulsed dye lasers. Lasers are not magical instruments and can certainly cause some pain, but the cosmetic results following treatment are excellent.

*39/150/5*

So-called feminine hygiene products are not only unnecessary but can cause irritation and potential infection (Stewart et al., 1979). The profusion of such products and of douche preparations, ranging from champagne-flavored to expensive concoctions whose main ingredients are water and everyday household vinegar, plays into the cultural negativity surrounding the female genitals. The uncertainty and fearfulness which many women feel about their genitals often start with the lack of appropriate names and education in childhood and is augmented by the folklore about nasty smells and discharges. Advertising for feminine hygiene products and for deodorant menstrual products capitalizes on these themes and proclaims that all women are concerned (or ought to be) about vaginal odor, that vaginal discharge is a problem, that femininity is enhanced by perfumed douches, and so on. The marketing success of such products attests both to the general concerns with body odors endemie to the American consumer and to the widespread lack of knowledge of the normal functioning of the vagina.

An interesting twist on this theme is provided by new products on the market which claim to restore the natural sexual scents to the bedroom atmosphere. Based on the unsubstantiated hypothesis that pheromones, chemical substance with sex attractant properties, are present in normal vaginal secretions which are then removed by douching, these products claim to replicate the functioning of pheromones. Needless to say the avoidance of unnecessary douching would eliminate the need for yet another consumer product of this ilk.

*104\265\8*