Nose jobs point to problems

We all like to look good and there is nothing wrong that but like anything it all comes down to balance and the fact that too much of a good thing makes it a poison. So too much concern with appearance can be a psychological disorder in itself and it can be debilitating. Now a new study has found that one of the signs of this disorder can be the desire to get a nose job.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) was previously known as dysmorphobia and is a condition wherein a person becomes unnaturally preoccupied with a perceived deficit in their appearance or some part of their body. Research has revealed that the most common features for people with the condition to be concerned about are their skin, hair, weight, and nose. Concern with how you look might sound relatively innocuous and it is when at one end of the spectrum but when it becomes BDD it can have serious implications.

Around 80 per cent of people who have BDD entertain ideas of suicide and the completed suicide rate among BDD sufferers is twice that of those with major depression and three to four times that of people with bipolar disorder. So any warning signs that someone has the condition are valuable for friends, family, and health practitioners. That is why this new study is interesting.

For the research patients reporting for plastic surgery across clinics in Belgium were evaluated over a sixteen month period. The patients who made an appointment to discuss rhinoplasty (a nose job) were given a questionnaire designed to assess their symptoms of BDD.

When there was a medical reason for the application, such as obstructed breathing, only two per cent of the patients showed signs of BDD. However, when the patient’s reasons were cosmetic only the incidence of BDD was 43 per cent. These were people expressing preoccupation and distress about their nose despite the nose being relatively normal.

Patients with severe BDD struggle to maintain social relationships and can even have difficulty getting work or staying employed. We all check our look in the mirror each morning and might even wish that we look different but for someone with BDD that thought never leaves their mind. People with BDD who are concerned about their nose will even avoid situations where people can see their profile.

BDD can be debilitating and life threatening but it can be treated. Cognitive behaviour therapy and even treatments that will impact serotonin levels in the brain have been shown to be effective. Early intervention will help and given that 43 per cent of people in this study who wanted a nose job had BDD, it is worth investigating whether BDD is present in someone who is obsessed with changing their nose.

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