Posted September 27, 2012 in Beauty, Blog, General Medical Information, Plastic Surgery in the News, Uncategorized
Just when we thought that we had seen everything, the latest fad in body “body modification from Japan, “Bagel Head” has hit the news. Whether you were watching “TODAY” this morning, E-Entertainment News, or even Anderson Cooper 360 this evening, you were bombarded with images of Japanese youths having IV saline fluid infiltrated into their figurative numb skulls. If you thought Japan’s extreme fad culture would stop short of people injecting saline into their foreheads to make it look like they have bagels implanted under their skin, you were wrong. Being a “bagel head” is, indeed, currently in vogue in Tokyo.
In a Sept. 23 episode of “Taboo,” a show on the National Geographic Channel,the bizarre body modification procedure bagel heading was highlighted. The “treatment” involves injecting about 13.5 ounces (400 milliliters) of saline into a person’s forehead to form a huge welt, then pressing a thumb into the welt to create an indent. The process takes two hours, and the trendy swelling goes down in under a day.
The bizarre body modification is thought to be a result of comic figures, Lady Gaga, and the utter desperate need for attention, but is not without risk. The most significant risk is infection. The fluid that is infiltrated extends down to the “triangle of death”, the triangular area from between the eyebrows down to the base of the nose, you know, the area of your face that your mother warned to never pick pimples. Infections in this area can be transmitted to the brain through venous communications resulting in meningitis and death. A high price to pay for 16-24 hours of attention-getting forehead swelling.
Another risk could be permanent stretching of the skin if multiple bagel heads are performed (is there a discount on a baker’s dozen of bagel heads?). Lastly, should a concentrated solution of saline be injected, severe dehydration could occur.
Our best advice, be thankful that you do not truly need IV solution infusions for necessary medical purposes, and get your needed “attention” by doing something good for someone else. As for me, I can’t wait to have a poppy bagel with creme cheese in the morning. Be well.
Dr. Michael Persky and Dr. Sarmela Sunder are located in Encino, California and Beverly Hills, California (The Lasky Clinic) but service all of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, including, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Hancock Park, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Calabasas, Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills and more. Please subscribe to our blog by clicking the link above, right. Thank you!
