childhood pains

Bonnie Blackwell, (BONN@NICKEL.LAURENTIAN.CA)
Tue, 10 May 1994 08:55:42 -0500

In reply to karen, and many other on braces, facelifts, infibulation, etc:
I ag ree braces are painful, but there is some benefit because it means
prolonged ``toothlife". If the teeth are badly crooked, the chances are
that the tooth will be lost sooner due to decay from food stuck between the
teeth. Also for people with very bad bites, it improves their ability to
digest food significantly. Both of these problems, if uncorrected, will
cause health problems later in life.

Facelifts, tummy tucks, etc., do not seem to provide any distinct
medical advantages, except to improve the self image of the person who
has them. Whether that is worth the trauma involved is not for me
to decide, no matter how silly I think the procedure personally.

My question is: does infibulation provide any proven medical benefits?
Does is prevent certain diseases? From previous postings, it apparently
causes some during childbirth. Do women who have not been infibulated
suffer severe psychological repercussions in their society? Would they
perhaps even feel that their parents did not love them if they did not
have it done to their girls?

bonn@nickel.laurentian.ca

p.s. as i recall braces were only really painful for about 2-3 days
a month just after they had been tightened. the rest of the time they
were a nuisance to clean, and just unattractive. so really there were
about 50 days of pain to have straight teeth instead of not being able
to make my front teeth ever meet in order to bite.