Why do we modify our bodies?

One in six Americans would be put under the knife to look more attractive - and thus put their health at risk. Like all operations, such surgical procedures involve a residual risk. The wounds can infect and cause, for example life-threatening infections. In addition to health risks also threaten disappointed expectations - often the result will not look like the patient has imagined. The doctor applies for example to a Botox injection the wrong nerve, there is a risk that the lids droop down.

Interestingly, I also found that the risk of piercings and tattoos is also high and is always underestimated.

Especially with younger people, piercings and tattoos are very popular. 35 percent of girls and women aged 14 to 24 years wear navel, nose or mouth. For men there are in the same age group, almost eight percent. Many of them know little about the associated risks. If the skin is punctured, it's always an injury that can not only be painful, but sometimes leads to lasting damage. Especially dangerous are piercings into the tongue or lower lip. They hurt the gums and cause cracks in the teeth. In some cases there is even inflammation or bleeding, which can lead to choking. Because sometimes called the piercings cause allergic reactions it can be deadly.

Tattoos are as popular as piercings - and also associated with health risks. In the age group between 25 and 34 now bears a tattoo of one in four. That can cause the piercing of body images in individual cases but bacterial infections, only very few know. Responsible for this are poor hygienic conditions in which tattoos are sometimes made. Increase primarily non-sterile needles, the infection risk. In addition, some tattoo studios are working with colors, in which health effects have not yet been sufficiently explored.