Remember that scene from ‘Gone With The Wind’ where Scarlett O’Hara is having her corset tightened so much that she could barely breathe or eat? Well, you might think that was just part of the drama but in reality, in those days ladies went to great lengths to make their waists look as tiny as possible. Corsets were indeed tightened to the point that breathing was impossible. It’s interesting that in those days ladies used to carry around with them smelling salts so that if they ever passed out because of the corsette whoever was with them could pop open the bottle and stick it under their noses to help them come round; fainting was that common among ladies!

You might think that was very extreme. But was it though, I mean compared to the lengths people will go to achieve what they think, or what their peers think, is beauty?

In the later part of the last millennium, the most extreme thing ladies ever did was to wear ill-fitting shoes to make themselves look taller or their legs look better. They did this regardless of how badly their feet were damaged and, if you look around today, there are still many who wear unnaturally high heeled shoes and one wonders how they walk around on the point of a knife, literally.

I had a friend who’d bleach her hair blond every month religiously just for the sake of her husband who didn’t like her natural black hair.  One time the hairdresser really messed up and caused bad serious scalp burns. She was in so much pain that she had to seek medical attention. I told her she needed a new husband.

Now speaking of hair, I read in the news just a few days ago that a woman poured gorilla glue on her hair to set it. I presume she had run out of hairspray. As we all know, gorilla glue, whilst being highly adhesive, is not meant for direct contact with any part of a human being, It not only stick like…well…glue, it also has the property of expanding during the drying process. Suffice it to say that the glue would not come off and the woman had to have a surgical procedure performed that cost the authorities over £12,000 (that’s nearly Dhs 50,000).

That might have been an uncalculated risk on her part, thinking that the glue would wash out. But there are countless things people do to pretty themselves up, some of which are very risky.

I still don’t understand why people are so ready to have nose jobs and fillers. I’ve read so many posts on Facebook from ladies seeking referrals to reputable and reliable cosmetic surgeons. Have they never thought about what could go wrong?  Lip fillers alone can completely distort the face making you wish you could get your old lips back.

There are so many extreme cases involving physically changing appearances. In some case many people, and this includes men, will resort to undergoing any form of medical intervention to make themselves taller. I’m sure you’ve heard of titanium plates being inserted into the middle section of the shin bones? And of course chin implants when they’ve failed to lose weight causing their double chin.

And ever heard of rib removal? Well, that procedure now seems to have replaced what now seems like a harmless corset. Many crazy females now have one pair of ribs, or two, removed to make their waists smaller than it would ever get if they just dieted. I don’t know if a doctor’s ever told them that our ribs serve a vital function in our bodies in that they protect our vital organs from external impacts. Surely removing the last one or two ribs would expose the kidneys?