Aging – Anti Aging Health Issues News & Articles by HealthTree

If you’ve ever seen baby pictures of yourself, you know firsthand that your body changes as you age. When you’re a baby, you have soft structural systems so that your bones can grow big and strong into adulthood. By the time you reach the age of 20, you’re pretty much done expanding your skeletal system–you’ve got the frame that you’re going to have for the rest of your life, unless you start trying to juggle chainsaws or something.

Undeniably, though, your body continues to change shape. Your spine curves, your skin sags, your hips gain a little padding here and there. Some also say that certain body parts actually grow–such as the ears and the nose. But is it true?

Robert Kotler, MD, FACS, explained that the nose doesn’t actually grow, but it does change shape, which isn’t usually desirable, either. The two primary causes for this change: gravity and happiness? Let me explain. Gravity is an obvious culprit for your nose’s changing shape, because it pulls the skin on your nose downward so that it eventually begins to droop. The rest of your body starts to succumb to this effect, too–but that’s another blog post.

The other, more surprising influence–happiness–plays a part in making your nose appear to grow because of the way that the muscles on your face work together. When you smile, the skin above your mouth yanks the tip of your nose downward. Too much happiness may lead to a curly-tipped schnoz in your later years. So, as people age and their noses begin to slowly roll downward, it’s obvious that they may want to get a nose job to help bring that part of their appearance back to its original state.

Interestingly enough, people who had nose jobs at an earlier age actually have also taken a step toward preventing this drooping process. A nose job creates a little strip of scar tissue under the tip of the nose that helps to keep it strong and stable, like a mini-foundation. So, by getting a nose job at a young age, you’re not only investing in your present appearance, but also in its preservation, to a certain extent. One more thing to smile about, right?

Angela Bull

(photo credit: jack.ed)