Some people wear their wrinkles like badges of honor. They don't call them wrinkles; they call them character lines. These brave souls, however, are not in the majority. Other people (men as well as women) view wrinkles with horror. They are not seen as character lines but rather as garden variety wrinkles.



They are seen as a plague that is visited on the elderly only and they don't want to count themselves among the elderly. This later group makes the cosmetic industry very happy. They make cash registers go ja-jing and put smiles on the (unwrinkled) faces of cosmetic company executives around the world.

The cosmetic industry just in America grosses over twenty billion ($20,000,000,000 thats a lot of zeros) annually. Most of those dollars come from the sale of hair care products and skin care products. Dermatologists rake in another few billion each year, as well. They prescribe creams and lotions for the prevention or the reduction in appearance of wrinkles. Retin A is the most prescribed.

Dermatologists also perform surgeries such as face lifts and eye lifts. They inject Botox, Collagen and Restylane into the faces of those who can afford to pay for the procedures.

The nutritional supplement industry does a booming business, too. Vegetable, fruit and tea extracts for the purpose of wrinkle reduction or wrinkle prevention sell millions, as do herbs and vitamins that proclaim to do the same.

Acupuncturists do very well, as do facial masseuses. People will try almost everything in an effort to banish wrinkles. Wrinkles are big business not because people want them but because they dont want them. If wrinkles ever come in style, it will be a real blow to the economies of most civilized nations in the world. That really isnt very likely to happen however.

WRINKLES CAUSED BY LASIK:

LASIK surgery to correct the vision problems of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism is the most popular and most used technique today. There are more than a million of these procedures done in the United States every year. Most of the time there is no problem at all during or after LASIK surgery.

Vision problems are corrected and the patient is happy also the LASIK surgeon gets well paid so he's happy too. However just like with any surgical procedure things can go wrong. One of the most frequent complications of LASIK surgery is wrinkles or flap striae occur.

This is a complication that only occurs in about 5% of all LASIK surgeries. That is a small percentage but if you happen to fall into that 5% it can be a big problem. Wrinkles occur when folds form on the corneal flap that is created during a LASIK surgery procedure. Immediately following a LASIK surgery there is almost always a wrinkle visible.

It usually takes care of itself and will disappear in a day or two. If it does not disappear within one or two days however it must be dealt with. Sometimes collagen (or collagen plugs) can be injected into the surrounding tissue and that will alleviate the problem.

Other times the flap must be re-floated. The flap might need to be ironed out using a special tool or the flap might require suturing. When choosing to have LASIK surgery to correct vision problems it is important to remember that it IS surgery and that complications can occur. Choose your LASIK surgeon based upon experience and reputation rather than upon the cost of the surgery.

You certainly want someone in charge who has already done the procedure many times and can recognize a potential problem before it happens and prevent the

problem.