职业女性应警惕"电脑脸"

A growing number of women are developing something called 'computer face', a leading cosmetic surgeon said.

Dr Michael Prager said professionals who worked long hours in front of a screen were ending up with saggy jowls, 'turkey neck' and deep-set wrinkles on their forehead and around their eyes.

The Botox specialist said that, of all his clientele, office workers were most likely to show premature signs of ageing.

'If you are one of the unfortunate people who frown or squint while they are concentrating at the screen then, over time, you will inevitably end up with frown lines,' Dr Prager, 42, said.

'What is perhaps more surprising is the number of women with saggy jowls because they are sitting in one position for so long.

'If you spend most of the time looking down then the neck muscles shorten and go saggy, eventually giving you a second neck.

'We are seeing a lot of women who work in executive jobs in offices who have this problem.' Dr Prager, who has a practice near Harley Street in London, said he encourages his clients to put a mirror next to their computer so they can see if they are frowning at the screen.

'When people are stressed or thinking hard about something then they will often put on a "grumpy face" without even knowing what they are doing. When my clients put a mirror next to their desk they are often shocked by the angry, frowning face which stares back at them.'

He warned that a generation of younger men and women who had grown up with information technology were developing 'computer face' at a much earlier age.

He said: 'The women I am seeing at the moment have only been using computers at work for the last decade or so. But women in their 20s have grown up with them and use them for every single task.

'It will be completely different for them and I think the problem is going to become much, much worse. In another ten years, they could be looking quite awful.'

Dr Prager said there were several simple steps which could stave off computer face such as regular screen breaks and stretching the neck muscles. And, of course, there was always Botox.

He said that, after a couple of sessions of Botox, the habit of 'grumpy face' could be broken.

一位权威整容外科医生指出，越来越多的女性正在患上一种被称作“电脑脸”的症状。

迈克尔．普拉杰医生说，职业女性长时间在电脑前工作，将会导致她们面颊下垂、出现“火鸡脖”、前额和眼睛周围皱纹深陷。

这位肉毒杆菌整容专家表示，在他所有的客户中，办公室女性最易显现出提前衰老的迹象。

42岁的普拉杰医生说：“如果你在电脑前专心工作时常常蹙眉或眯眼斜视的话，那么很不幸，长此以往，你的面部将不可避免地出现皱纹。”

“可能更令人震惊的是，竟然有这么多的女性有面颊下垂的症状，因为她们长时间都保持同一坐姿。”

“如果大多数时间你都埋头俯视状态，颈部肌肉就会萎缩并且变得松弛，最终导致双下巴。

“我们看到许多在办公室里担任管理职务的女性都有这个问题。”在伦敦哈利街附近执业的普拉杰医生建议客户在自己的电脑旁边放置一面镜子，以便能看到自己是否在皱着眉头看电脑。

“当人们压力大，或在努力思考某件事情的时候，常常会摆出一副‘暴躁的面孔’，而自己却意识不到。当我的客户们在自己桌旁摆了镜子以后，她们常常会对镜中瞪着自己的那张愤怒、眉头紧锁的脸感到震惊。”

他告诫说，伴随着信息技术成长起来的年轻一代男女正在出现“电脑脸”，而且呈年轻化趋势。

他说：“目前我所治疗的只是在电脑前工作了十年左右的女性。但是那些20多岁的女孩则是在电脑的陪伴下成长的，她们的每一项工作都离不开电脑。

“对她们来说，情况就会完全不同，而且我认为这个问题将变得更加糟糕。再过十年，她们看起来可能会相当恐怖。”

普拉杰医生说，有几种简单的方法可以延缓“电脑脸”的到来，诸如定期离开电脑屏幕休息一下，伸展颈部肌肉。当然，注射肉毒杆菌也会有作用。

他说，经过几个疗程的肉毒杆菌注射，爱摆“暴躁的面孔”这样的坏习惯可能得到改正。

Vocabulary:

jowl: the lower part of somebody's cheek when it is fat and hangs down below their chin（双下巴；下颌垂肉）

Botox: a substance that makes muscles relax. It is sometimes injected into the skin around somebody's eyes to remove lines and make the skin look younger. 保妥适注射，肉毒杆菌素（可用于除皱）

clientele: all the customers or clients of a shop/store, restaurant, organization, etc. （统称）顾客，主顾，客户

squint: to look at something with your eyes partly shut in order to keep out bright light or to see better（眯着眼睛看）

grumpy: bad-tempered（脾气坏的；性情暴躁的）

stave off: 延缓，推迟