MEN'S PROBLEMS

LOOSEN YOUR TIE AND SEE BETTER

Dressing for success may propel you toward the top, but not toward top-notch vision. Research at Cornell University suggests a necktie that is knotted too tightly can interfere with blood flow to the brain and sensory organs--namely, your eyes. Computer operators, pilots, draftsmen, and other professionals who need to pay close attention to visual details may be hampered by the "tie that binds."

One sure way to prevent this problem is to avoid wearing a tie altogether. But in some occupations, wearing a tie is standard attire. If you must wear a tie:
Buy shirts with plenty of neck room.
Leave your shirt collar unbuttoned beneath your tie.
Don't knot your tie so tightly that you can't slip a finger between the shirt collar and your neck.
If feasible, loosen or remove your necktie from time to time throughout the day.


ALTERNATIVES TO BALDNESS

Almost all men worry about going bald, especially if their fathers and grandfathers went bald. Worry builds when men hit their thirties and they notice their hair is thinning.

Don't be taken in by fraudulent claims for vitamin formulas, massage oils, lotions, or ointments that promise to cure baldness. No existing potion or ointment will produce a full head of hair. The only remedy that comes close is the prescription drug Minoxidil, originally developed as a blood pressure medication. Minoxidil has shown promising results for some (but not all) cases of baldness.

Another option is a hair transplant, or "punch grafts." A surgeon cuts out plugs of the bald portion of the scalp and replaces them with plugs from the hair-bearing portion of the scalp (usually the back). The transplanted hair falls out and new hair grows in a month or so. It takes about 250 plugs--at a cost of several thousand dollars--to fill in a receding hairline. In the meantime, the tufts of hair give your scalp a pegboard appearance.

If you choose to wear a hairpiece, be sure it matches your natural hair and fits properly. And remember to keep your hairpiece as clean and well-groomed as your own hair.

See your doctor if you suffer sudden hair loss--you may have a medical problem.