NAVEL SECRETS

Here are some things you probably didn't know about your belly button.

Does The Shape Of Your Belly Button Reveal How Long You'll Live?

Yes, according to Dr. Gerhard Reibmann. He believes that the belly button is an accurate predictor of not only life-expectancy, but also general health, psychological state, personality type, and "energy flow". "Of course, there are many factors influencing longevity," Dr. Reibmann contends. "A navel reading isn't 100 per cent accurate. But there is a strong correlation between the size, shape, and position of a person's navel and his long-term prognosis. If you know what you're looking for, you can get a very good idea from your navel of what the future has in store for you." The Berlin psychologist and author of the privately published book CENTERED: UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF THROUGH YOUR NAVEL, recommends that to tell how long you'll live, go to a private, well-lit area and carefully inspect your own navel. Then, compare what you've observed with the list of six navel types and their associated characteristics.

1) The Horizontal Navel. This belly button is oblong in shape and spreads sideways across the tummy. People with horizontal navels are complex and highly emotional. This can take a toll on their health. Average life expectancy: 68 years.

2) The Vertical Navel. Also oblong, this belly button stands on end, running up and down along the tummy. It indicates a person who is self-confident, generous, and emotionally stable. Average life expectancy: 75 years.

3) The Outty. A belly button that protrudes outward indicates an optimistic person who approaches life with enthusiasm. Average life expectancy: 72 years.

4) The Concave Navel. This belly button is bowl-shaped or inward. It belongs to a person who is gentle, loving, cautious, sensitive, and prone to worry. People with concave navels are delicate. Average life expectancy: 65 years.

5) The Off-Center Navel. An off-center belly button indicates a fun-loving, unusual individual who experiences wide emotional swings. Average life expectancy: 70 years.

6) The Round Navel. This belly button is evenly shaped and circular. It indicates a modest, even-tempered person with a quiet, retiring personality. Average life expectancy: 81 years.

Dr. Reibmann adds that if you fit more than one type, add together the total number of years, then divide by the number of types to get an average life span. In Australia, the average life expectancy for females is 83.2 years and for males is 77.2 years. Dr. Reibmann's life expectancies predicted by the various belly button types are low and rather pessimistic. Perhaps you shouldn't pay attention to your belly button after all? There are plenty of other things to be depressed about besides what your belly button tells you.

Why Doesn't My Belly Button Heal Over?

It's easy to imagine this question being asked by Neanderthals 50,000 years ago? The ancient Greeks? Medieval mystics? Himalayan monks? The answer is probably not worth all the contemplation. Your belly button does not heal over because there is nothing between it and your stomach except a few thin layers of skin. The belly button is merely scar tissue of the umbilical cord where the cord has detached following birth. It is of no medical significance, therefore medical and anatomy texts pay it little or no attention. Nevertheless, any animal that has been nourished in the womb must have a belly button, although it may not always be easily seen. According to Dr. Edward Feldman, a professor of animal reproduction in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California-Davis, "the scarring may be less obvious in some animals than in others, especially if it is covered by fur."

Can They Insert Breast Implants Through The Belly Button And Thus Leave No Scar?

Yes. It's been embellished by belly dancers and flaunted by hard bodies. For some years now plastic surgeons have found an unusual use for the lowly belly button---a site for breast implants that leaves no scar. By cutting inside the belly button and fashioning a "tunnel" under the skin to the mammary glands, plastic surgeons can insert implants without incisions on the breast. The technique is called trans-umbilical breast augmentation (TUBA). A "tunnel" is created through an incision in the navel. A catheter-like tool nearly a metre long called an endotube is inserted under the skin and guided by a surgeon to the mammary gland by means of a fiber optic camera or endoscope. Once this is done, a small inflatable pouch is inserted to create an opening. The pouch is inflated then deflated and removed. The breast implant is rolled up and placed in the breast. The implant is then filled with saline solution. After the implant is filled, the endotube is removed and the implant seals itself. If complications develop, conventional incisions may be required to complete the surgery. According to Dr. Gerald Johnson, a Houston plastic surgeon who devised the patented technique, "You have no scars on the breast and you have very little loss of sensation in the breast . . . And I have had zero or no bleeding or bruising." He may not have bleeding or bruising, but what about his patient?

Where Does Belly Button Fuzz Come From?

This is truly one of the mysteries of the universe, yet it has a simple answer. Belly button fuzz (or lint) comes from the clothes you wear. Some fabrics shed more than others. Some shapes of belly buttons are better collectors. A hairy belly button will collect fuzz better than a hairless one. If you perspire a great deal, the perspiration in your belly button will tend to collect more fuzz from fabrics.