'Don't be fooled by the patient's make-up'!

One hundred and eighty-seven patients undergoing gynaecological surgery in two different international centres were reviewed daily by 'blinded' interviewers. They were analysed for the presence of nausea, vomiting, eating, mobilisation, general well-being and use of make-up. On starting to wear make-up their statement of well-being improved significantly but 1 in 3 patients in London complained of nausea, one in four still had a urinary catheter in place, required intramuscular analgesia or intravenous access, one in eight were unable to tolerate food, and one in 10 patients were pyrexial. Although wearing make-up was associated with improved well-being their was no correlation with their clinical condition.