Why wet the finger befor vomiting?
I noticed that Kirsten Dunst's character was doing that befor she was about to shove her fingers down her throat or was doing it at Isla Fisher's character. Why?
shareWhen you self-induce vomiting regularly, your gag reflex decreases. In order to achieve the same effect, you have to stick your fingers farther down your throat. Wetting your fingers makes it easier to do. Individuals with eating disorders often have scars on the backs of their hands/knuckles from frequent vomiting, which is called Russell's sign. When they stick their fingers down their throat, their teeth scratch away/discolor the skin around the knuckles/on the fingers. It's a common sign that someone may have an ED.
shareI definitely think I saw some scarring on Regan's knuckles at one point in the movie. I wonder if the producers thought that deeply into the disorder or if it was just by chance.
"Hey. What's up? You're hot. I wanna kill you." - Facebook Stalker, Stab 6
I noticed it too but thought maybe it was just from the rough night but that's interesting that they would take her eating disorder storyline that far.
shareRussell's sign is common, although hardly anyone except for professionals in the field know it by that name. Typically, most just refer them as "scars from purging," similar to what you said. Unless the producers consulted with a bunch of people suffering from eating disorders, read one of a number of books (e.g., Mayra Hornbacher's 'Wasted'), which, even while super triggering, I can't remember her going into that much detail, or one of them had a previous eating disorder, I seriously doubt the producers put that much thought into it. Personally, having worked with eating disorders and I'm doing my dissertation on the subject, I thought the scene was quite realistic. It wasn't put out there flamboyantly, like some of the scenes where the girls are doing cocaine, but it was under the radar, which kinda makes me think they might not have known, or as another person who posted suggested, she was cleaning her fingers.
shareYour intellingent comments are rare on this forum. They were related to the film and the question asked, but it also gave information to the readers, like myself, who didn't know much about eating disorders. Contratulations, and thank you.
shareThank you for such a thoughtful post, vilj! I appreciate it! I realize this reply is over one year later, but better late than never. Cheers!