by Linda Formichelli
The list of what compromises our health keeps growing: Under poor air quality, junk food, lack of exercise, and stress, write in “what we wear.” It sounds odd, but the clothing, accessories, and even the undergarments we sport can take a toll on our bodies.
In fact, “Women’s clothing has been making them sick for centuries,” says fashion expert Rachel Weingarten, co-founder of AirKisses.com. For example, it was in vogue for ancient China’s upper-class women to bind their feet to keep them small and dainty. Because the binding repositioned all the bones, walking was immensely painful, and women couldn’t strut around to show off their “glamorous” tootsies.
In the Victorian era, women wore corsets laced so tightly they couldn’t breathe properly, which led to regular fainting spells.
Recently, Tokyo banned platform shoes. Weingarten explains that this is “because young women wearing these excessively high-heeled shoes were tripping, breaking their legs, and getting into traffic accidents.”
These aren’t the only garments or accessories that are responsible for health mishaps. In fact, many standard staples in your wardrobe may be bad news for your body. But when you understand what everyday items to avoid, you can easily dress for fashion and health success.
Sales of thongs have doubled since 1996, according to Dr. Adelaide Nardone, an ob/gyn in Providence, Rhode Island, and a medical advisor for the Vagisil Women’s Health Center. Obviously, this increase in sales signifies that thongs are the underwear of choice for many women.
But wearing these comfortable, panty line-free underwear can come with unhealthy consequences. “Think about it,” says Nardone. “You have a strip of material directly connecting the vagina and the anus.” If the latter isn’t spotlessly clean, fecal content and bacteria like E. Coli and group B strep typically found in the rectal area can be tracked into the vagina. Nardone says 25 to 40 percent of women unknowingly harbor group B strep in the vagina, and the bacteria can cause problems during pregnancy.
Aside from border-crossing bacteria, the constant rubbing of thongs can cause perineal fissures--tiny tears between the rectum and vagina. “Any open cuts in that area are potential sites for infection, including STDs,” says Nardone, who adds that this problem is exacerbated if a woman shaves below the belt. “Pubic hair protects against irritation and infection, and is a barrier to trauma.”
Whether you opt for thongs or looser fitting underwear, Nardone suggests sticking with all-cotton styles or, at the very least, those with a cotton-lined crotch. “Synthetic fabrics such as spandex and acrylic can cause allergic reactions. They also trap moisture in the [vaginal] area, which creates a wonderful environment for the growth of yeast and bacteria,” she says. A dyed cotton crotch can also cause allergic reactions, so stick with reliable white.
Sunglasses add a mysterious and glamorous edge to any ensemble. But if the glasses don’t offer UV protection, your fashion statement may be compromising the health of your eyes. Without UV protection, more ultraviolet rays are let in and are absorbed by the structure of the eye. Over time, this can cause cataracts and macular degeneration, which is the deterioration of the retina. “We’re seeing cataracts in younger patients than we used to because of exposure to UV,” says Dr. Cary Silverman, an ophthalmologist and medical director of Eye Care 20/20 in East Hanover, New Jersey. “Sunglasses give people a false sense of security because they think all sunglasses have UV protection, and that’s not true.”
To keep your peepers in peak condition, buy shades that are labeled for UVA and UVB protection. As well, choose glasses with lenses that sit close to the eyes to reduce the amount of sunlight that sneaks around the frames’ edges. If you prefer ultradark shades because they cut down on glare, then look for styles with polarized lenses. The polarization works as a filter, says Silverman, letting light enter from only one direction and blocking most glare.
Applying sunblock to your face, neck, and other exposed areas is a good first step, but you’ll need to do more to protect your body from the sun. Even when fully clothed, your body is exposed to skin-damaging sunlight that over time will cause wrinkles, brown spots, spider veins, and even skin cancer. “Many people think that as long as they have something on, they don’t need sunblock,” says Dr. Leslie Lucchina, director of aesthetic dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts “The reality is, you have to protect yourself from absorbing UV light through clothing.”
That’s not to say your clothes offer no shielding from the sun. Different articles of clothing provide varying degrees of protection from UV rays: dark colors block UV rays more than light colors; loose-fitting garments shield more than tight ones; and tightly-woven items are more protective than looser knits. “A white T-shirt has an SPF of only four to six,” says Lucchina, adding that the skin should have SPF 30 protection. “Wear it in the water, and the sun exposure only gets worse.”
Since it’s possible to get sunburned through your clothing, Lucchina recommends applying a SPF 30 sunscreen to your entire body before dressing. An alternative is wearing clothes with adequate built-in sun protection, which are available from companies such as Sun Precautions (http://www.sunprecautions.com), Sunday Afternoons (http://www.sundayafternoons.com), and Sunstoppers (http://www.sunstoppers.com).
But don’t think you have to ditch all your white T-shirts and cute sundresses. To add temporary sun protection to your current wardrobe, Lucchina suggests washing Rit Sun Guard (http://www.ritdye.com/sun_guard) into your clothes.
High heels with pointy toes are all the rage in fashion right now. Wearing them will make you stylish, but will also harm your tender tootsies. That’s because they’re the footwear most likely to cause permanent damage to your feet.
Pointy-toed high heels slope from the back of the shoe to the front forces your foot into the toe box, cramming your toes into a space that is too narrow space. “These types of shoes cause multiple problems, including bunions, calluses, corns, and hammertoes (where the second, third, or fourth toes are permanently bent at the middle joint),” according to Dr. Brian Donley, an orthopedic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Foot and Ankle Center.
Bunions are probably the most debilitating of these conditions. “The big toe shifts toward the inside of the foot, while the metatarsal—a bone in the midfoot—shifts the opposite way, creating a bump over the big toe,” says Donley. The only treatment is wearing roomy shoes that can accommodate the deformity. In severe cases, surgery—which comes with a three-month-long recovery time—may be necessary.
Even though the aforementioned conditions don’t develop overnight, Donley advises avoiding high heels as much as possible. “It’s similar to smoking,” he says. “Both are bad and will cause problems over the long term, so there’s no safe amount I can suggest. Certainly though, the more a woman wears heels, the more likely they are to cause problems.”
Walking in the high and narrow isn’t the only shoe issue hurting feet. A study by The American Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) found that 88 percent of women wear shoes that are too small. In addition to the problems listed above, Donley says that too-tight shoes can also cause back and leg pain, shift muscles and ligaments, and worsen pre-existing arthritis of the knee.
To keep your feet healthy, make sure you’re wearing the right size shoes. The AOFAS study revealed that three-quarters of the women surveyed had not measured their feet in five years, and every woman’s size had increased since age 20. “Measure both feet,” says Donley, “because they may not be the same size and you need to fit the larger foot.” Finding the right fit doesn’t end there. “Try them on at the end of the day, because your feet swell as the day goes on and might be a size larger,” he says. As well, choose styles with a wide toe box and cushioned support in the arch and heel. Most important of all, Donley says, “Buy shoes that feel good in the store when you walk around, because they won’t stretch enough later.”
When they fit properly, bras are purely beneficial—they provide the lift, support, and even the cleavage we need. However, ill-fitting brassieres don’t offer the same perky results. Wearing the wrong size bra can, over time, cause shoulder and neck pain, sagging breasts, chafing, and permanent indentations in the shoulders.
If you choose a cup size so small that your breasts runneth over, the bra straps rather than the cups carry the weight of your bosoms. This hurts your shoulders, distorts your posture, and creates indentations. “The bottom band of the bra and the cup do the supporting—the straps should do the least amount of work,” says Audrey Kirkland, a.k.a. “Professor Bra,” an undergarment expert for sports bra manufacturer Moving Comfort. “Down the road, if a woman does get fitted in the right size bra [after wearing one that causes indentations in the shoulders], the straps will migrate right into those indentations.”
Wearing oversized cups also causes problems. If they’re too large they don’t support the breasts adequately, and bosoms lose elasticity and head south faster than normal. “There’s muscle underneath, but the breast itself is just tissue, so it won’t return to [a perky or full] shape,” she says. “Long term, even small-busted ladies will sag.”
When the bottom band is either too tight or too loose, the bra can chafe against the diaphragm and breasts. This can cause constant pain because women generally wear the same type of bra every day. Sports bras with exposed seams can be especially irritating during exercise, so check them inside and out. “If you go for the racerback style,” says Kirkland, “make sure the seams won’t dig in to the shoulder blades either.”
To prevent these problems from becoming your own, ensure that all your bras are the right size. Go to a reputable department or lingerie store and have a qualified salesperson measure you. When finding your perfect size, also follow Kirkland’s tips: “The correct way to try on a bra is to put your arms through the straps, put on the straps, then lean forward, place the band beneath your bust and hook the bra. The breasts should fall naturally into the cups with no bulging and the nipples straight ahead and level.” The back band shouldn’t ride higher than the front, and the straps shouldn’t dig in to the shoulders.