Yeast Infection News

Being a slave to fashion can be a real pain in the neck, back, feet and skin. Weekend examines the issue with experts in the field.

WHEN ON official duty Sharon Divan prefers wearing heels. However, on her grocery expeditions over the weekends she uses flats. “I began wearing heels when I started my professional career. Trouser suits work best with high heels and in the corporate world presentation is most important,” says this Dubai-based marketing manager. “High heels help with posture and help the not so tall people walk ‘tall’. And today, with design innovations, heeled shoes have become comfortable,” she adds.Her favourite footwear is the slippers from Nayomi, which she wears around the house. “They are extremely comfortable and fantastic value for money. For more formal shoes, I prefer Aldo,” she says.Not many young women are as sensible as Sharon. When it comes to fashion, reason takes a backseat even if it causes pain. Women just want to look good and follow the latest trends set by celebrities. A survey by the American Podiatric Association found that about 85 per cent of women are willing to sacrifice the health of their feet for fashion. Walking around in mile-high stilettos, squeezing into second-skin pants or carrying a large handbag may make you appear stylish, but the damage these chic pieces do to your body over time ain’t pretty. According to medical experts, this is really a lifestyle issue. If you want to go out and feel glamorous for a night, that’s okay. But, if you wear some of these accessories excessively, it can lead to real problems. So is the case of killer heels. They may be the height of fashion, but they’re bound to bring you down eventually. Dr Chris Whately, Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Dubai Bone & Joint Centre LLC says: “Women have used shoe wear for centuries as a fashion statement and as a means to draw attention from members of the opposite sex. Stiletto heels have never made sense to me as a typical male and as a physician as they put abnormal pressures on the forefoot and the toes. They are also more unstable and can lead to injuries from falls or twisting injuries to the ligaments around the ankle.”Common problems such as corns, hammertoes and bunions are all aggravated and sometimes caused by tight fitting shoe wear such as pointed shoes and high heels. However, hip, knee and back problems are very common and can be related to shoe wear but can occur in people who wear any type of shoe. There are often factors other than shoe wear such as obesity, misalignment, congenital problems, occupational hazards and accidents that can cause hip, knee and back problems.

“No doctor will advocate high heels. They affect your biomechanics, the way the bones and joints move, and can control your entire posture,” Dr Whately adds.

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, women who wear high heels have the highest percentage of ingrown toenails, corns, neuromas and calluses. The sensuous but sadistic shoes can also exacerbate hammertoes, a condition in which the toes are bent into a clawlike position, and cause or aggravate bunions, and misaligned big toe joints that can become swollen and tender.In fact, point out podiatrists, heels throw off the body’s alignment and make the foot unstable and wobble from side to side. It’s like driving a car with the wheels out of alignment. The entire car starts wobbling. That’s your body wearing high heels with pointed toes.And, it’s not just the feet that pay the price. Ankles, legs, knees, hips and backs will also suffer from stilettos. Eventually, young women who wear stilettos can’t wear anything without a heel because their Achilles (tendons) contract over time.Tendons and muscles under tension can affect the way the kneecap tracks and cause knee irritation and pain. Studies show that heels higher than 2 1/2 inches can increase the risk of osteoarthritis of the knees and cause you to alter your posture, which strains the back.Young women who wear high-heeled shoes don’t pay the (health) price immediately, but they’ll pay in the long term. They’ll have problems in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Even flat ballet slippers can put a strain on the back, legs and ankles. And, the lack of foot support can cause or exacerbate plantar fasciitis, the inflammation of the plantar fascia, or tissue supporting the arch of the foot. Flip-flops are biomechanically unstable. There’s no heel support and there’s weak mid-foot support, so they don’t properly support the body weight.

Giant handbags

Big bags mean big health problems. Some of the handbags today are enormous, and if you load them up with things, you can increase the risk of muscular strain in the neck, shoulders and upper back regions. Experts advice that if you insist on hoisting around a large bag on your shoulder, at least switch shoulders about every 10 minutes to help distribute the weight. “Carrying a big handbag does not make a difference for a normal healthy person. For those who are not physically fit, it can cause stress on the spine,” Dr Whatley points out.

Heavy earrings and necklaces

Large, showy earrings can make a definite fashion statement. But, if they’re too heavy, that statement is “ouch!” Experts warn that when women with pierced ears wear the big, clunky earrings, the significant weight can make the hole larger or pull through the tissue and cause a tear in the earlobe. These defects are visible, hard to cover up and very painful. The fashion conscious are cautioned to stay away from tiny wires holding big dangling earrings, especially around little children who may grab and pull. Nickel, a common metal found in jewellery can cause problems for some people who are allergic to it. If nickel makes up any part of the pierced earring or ring, it can cause nickel dermatitis, an itchy, red rash that progresses to tiny blisters and dry patches.

Dr Pankajam Indrajit, a dermatologist working at Cedars Jebel Ali International Hospital says, “There is a problem if you are allergic to the metal. On a daily basis I see patients with allergic contact dermatitis (can be caused due to exposure to cement dust and detergents as well), fungal infections, eczema, scabies and sunburn.” If you don’t have strong neck muscles, a heavy necklace can pull the neck forward and cause muscle strain in the neck and shoulders and lead to a lot of pain, including headaches. Eventually, if you (persist in wearing heavy necklaces), you can develop some degeneration in the neck from the constant pulling on the neck.

Thong underwear

To combat the dreaded VPL (visible panty line), many women have thronged to the thong. But not without problems that are a little more serious than a case of VPL.Thong underwear comes (in direct contact) with the crease of the buttocks, and for those women who wear very tight-fitting thongs; it can promote bacterial vaginitis and urinary tract infections. Thong panties can also cause chafing and lacerations on the anal area, causing infection.Dr Nirmala Raghunathan is a Specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the Cedars Jebel Ali International Hospital working in the UAE for the last 13 years. Do tight clothes affect women’s health? She says, “There is no strong research evidence for the effects of tight clothes on women’s health. But it is a fact that tight clothes can have a non-ventilating effect on the skin and could increase moisture and warmth. This can act as added risk factors for infections especially in the vaginal area.“The yeast organism Candida albican and other forms of yeast grow naturally in the vagina. In a healthy vagina, the presence of some yeast is not a problem. Most often, the organism is present in spore form in many women but suppressed by the normal ecosystem of the vagina. Tight clothes don’t cause yeast infections but may facilitate the spores’ ability to attach to the skin and proliferate.”And although leggings and skinny jeans are the latest craze, wearing tight clothing in combination with moisture can propel dormant yeast organisms into the ‘active’ stage. This is more so when the material is non-absorbent.Another problem, Dr Nirmala says, is that of varicose veins — swollen and twisted — that are visible just under the surface of the skin. They appear most commonly in the legs, but can also develop in other parts of the body. “Tight clothes, especially those that are tight around your waist, groin (upper thighs), and legs, can make varicose veins worse. There is no doubt that tight clothing can aggravate acne and help spread acne infection,” she adds. Whether or not tight clothes can be the primary cause of acne is still under discussion. The theory is that tight clothing promotes sweating and can stop the sweat, sebum and dead skin cells from escaping. This leads to the blocking of the pores and then infection in the form of a whitehead, blackhead, pimple or cyst.Tight clothes affect women who are breast-feeding as well. They suffer from recurrent blocked ducts, which can lead to failure of breast-feeding due to pain and mastitis. In such cases, tight clothes have been implicated as one of the risk factors.Dr Nirmala stresses that there are many fashion related problems faced by women in the UAE. “In my practice, I have come across cases of yeast infection in the groin area and repeated yeast infections of the genital area. Even in the case of patients who have had primary genital herpes, the repeat attack can be activated by too much friction on the genitalia by tight clothes.“Men wearing tight undergarments can increase the scrotal temperature and have deleterious effect on the sperm count, especially when there are other risk factors. One of the advices we routinely give men with poor sperm quality is to wear loose clothes and undergarments.”Thong underwear could cause bacterial vaginitis and urinary tract infections. Dr Nirmala observes, “Thongs tend to cause more sweating and trap moisture against the skin. Moisture in and of itself can cause (vaginal) irritation. This is especially in cases where the material is synthetic which does not absorb moisture. This can, as explained earlier, make the environment more susceptible for infections.”Regular cotton underwear, not the thong-style, is the best to prevent yeast infections. Its breathability allows for a healthy flow of air. Shapewear, formerly called foundation garments, that fits too snuggly can restrict breathing, digestion and movement.According to the American Chiropractic Association, clothing that is too tight can be restrictive and throw off your balance. Simple everyday tasks such as bending, sitting and walking become difficult. Restrictions in a person’s movements can result in poor posture and misalignment of the spine, the association says.Very tight clothes lead to an increased retention of heat as well as an increased level of moisture in the vaginal area. That can mean trouble. “Women who wear (shaperwear) increase their risk of (vaginal and urinary) infections since bacteria like to grow in those kind of warm, moist environments (created by that clothing),” Dr Nirmala says.

Additionally, wearing very tight clothing can also obstruct the sweat ducts and cause a heat rash or something called folliculitis, an inflammation of the hair follicles. “Constrictive clothing is unhealthy for the skin. Give it a chance to breathe,” advises Nirmala.

Source: Khaleej Times