Fashion, you're killing me!
With the desire to look trendy and sassy while running behind buzzing fads, we often forget our health. SNEHA SINGH finds out how our daily wears are killing us softly
Skinny jeans: Check. Stilettos: Check. Large tote: Check. Back ache: Err... We all have our favourites in our wardrobes and people are least bothered about the overall concept of clothing; the term fashion in their context is just limited to ‘look good and trendy’. But now doctors have warned that current fashions are changing the way women walk – and having a detrimental impact on their health. Skinny jeans, hooded jackets, oversized bags, high heels and backless shoes are the most-worn culprits, according to the British Chiropractic Association. “The consumer is almost always drawn to the idea of possessing novel things, which provide a feeling of change or progress. While making new fashion choices can be fun and exciting, it can also take a toll on health,” says fashion designer Aditi Somani adding that, “At the risk of sounding frank, people these days do follow fashion trends blindly. Many a times, people invest in certain fashion choices only because they’re on trend.”
Daily cum deadly wear
Many problems are caused when clothing is too tight. Your sexy skinny jeans which you often wear it on daily basis can cause a lot of damage than you could imagine. Frequently wearing skinny jeans or leggings can compress nerves in leg and reduce the blood flow to lower parts of legs. Also, the skin-tight material makes you sweat more, which creates hub for viral, fungal and bacterial infections. Dr Shalaka Deshmukh, exassistant Professor of DY Patil College of Physiotherapy, states, “Tight clothing can lead to compression of blood vessels and nerves. For example tight fitting jeans can lead to compression of nerve on the lateral (outer) aspect of the thigh, leading to altered sensations.”
Similarly rompers which are more common among the younger college-going brigade can cause trouble when there is no washroom around and you may have to hold your pee for some time. When you frequently ignore the urge of peeing, the urine stores around bladder which results into pain in the lower area of abdomen, fever, pain during intercourse and other infections.
The shape of you
Shapewears are another silent killers but more lethal than skinny jeans. Some shapewears that cover the top waist area can decrease blood flow, which can travel to the lungs, heart and parts of brain and eventual outcome could be death too. Similarly thongs, which are very appealing intimate wear among young women, act like only thin layer of cloth between hip area and vagina and can carry rectal bacteria and viruses that may result into vaginal infections.
Bag and baggage
The modern woman has fallen in love with large bags. But the rise of oversized handbags and heavy necklaces beloved by celebrities and commoners alike are weighing women down and increasing pressure on their necks. Carrying a heavy bag can affect your posture resulting into chronic joint pain.
Similarly wearing big and heavy necklaces may limit neck movements, the constant pressure on neck could spread through all over shoulders, the pain and pressure sometimes accentuates in headache and bad neck posture. Same goes with heavy ear rings and statement bracelets and rings. The giant earrings are enough to rip off the soft earlobes when hooked into object, the heavy weight earrings could stretch and tear the earlobes. And oversized ring and bracelets could give you pain on wrist, hand, arm and your fingers too.
Fatal footwear
Coming to our favourite fashion accessory, the wrong shoes may force women to hold their body strangely, causing tension in the spine, with backless shoes as troublesome as high heels. “Women tend to feel more powerful when wearing heels. Stilettos have always been associated with a sensual appeal, this is because the heels elongate the feet making the legs look longer and even women’s walk changes drastically in heels giving the body a sexy curvature,” says footwear expert Payal Kothari.
Heels add extra weight on balls of your feet, also there’s always the risk of tripping, falling and tumbling that could lead to mishaps. Dr Deshmukh says “Platform or flat heels should be used to reduce stress on joints and muscles of the feet. High heels can also lead to knee joint and back pain.” But Kothari advises, “Buy shoes that have an arch in it, especially in flats. If you are not flat footed you have a natural arch in your feet. You must always wear even a kitten heels (that again has a natural arch) or flats that have an in-build arch.”
And heels are not the only menace makers. Even easy-going flip-flops can give you some trouble in case of a careless choice. As your feet are exposed, you could be prone to smashing or hurting them with any hard object. The exposure makes susceptible to deadly types of skin cancer. The thin soles fail to give you a strong walking support and that changes your walking style. You may develop pain between your big toe and second toe because of its unique design.