Recently, an American woman lost all muscle control when she collapsed after spending a whole day wearing skinny jeans. The woman had been helping her relative move and spent the entire day squatting and moving around in a pair of tight jeans. She was rushed to the hospital where she was checked for signs of muscle failure and released four days later after damage to the nerves in her legs.
Hold on for a second before you rush to toss your favorite pair in the trash. Though the case proved harmful for the woman, many experts argue that the problem may not be as severe as the internet made it out to be. But still, it made us want to take a look at the clothes and accessories in our closet and wonder if they’re doing us any harm.
Here are the top six things that we all are guilty of splurging on. Though there may be minimum risk of damaging your body with any of them, it is always a good idea to know what you may be hiding in your closet.
1. Jeans:
Doctors say that extremely tight jeans cause damage to the nerves and the calf muscles due to prolonged wear. The blood supply to the lower part of your legs will reduce and you will literally, get weak in the knees. Women are guiltier of this than men. The trick is to find a pair that is comfortable to move around in. But there is no need to be paranoid about your old jeans. If it’s uncomfortable around the legs, you need to buy yourself another pair. But if it fits, then it’s a keeper.
2. Corsets:
Tight corsets accentuate your waist making it look tiny. That was always the point of wearing the ‘can hardly breathe’ piece of garment. But studies have shown that the clothing damages your ribs, decreases your lung capacity, increases shortness of breath and also has the potential of deforming your skeletal structure.
3. Ties:
While it may look like men are exempt from fashion health hazards, the tie has always been their enemy. Whether it’s at a dinner party, office meeting or wedding, when a man is tugging at his tie, he’s not just uncomfortable, but his body may be telling him that his breathing is under pressure. Studies have also shown that uncomfortable and tight ties may cause imbalance in the fluid of the eyeball, damaging eyesight.
4. High heels:
Here is the age-old dilemma. Shoes have always been a woman’s best friend. But looking gorgeous in a pair of killer stilettos may come at a painful price. High heels damage your spine, change your poster, and alters the condition of your muscle tendons and skeleton. The cutoff is two to three inches, so if your pair of pumps is more than two or three inches, it’s time to rethink them.
5. Bags:
The trend of carrying around a massive bag that can fit a survival kit to the Antarctic is big globally. The bigger the bag, the more ‘essential’ stuff we are obliged to stuff in it. Lugging around a moderately heavy bag slung across a shoulder may increase the chances of risk to the back. Your shoulder muscles are bound to cramp up and you may risk permanently damaging you spine.
6. Jewelry:
Diamonds may be a girl’s (other) best friend, but recent studies have shown that jewelry that contains chemicals such as lead, chromium and nickel in costume jewelry may be carcinogens. Prolonged usage of this costume jewelry may be damaging your nervous system.
7. Flip flops:
Though this is bit of stretch and will earn an eye roll from you, experts argue that these slip-ons require a tighter hold from your toes. Your feet muscles tend to contract more causing you ‘feet stress’.As mentioned earlier, there is no need to chuck any of these accessories out of your closet yet. Experts writing for The New York Times and The Guardian are warning you not to fall victim to faux hoaxes posted over the Internet.
So what do you do if you want to start wearing healthy? Pay attention to your body. If something aces or just doesn’t feel right, your body is reacting to discomfort and pain. Rule number two, is execute moderation. Whether it’s shoes or jeans or bags, buy an item that looks good but doesn’t push the limits. You can still worship the runway models in their high end accessories, but when it comes to wearing the same items on the street, stick to comfort.