How tight clothing can be harmful

Many people like to wear clothes which are trendy. Fashions and designs of clothes keep on changing. Maybe, this is because people want to wear something different and smart. The entire industry involved in designing, manufacturing and marketing clothes keeps this trend alive. Somehow tight clothes have also entered the pattern of what is fashionable and many people can be seen wearing tight skinny jeans and body hugging dresses. Tight clothes in any form; whether jeans or tops or undergarments s are harmful. Very tight jeans can compress the nerves of the thighs causing pain, tingling and numbness in the thighs and or legs. Cramps in the calf muscles can occur due to wearing very tight pantaloons or jeans. Muscle pain can occur due to constriction of the blood vessels hampering blood supply and also due to the pressure on the muscles and soft tissues.The problem of heart burn i.e. burning sensation in the chest increases by wearing tight clothes. This happens because the pressure on the abdomen forces the flow of acid upwards causing heart burn.Low blood pressure can result from wearing tight jeans, because the blood circulation and return of blood to the heart is impaired. One feels dizzy on standing due to low blood pressure and this can lead to fainting.In women very tight clothes are known to cause sterility. This is more so in those who have been using tight clothes since teen years.Tight clothes have been implicated in causing endometriosis a condition causing chronic abdominal pain in women. Recent researchers have postulated that chronic abdominal pain in women of higher class during the Victorian era could have been because of wearing clothes which were very tight across the waist. Tight brassieres are a known cause for breast cancer in women. Tight clothes also increase the warmth and dampness in any part of the body making the part more susceptible to fungal infections. Fungal infections over genital parts and around in women have been known to result from tight undergarments. Pregnant women are advised to wear lose comfortable clothes because of multiple health hazards. Tightness around the abdomen is harmful for pregnant women as well.In men wearing tight undergarments and or pantaloons can increase the warmth in the scrotal region and reduce sperm production. In extreme cases, it can result in infertility. Men can also suffer from fungal infections on and around genital parts due to tight undergarments, though it is more common in women. Thus it can be seen clearly that there are multiple harmful effects of wearing tight clothes but absolutely no advantage. Therefore before an individual decides to wear and buy a tight fitting trendy looking dress, he or she should be aware of the harm it can cause.Dr. Pande is a specialist internal medicineRuhengeri Hospital