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A study conducted among more than 1,000 women produced shocking results.
One in five women wears the same panties for several days in a row, which increases the risk of infection
According to experts, it’s an ideal place for bacteria to multiply. The result can be as simple as an unpleasant smell or fungal infections.
The survey of more than 1,000 women, carried out by the platform The Derm Review, found that 21 % of respondents wear the same panties for several days in a row.
One in ten women wears the same panties for three or more days
This means this bad habit is more common than most people think.
Reasons for this habit included lack of time in the morning, tiredness in the evening, saving water and reducing the amount of laundry.
More than half (55 %) of respondents wear the same underwear they sleep in as they do to work during the day. Most women over 55 do this. And almost a quarter of women (24 %) said they do not change their underwear after exercising. These are mostly women under 25.
Bras are usually washed after two to three wears
However, the survey found that one in three women wears a bra longer than recommended, with the highest proportion among women aged 35-44 (38 %).
Although there are no fixed rules regarding hygiene habits, experts recommend changing underwear every day and taking it off at night.
Skincare biochemist Eli Meckleman, reacting to the study results, said she understands the appeal of limiting dirty laundry by wearing the same underwear for longer than one day.
However, she advises that the health risks of infections, irritation, abnormal discharge and various skin rashes should make women think twice before wearing the same underwear for several days.
Meckleman warns that those who go to bed in their underwear potentially increase the risk of vaginitis and bacterial vaginosis.
According to her, for those who did not change and wash their underwear shortly after exercising, the risk of unpleasant body odor and a possible outbreak or disruption of the vaginal flora was significantly increased.
Possible problems in the intimate area
Fungal infections caused by the spread of the Candida fungus are one of the most common consequences of inadequate hygiene. This fungus naturally lives in the gut and in small amounts in the vagina. Approximately 75 % of women may experience candidiasis during their lifetime and sometimes a painful rash around the vulva caused by a fungal infection.
This can be prevented by always wearing cotton underwear and sleeping in loose clothing at night, because bacteria like warm and moist environments.
Bacterial vaginosis, however, is an infection that usually causes a strong fishy odor.
One of the causes is poor hygiene – although overly scented soap or bath foam can also disrupt the balance of bacteria in the vagina.
Previous research showed that a similar proportion of men, 22 %, do not change their underwear every day.
A study by OnBuy, involving nearly 2,800 people, found that users who wear underwear for several days in a row sniff it just to check whether it is too dirty to wear again.
Hygiene
Dr. Nicola Cosgrave, a skincare expert from Natura Emporium, says that bacteria naturally occur on our genitals, which fortunately remain in balance if we use the right hygiene products, the right underwear and wash daily, especially after sweating.
Bacteria also of course spread during the day. If we do not change our underwear daily, bacteria such as Escherichia coli, staphylococci, streptococci and many others begin to accumulate in it, which, when kept at normal levels, are completely normal and beneficial,” she explains.
However, once they overgrow in a warm and humid environment, they begin to multiply uncontrollably, adds the British paper The Sun.
According to it, the consequences can be as simple as odor, rash, excessive itching, fungal infections, urinary tract infections and potentially life-threatening staphylococcal infections.
