Are they hygienic? Should you wear them to the gym? All your questions answered...
1. They won't always give you an infection
Thongs often get a bad rap, and with many believing they're a one-way ticket to infection city ('basically a bacterial superhighway from your bum hole to your business', as Della tells Germaine in Caitlin Moran's comedy Raised by Wolves). However, wearing a thong doesn't always guarantee an unhealthy gynaecological situation – in fact, women that aren't predisposed to conditions like urinary tract or bacterial infections, two of the most common illness blamed on thongs, can wear them and stay perfectly healthy. It's only really if you're prone to these illnesses (or any of those listed in point 5) that you should to consider culling thongs from your underwear drawer permanently.
2. It's all about the material
Cotton is the best choice of fabric for any kind of underwear, but it's especially important to go for those breathable fibres when you're wearing a G-string. It's gentler on your skin, allows the evaporation of moisture that can otherwise encourage the growth of bacteria, and research has shown that switching to cotton can prevent irritation and itching too. Lace and silk pants, whilst often much more attractive to look at, should be kept for when someone's probably going to be taking them off anyway.
3. You shouldn't wear them if you're sick…
Whilst thongs aren't a guaranteed infection waiting to happen, your immune system is lowered when you're ill, so it's got less strength to fight off other bacteria. This means that the risk of infection from everyday items you're usually fine with, like your pants, shoots up when you're poorly, even if it's something simple like a cold. Play it safe and go for a full pant until you're feeling better – you've got enough to be dealing with without adding a UTI to the mix.
4. …or if you're going to the gym
Okay, so you might get a VPL in your workout leggings, but that's better than your rectal bacteria (yep) getting transferred to your vagina when you move around and sweat, leading to potential urinary tract infections. E-coli, the most common bacteria found in the colon, can easily sneak down into your vagina or your urethra if you exercise in a thong, so next time you're updating your kit, get your gym pants in a sweat-wicking material to keep you fresh (or as it's physically possible to be after a 45-minute spin class).
5. They can make existing health conditions worse
The friction caused by wearing thongs won't give you conditions like hemorrhoids or lichen sclerosus (a skin condition that causes itchiness and white patches on the skin), but if you have them already, their shape and orientation can make things ten times worse. Web MD adds that wearing an ill-fitting thong or a thong that's too tight can also lead to clitoral irritation, and Dr Shieva Ghofrany previously told the Huffington Post that doctors notice more skin tags on patients who wear thongs frequently as well.
Source http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/
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