Women go through a lot in the name of fashion and beauty, but what damage are we doing to our health in the long-term?
Skinny jeans have been in the headlines of late after a woman was hospitalised with a condition linked to her favourite denim pants, but they’re not the only culprit when it comes to hazardous fashion.
From the days of Chinese foot binding to boned-corsets of the Renaissance, fashion has seen women go to great lengths and often endure much pain all in the name of style.
Here’s our list top 7 fashion trends harming your health…
1. Skinny Jeans and jeggings
Fans of the skinny jean include the likes of Kate Moss, Kendall Jenner and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton.
A recently published study warned that skinny, tight jeans were hazardous to your health with the ultra-tight bottoms blamed for a rise in yeast infections among women.
Skinny jeans and jeggings can prevent air circulation around the crotch area, which contributes to the condition developing.
In a recent case, mother-of-three Lesley Kime, 31, was hospitalised and left in agony after her love of skinny jeans caused severe cystitis and inflammation of the bladder.
Corset
This ancient form of torture has been brought back into fashion by the Kardashian sisters.
Many women aspire to have Kim’s hourglass figure, so when the reality TV star posed with her ‘waist trainer’ (a modern-day corset) on her social media, sales of the constricting device sky-rocketed.
Medical studies have found corsets cause decreased lung capacity, damage to internal organs and even deformities in the skeleton. Yet, these possible side effects are ignored by many who desire a smaller waist.
Waist trainers and control underwear that is too tight can also cause abdominal issues.
Stilettos
Whose idea was it to make walking around on tiny stilts fashionable?
Stilettos heels, a fashion favourite for decades, push the foot and the entire body into an unnatural position, straining muscles and tendons.
Podiatrists are outspoken about the harm caused by high heels with prolonged use linked to problems with posture, gait as well as permanently changing the structure of muscles and tendons in the foot and leg.
The Oversized Handbag
As every woman knows, the bigger your handbag you own, the more you end up putting in it and the more weight you lug around.
In 2012, Karl Lagerfled’s hula-hoop handbag hit the catwalk and started a massive trend towards over sized bags.
Medical experts say large handbags are to blame for a rise in back pain complaints and the dramatic change in the gait and posture of modern women.
It’s not just the size and weight of the bag though, carrying them on bent elbows causes harm to joints too.
Heavy earrings/piercings
About 20 per cent of piercings cause bacterial infections, a Northwestern University study found. Not only that, but piercings can interfere with medical procedures and have even been linked to allergies.
Meanwhile years of wearing heavy earings can cause ear lobes to sag and holes to stretch.
This has led to a rise in ear lobe cosmetic surgery as an anti-aging measure.
Flip flops
They may be a summer-time stable but flip-flops and similar sandals are dangerous, according to health experts.
They can lead to joint pain, shin splints and twisted ankles.
The flat sole and single thong between toes strains the Achilles tendon, stretches out calf muscles and provides no support for the foot during walking and standing.
Figures show that 55,100 men and women went to hospital with flip flop-related complaints in 2002.
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