Beware! Used underwear can give you syphilis, other STDs

Second hand or fairly used clothings are preferred by a lot of people to the new ones in terms of quality and price. However, using second-hand underwear can be hazardous to health.

Medical studies have raised the alarm over the risk that these used items pose.

They say some bacteria, fungi, parasitic and viral infections can be contracted through wearing of second- hand clothes.

They claim Sexually Transmitted Diseases are not only contracted through sexual relationship with infected persons.

According to studies, while used clothes generally pose health dangers to users, the underwear has been found to present greater risks.

Infections such as virginal and skin candidiasis, scabies, tinea corporis, chicken pox, gonorrhoea, syphilis, and even Hepatitis A, B and C, among others, can be linked to wearing underwear previously used by infected persons.

A consultant dermatologist, Dr. Olufunmilayo Ajose, said the risk of infection is heightened where users fail to wash, properly disinfect and iron these clothes.

“If proper care is taken, no disease will cling permanently to the clothes. So any second-hand clothes or underwear that you cannot iron, don’t buy them or you risk being infected with STIs, scabies and other fungi, bacteria and virus-linked infections.”

But a Consultant Surgeon at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Philip Ogunjimi, said people should avoid used underwear entirely because of the health risks.

He said that some bacteria are very resistant and can survive harsh conditions for long on clothes.

He said that a regular wash may not get rid of some of the bacteria, especially those that come with discharge from the body of the previous user.

“All of these infections can, however, be prevented simply by washing and ironing of the used clothes before wearing them.”

A Gynaecologist and the Medical Director, BeeHess Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Bakare Olabode, said organisms in pus on underwear can stay alive and can be dangerous to the health of the next user if not properly treated.

“Anyone buying these materials should ensure that antiseptic is used to disinfect them and the underwear should either be lined out in the sun or ironed before wearing them. Itching under the thighs, candidiasis and other STIs can be prevented.”

Culled from PUNCH