Thong Wearing is a Health Risk

Long hailed as sexy underwear with more than a hint of bad girl, the thong as underwear has gained a lot of acceptance and popularity in the last five years. With the rise (pun intended) of low-rise jeans, a hint of thong riding up became a fashion statement in the under thirty crowd. At least, one hopes it was only the under thirty crowd that adopted this trend.

Personally, I've been wearing a thong since I first discovered them about twenty years ago. Yes, that was roughly about the time the round wheel was invented, too. I loved wearing a thong or it's sister, the G-string, for many reasons. I liked feeling sexy and kind of bad. They didn't take up much room in the dresser drawer. They could fit in your purse without falling out when you were digging for gum or something. You didn't have to worry about panty line issues in knit pants or skirts or anything else. And I just plain liked the fact that I was wearing practically no fabric at all on my nether regions.

My topography has changed a lot in twenty years. I've had two children; I've cultivated cellulite; things are headed south (and I don't mean migrating birds or retiring seniors either); the sight of new wrinkles is so common it isn't even shocking. But I've never given up the thong. I moved to wide waistband, mostly cotton Hanes thong underwear that totally left out the hint of naughty, but the comfort of minimal coverage remained.

On my last visit to my doctor I must have mentioned in casual conversation that I wore thong underwear. Imagine my surprise when she practically forbade me from wearing the butt cheek baring panties! "I would like to tell all women", she said, "that wearing a thong has long-lasting health effects. It's bad for the entire genital and perineal area."

Who knew? I was devastated. I turned forty, needed a mammogram, bifocal glasses, anti-wrinkle products, a fiber supplement, and now granny panties?

Sure enough, I found out through my research that doctors are concerned about the health implications of wearing thong underwear. Recurrent vaginal infections are more common in thong wearers. The string part can inflame the skin, leading to thrush which is a yeast infection of the skin that thrives in warm, moist environments. Another concern is bacteria can travel along that little string from the rectum to the vaginal area. Everyone knows that you wipe from front to back, not the other way around, so wearing thong underwear defeats that purpose. The chafing that occurs can negatively impact the whole genital area and leave the area more susceptible to infections. Bladder infections and urinary tract infections are more common in thong wearers, too.

Since this second half of my adult life is including such fun things as visits to mammography labs, using Metamucil, and a visit to a urologist, I decided to go underwear shopping on the advice of my doctor. I was pleasantly surprised to find cute bikini panties that weren't uncomfortable and decidedly not grannyish even in the Hanes line. And then I was thrilled to discover the boy-cut panties. Cut low in the waist, and cut straight across the top of the thigh and in every conceivable design from lacy to downright boyish, I was in panty heaven!

And really, my doctor did me a favor. I now have another reason to go shopping.