Susan Says: Beyond Killer Heels

Yesterday, I blogged about the perils of high heels, but footwear is not the only kind of fashion that presents potential health pitfalls.

A recent Wall Street Journal  article reported about a woman named Baila Steinman who started getting numbness in her leg while on a trip to Israel in December.  Upon return to her home in Brooklyn, New York, she saw a neurologist because, as she described, "from the knee to the pelvis (the leg) was numb to the point of being painful." After her doctor examined her, he queried her as to whether she wears tight clothing, tight belts or control top pantyhose.  Then, Dr. Irving Friedman advised her that those garments actually were the cause of her pain!

Here are some other potential health hazards associated with items with clothing:

• Belts: Dr. Friedman explained that cinch belts compress a major nerve that runs from the abdomen to the outer thigh. Anything that puts pressure on the nerve can cause symptoms as those experienced by Ms. Steinman. He said that the condition, known as meralgia paresthetica, is actually very common.

• Tight Jeans: Like belts, tight jeans can also cause nerve compression; they also can interfere with digestion.  This was noted in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1993 and has been aptly dubbed "tight pants syndrome."  It seems like "skinny jeans" just keep getting skinnier, but tight jeans have been linked to low back pain, yeast infections, and even a condition known as lipotrophia semicircularis (also known as "ribbed thighs") in which horizontal lesions appear around the thighs.

• Body Shapers:  If worn for too long, Spanx or other body slimmers can cause both nerve compression and digestive issues.  In fact, they should be there to smooth, not bring the wearer down to a smaller size!  Shapers compressing the upper abdomen can also prevent the lungs from fully inflating which can lead to lightheadedness.

• Handbags:  Selling high-end handbags for one of the top national retailers, I know the most common complaint:  heavy handbags!  Of course heavy shoulder handbags can throw the back out of line.  According to the American Chiropractic Association women should carry no more than 10% of their body weight in a bag.

• Jewelry: Small amounts of nickel in items like rings and watch backs (and even jean rivets) can cause a red, itchy rash for those allergic to the substance.  Soap or moisture can be trapped under a ring, which also causes rashes, according to the WSJ article.  Another thing that should be light in weight are earrings; heavy earrings can pull the earlobes and even bring on headaches.

Let's be vigilant and prevent ourselves from becoming the unwitting victims of what the WSJ dubbed "crimes of fashion!"