A survey that was conducted by onbuy.com asked how often men change their underwear (or should we say how often men don’t change their underwear). The survey consisted of over 2,790 men and women. 22% of the men surveyed admitted that they will reuse their undies up to five times before washing them. While 18% of women surveyed said that they agreed when asked if they re-wear their panties over and over before washing them. (1)
There are days where we feel so lazy that we don’t want to get out of bed and, let alone change our undies. Sometimes we are in such a hurry to do something that we just wear the same undies from the day before. Some people out there don’t change their underwear after wearing them for days and you can tell. No one is exactly proud of admitting they wear the same undies every day. However, here are some reasons why men might want to consider changing their underwear more often.
The Reasons Why Men Don’t Change Underwear
The men that took the survey gave some pretty interesting reasons for not changing their underwear. There are certain unspoken methods that people use to decide if a pair of undies are clean or not. 25% of men compared to 20% of women surveyed said that they will wear it if it passes the smell test. 29% of men and 30% of women said that they would wear undies despite the smell but won’t wear the undies if there is any visible filth seen. (2)
A lot of the men and women equally combined admitted that they will turn their underwear inside out for a ‘cleaner feeling’. One of the statistics that doesn’t come as a huge surprise is how long men are willing to keep their old undies. 13% of the men surveyed admitted that they will keep undies for more than 3 years while only 4% of women admitted the same. (2)
There may be other reasons as to why a person doesn’t change their underwear. It could be due to restricted access to utilities, environmental mindfulness, or a variety of others that make it hard to maintain laundry.
What’s Wrong With Not Changing?
You might think, what can a pair of dirty underwear do to me? While the risk is admittedly low, it’s still there, and doctors agree. The reason? The number of bacteria that can build up in your undies over time. Especially if you are someone who likes to exercise or do strenuous tasks that cause your body to sweat. (2)
According to Dr. Nichola Cosgrove, a skincare specialist from Natura Empora says “Underwear in a way acts as a barrier to protect our clothes, as it’s easier to wash our underwear regularly than our clothes. By not changing your underwear every day you will start to have an accumulation of bacteria like Escherichia coli, staphylococcus, streptococcus, and many others that are perfectly normal and useful when they remain at their required levels. (2)
However because they thrive in a warm and humid environment, they will start to multiply out of control. The effects of these can be as simple as a bad odor, a rash, excess itching, to full-on yeast infections, urinary tract infections, and potentially life threatening staph infections.” (2)
You Should Change Your Underwear
The ultimate message should be very clear, change your underwear! Of course, not changing your underwear isn’t going to technically warrant a trip to the hospital. However, your body as well as everyone else will be very grateful you did. No one wants to be smelling your stench from the week on your person and nor should you. Time to start sorting through all of your old pairs of undies and throwing all the ‘holey’ ones away.
Dr. Cosgrove claims, “Obviously bacteria transfers throughout the day onto our underwear, through natural sweating and also if you don’t clean yourself correctly or sufficiently after going to the toilet, normal bodily secretions and just general faecal matter transfers from breaking gas – disgusting to think about it, but very true.” (2)
It’s also important that you pay attention to what you are cleaning your clothes with. Even using detergent doesn’t eliminate all of the bacteria from your underwear. Some have recommended that ironing your underwear can prove useful in getting rid of residual bacteria. Hot water, soap, and your sink can also be another awesome technique if utilities are limited. Obviously, this survey has its limitations, (this isn’t peer-reviewed scientific research here.), but I think we can all agree that you need to change and clean your underwear frequently if not daily.
Keep Reading: Why Do So Many Men Only Have One Sad Pillow?
Sources
- Onbuy
- “22% of men don’t change their underwear daily – here’s why that’s dangerous.” Metro. Jessica Lindsay.