Summer seems to have finally arrived in the UK, with a heatwave well and truly upon us.
We’ve opened all the windows, switched on the fan, and have donned our shorts in a bid to try and cool ourselves off.
But according to a doctor, there’s one more thing we all need to be doing amid the scorching temperatures.
Dr Susanna Unsworth, the in-house gynaecology expert for INTIMINA, told Metro.co.uk that it’s crucial that when you go to bed you don’t put on any underwear.
Yes, according to the women’s health specialist, we should never wear knickers, pants, briefs, boxers, or any other form of underwear to bed during a heatwave.
This is because you want to try and avoid a ‘sweaty’ environment in your intimate area, as this can cause a number of problems for you.
She explained: ‘I generally say that wearing underwear overnight can cause problems — I think the main issue is that it means that the area is not getting air circulating to it, and this can lead to increased sweating.
‘Sweat can obviously cause of irritation to the skin, so it can cause problems with rashes forming in the groin, typically fungal rashes, potentially increasing things like thrush infections, but also, sweat can contribute to pH balance changes and we know that the environments in the the vagina, but also around the vulva, is quite sensitive to pH changes and it can affect then the balance of bacteria that naturally there.
‘This can sadly lead to a reduction in this good bacteria, which we call lactobacilli, and potentially mean that bad bacteria can overgrow and that can lead to other problems as well.’
The doctor goes on to say that you want to try and maintain a good balance of the natural microorganisms in your vagina, and you can’t do this if there’s no room down there for air to circulate.
‘In the weather we’re having now it would be great to try and avoid wearing underwear overnight, but actually it can happen all year round — in the winter as well because we might be wearing more pyjamas and also maybe thicker bedding, and that could obviously lead to more sweating.’
And this isn’t just an issue for the ladies, it can also impact men as well.
Dr Unsworth warns that wearing underwear to bed in the heat can sometimes affect sperm production.
‘For men, it’s less about the natural kind of balance of bacteria because that’s not really so much of a factor. It can contribute to skin infections — they can get fungal infections in the groin just like we can and that’s commonly seen in sportspeople that get quite sweaty and they find it a problem in their groin and other places,’ she adds.
‘The other factor to consider is actually the effect on sperm production, so if the testicles get too hot that can reduce production and also if underwear is too tight that can also impact it, so from a fertility perspective it might be something that men want to consider.’
So there you have it folks, you might want to think twice before putting underwear on when you go to bed tonight and go commando instead.
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