Dubai: Think before you get into favourite jeans again. No doubt a tight pair, they could just be your worst enemy.
From nerve damage to reduced fertility, doctors in Dubai warn that they could impair both men and women’s health in more ways than one.
“It’s better to wear relaxed and comfortable clothing than look good in a pair of tight jeans,” said Dr Ashkan Haghshenas, Specialist Vascular Surgeon, EHL Dubai Mall Medical Centre.
He warned that, “Wearing tight jeans affects circulation, especially in the groin area and the knees. They have a strangulation effect on the veins and this can be very damaging. The problem usually manifests itself as a swelling in the lower leg or foot.”
Dr Haghshenas said tight jeans could aggravate underlying problems like varicose veins and lymphatic disease.
But that’s not all. The impact could be more serious for men. Far from the macho feel of the body-hugging pants, men who wear tight jeans could actually be risking their fertility.
Abnormal sperm production or function in the male is said to be one of the biggest factors contributing to infertility among couples in Dubai.
Mays Al Adham, Clinical Embryologist at the Dubai Gynaecology and Fertility Centre, said wearing tight jeans exerts pressure on the man’s testes and increases the temperature around it. “This can have an adverse impact on the production of sperms and hence fertility.”
Dr P.K. Rajiv, Head of Neonatology at NMC Speciality Hospital, said, “In Dubai, due to extreme heat, tight jeans could have an adverse physiological effect. The concern stems from the basic physiology that makes the testis drop down in the scrotal sac when the body temperature goes up. The testis has been kept out of the body by nature to reduce its temperature. Any temperature rise can adversely effect spermatogenesis and hence fertility.”
He said, “It has been hypothesised that testis kept close to the body prevents effective circulation, so it makes sense to avoid tight dresses in the pre-pubertal and pubertal age and later as standard clothing.”
In contrast, he said loose-fitting clothes are believed to enhance circulation and testicular temperature and subsequently spermatogenesis.
Mays said the ideal testicular temperature is two notches less than that of the rest of the abdomen. “So we advise men to wear loose clothes, avoid hot baths and not sit in the same position for long hours.”
A US doctor has also been quoted by the western media as saying that there are patients who suffer from meralgia paresthetica, a serious nerve disorder, as a result of wearing skinnies. It could show up as numbness, tingling or pain in the legs.
They talk about how skinnies coupled with high heels could aggravate the problem as they tilt the pelvis and exert undue pressure.
