How did the “bare legs artifact” become a “beautiful torture device”?

Nude leggings have always been known as the "bare legs artifact" because they are invisible, warm, and look like real bare legs in photos. Their sales in winter are very impressive. But recently, topics such as #How harmful are bare legs artifacts###Beware of the beautiful trap of bare legs artifacts# have become hot searches, and people in the comment area have also complained:

"I wore pantyhose for a season when I was 14, and now I'm 20 and my big toe is still fractured. I've been to many hospitals but none of them can cure it";

I got paronychia from being strangled;

…

The picture comes from the Internet

From "bare legs artifact" to "beautiful torture device", what impact will it have on health?

Long-term improper dressing

May cause a variety of diseases

The earliest generation of "bare leg artifacts" only pursued the closeness of skin color. Later, as people's needs changed, many "bare leg artifacts" added "pressure". In order to look thinner, some girls blindly pursued the "bare leg artifact" with "high pressure" , but they didn't know that this overly tight pantyhose would bring many "beautiful prices".

1

It can cause constipation at the mildest and hemorrhoids at the worst, and may also cause gynecological inflammation

The "bare legs magic tool" will cause excessive pressure on the waist, abdomen and pelvis due to the tight waist of the pants, especially the restricted circulation of the perianal veins and the slowing down of the blood return of the rectal portal vein, which may cause constipation in mild cases and even hemorrhoids in severe cases. For women, if the pelvic floor is too tight, vaginal secretions will increase, and perianal bacteria will move forward. In addition, it is not breathable, which makes it easier for bacteria to grow and cause gynecological inflammation.

2

May cause paronychia

When buying a "leg-baring artifact", if you only pursue the effects of "high pressure" and "the ability to make your legs thinner" and ignore the vertical compression tension, then you may find that the leg-baring artifact is very difficult to put on because it is too tight.

The picture comes from the Internet

After putting them on, insufficient vertical tension causes the toes to be overly squeezed and bound. Continuous compression will seriously affect the body's peripheral blood circulation. Since the toes cannot stretch normally, the toes' grip on the ground decreases when walking. In order to maintain normal walking, the friction between the toes, socks and shoes in the shoes is increased, causing damage to the skin, especially the skin around the nails, stimulating microbial infection, and ultimately leading to paronychia.

Wearing tight shoes for a long time is a high-risk factor for paronychia, and the "bare legs artifact" is undoubtedly the "small shoes" worn on women's feet.

3

Increased likelihood of hallux valgus deformity

In addition to damage to toenails, toes being strangled for a long time and in an over-flexed state can also cause spasms and discomfort in the toe flexor muscles. Conversely, continuous passive traction of the toe extensor muscles will also increase muscle fiber damage. Continuous compression of the metatarsophalangeal joints can also lead to a series of consequences such as accelerated joint degeneration and deformation , especially an increased likelihood of hallux valgus deformity.

4

Skin abrasions, blisters

The pantyhose at the joint folds are tightly attached to the skin, repeatedly rubbing the tender epidermis, which can cause skin abrasion and even blisters (i.e. blisters). The most direct problem is pain. Once damaged and the environment is non-sterile, it is easy to cause infection.

5

People with sensitive skin may develop stress urticaria

Some people with sensitive skin may suffer from skin allergies caused by pressure urticaria due to repeated friction stimulation and continuous excessive pressure, which manifests as local skin redness, itching, stinging and other symptoms . The cold and dry air in winter will aggravate the symptoms. Once urticaria is triggered, some people's symptoms will last for weeks, making people irritable and unbearable.

There was also a news report recently that a lady had varicose veins. After hearing that the "leg-baring magic tool" could relieve the symptoms, she bought several pairs online and never took them off except when sleeping. But only half a month later, she found that her lower limbs were obviously swollen, so severe that she couldn't move her legs. After examination, the doctor believed that it was the wrong wearing of the "leg-baring magic tool" that aggravated the varicose veins.

Will the "bare leg magic" cause varicose veins? The answer is not necessarily. However, too tight bare leg magic may aggravate edema of the lower limbs, which in turn may cause dilation of small veins and aggravate varicose veins. The pressure design of the "bare leg magic" is relatively simple, and it cannot replace special varicose vein socks.

Varicose vein socks

Can it replace the "bare legs artifact"?

A friend said, if I don't wear full-length socks, but choose calf-length, can I avoid this problem? Some people want to use varicose vein socks instead of bare-leg socks, thinking that they have "pressure", so they should be the same?
In fact, this is not the case.

Varicose vein socks are a type of medical elastic stockings and a medical treatment device . Their purpose is to prevent and relieve varicose veins in the lower limbs, avoid deep vein thrombosis in the lower limbs, and promote blood return to the heart in the lower limbs. The pressure decreases gradually from the ankle upwards, reaching 70% in the calf and dropping to 30% in the thigh.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Since varicose vein socks are completely a treatment for the disease, they have strict style and model requirements. They are not like ordinary clothing where you can choose size M or L. Instead, you can choose between over-the-knee or full-leg socks, for pregnant women or the elderly, for scar treatment or for prevention of deep vein thrombosis, etc. based on the purpose of treatment. They also need to be recommended by a doctor after clinical evaluation and must be worn strictly according to the instructions.

How to choose the “bare legs artifact”?

In general, when choosing a "bare leg artifact", you should choose a product that suits you and avoid excessive tightness:

1. Comfortable and elastic, toes and knee joints can move normally without tightness

2. There is no obvious sense of pressure after wearing it, especially in the pelvic area

3. No skin discomfort

4. There is no indentation that will not disappear for a long time after taking it off

For every person who loves beauty, health should be put first in the pursuit of beauty.

References

[1] Cheng Yile, Wu Yonglian, Li Wanli, et al. Progress in epidemiological investigation of anorectal diseases in China[J]. Chinese Journal of Anorectal Diseases, 2022, 42(06): 74-76.

[2] Chen Yingying, Zheng Shiting. Investigation and analysis of reproductive health knowledge cognition of unmarried female patients in infectious diseases department and health education strategies[J]. Chinese Journal of Maternal and Child Health, 2020, 35(22): 4189-4192.

[3] Jiang Lijuan, Zuo Yan, Liu Xinru. Investigation and analysis of living habits of patients with candidal vaginitis[J]. Contemporary Nurses (Second Half Monthly), 2017(06):37-39.

[4] Song Liwen, Xiang Changcheng, Qiu Da, et al. Foot motion feature extraction based on plantar pressure distribution[J]. Medical Biomechanics, 2021, 36(03): 431-436.

[5] Yang Qingjun, Wan Chen. Application of pressure therapy in clinical rehabilitation[J]. Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Theory and Practice, 2013, 19(01): 53-56.

[6] Zhao Lihuan, Liu Silu, Zhao Xiaoming, et al. Application status and development trend of medical tights[J]. Knitting Industry, 2023(02):54-59.

Planning and production

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Yang Yizhuo, lecturer at the Sports and Medical Integration Innovation Center of Capital Institute of Physical Education

Review丨Zhang Qinghua, Chief Physician of Orthopedics, Shougang Hospital

Planning丨Lin Lin

Editor: Yang Yaping