When it comes to swimwear shopping, one of the worst things you can do is try on a suit fully nude.
Although bathing suit bottoms usually have a plastic hygiene liner in them — according to a microbiologist, that’s the last thing you want near your privates.
Nicholas Aicher is a scientist from Chicago. He took it upon himself to swab the plastic seal of two different bathing suit bottoms that hung in a retail store and place them into a petri dish to see what kind of bacteria live on them.
“I thought it would be fun for people to know all the little nastiness that we don’t think about every day,” he told What’s The Jam.
Once home, he transferred the samples to an incubator and let them sit for a bit before revealing some shocking, gross news.
The sample from one of the bathing suits had a high amount of Staphylococcus bacteria, which causes staph infections.
Common symptoms of staph infections include boils and oozing blisters, and they can turn fatal if the “bacteria invade deeper into your body, entering your bloodstream, joints, bones, lungs or heart,” according to Mayo Clinic.
The results from the other sampled swimsuit were less severe, although it did have “smaller pin-prick colonies” of the bacteria, according to Jam Press.
The moral of the story is to always try on bathing suits with some sort of barrier — whether it be full coverage underwear or tight-fitting pants, like leggings — between your skin and the fabric.
And bathing suits are not the only things to be wary of.
A TikToker (@onenevertwhoo_one), who only wanted to be referred to by his social media handle, contracted a skin infection most likely due to never washing the clothes he bought from a thrift store, according to Jam Press.
He explained in a video — that has since gone viral — that he contracted molluscum contagiosum, a viral skin infection that consists of small, raised, painless bumps on the skin.
Apparently the contagious condition that spreads through either skin-to-skin contact or contact with infected objects is harmless and does not require treatment, according to NeedToKnow.
Dr. Charles Puza, a board-certified NYC dermatologist, also reiterated in a TikTok video the importance of washing your clothes before putting them on, “…especially if you like fast fashion like Shein and Temu.”
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