G-strings trigger vaginal infections

Women, especially the youth who are in the habit of wearing skimpy underwears known as G-strings or thongs excessively, are at risk of contracting vaginal infections, a medical expert has cautioned. 

A Gynaecologist at Healthlinks Medical clinic, Dr Clarence O. Addo-Yobo in an interview with The Mirror noted that the infections, if not treated could result in unpleasant discharge, pains, swelling and likely cause harm to the reproductive system.

The gynaecologist also warned that excessive wearing of tight jeans, also called ‘skinny’ could trigger abrasion around the vulva.

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Dr Addo-Yobo said the difference between the two is that the thong is made up of a sturdy piece of cloth, it’s wide with strong elastic bands and are very popular beachwear whiles G-string is a narrow piece of cloth that passes between the buttocks and attached to a band around the hips.

According to Dr Addo-Yobo, the traditional type of G-string known as “Amonsi” was heavier and prevented the flow of bacteria as compared to the modern version which facilitates the transfer of organisms from the anus to the vagina.

He explained that “the amonsi which used to be popular in the past did the right job, it was not tight, while “the string picks up bacteria at the anus and deposits them in the vaginal and the ureteral orifice resulting in the infection”.

“You will feel weak, irritation of the skin, redness sore, smell and so on. If you don’t get treatment, it gets worse. However, it is better if the G-string is loose,” he pointed out.

According to him, other conditions such as frequent douches with chemicals could also lead to infections.

No panty campaigns

Recently, a Ghanaian actress, Baby Blanche, launched a campaign, dubbed “Operation Remove Your Panties” to stop ladies from wearing panties as it’s believed to cause infections.

The actress who claimed she had not worn a panty for seven years said she had not had any infection since then.

Responding to this, Dr Addo-Yobo said “it is not a pleasant thing to boycott panties. When you pass out gas, it could come with some spillage of faeces which can contaminate the area, otherwise there is nothing wrong if you don’t wear panties”.

Cleaning in wrong direction

He also mentioned that apart from wearing of tight jeans, skimpy G strings and the use of herbal concoction, cleaning the anus in the wrong direction also accounted for some of the vaginal infections.

“Mothers should never forget to teach their young girls how to clean in the right direction after faecal movement and urination. To clean the anus without causing infections, you need to clean from up-down but some don’t do it the right way,” the gynaecologist explained.