Ill-fitting lingerie can put you at health-risk

Nothing is uncommon about women not knowing their correct lingerie size, especially in India, where talking about anything remotely related to lingerie is equivalent to committing blasphemy.

Women discuss their sizes in hushed whispers in closed corners of their houses. As a result, most of them wear wrong sizes which affect not only appearances but their health as well.

Metrolife talked to a few lingerie outlets and some women to see how deep in the water we are.

Walk in to any of the stores which sell lingerie and you will see most women just asking for a bra without being bothered about its exact measurements. Rarely is the cup size or correct measurement of the breast taken into consideration. What women don’t realise is that in all the embarrassment and shyness, they’re harming themselves. In the process, they also learn to live with it, thinking this is the way it is supposed to be.

Shweta Kathuria* never got her size measured but says she ‘knows’ it. “My mom gets the right size because of her knowledge and experience. I’ve never got ‘it’ measured as such but I know what it is and it feels okay. I don’t need to think about that,” she says, more than a trifle reluctant to discuss the matter.

This, when millions of websites offer to help women understand their correct size. Deepti Nayar* is another young girl who has never got her breast measured. “I just have a basic idea. Whenever I go to a shop to buy one, the lady tells me what size it could be and I buy it according to that.” And if the salesman happens to be male? She only laughs.

Ankita Gupta also does the same thing but her mother has an interesting solution. “We go to these shops and buy one on a trial basis. If it fits, which it usually does, we keep it. In case it doesn’t, we can try another. That’s how most ladies work.”

Another solution is offered by Anokhi Dewan.* “I use one size less than what I get measured for my kurtas. It gives me a basic idea. As far as cups are concerned, I think B is universal. So I just ask for that.”

But an employee at a lingerie store sounds more practical than these hare-brained solutions, “Most women are unaware of their sizes and so we tell them. They’re also open to us telling them their sizes.”

According to Dr Hans-ulrich Krüger, a physician and consultant with an international lingerie brand, “(What women fail to understand is that) wrong sizes often lead to tension across shoulders, arm and neck, headaches, cervical spine problems and also back pain in the lower spinal region.

Narrow, ill-fitting straps which cut in(to the skin) can also irritate and put strain on the trapezius muscle and complex structures of the shoulder joint. A well-fitting bra should not impede free movement of the shoulder blades. There are mainly skin complaints, especially in the underbust area.

There can be no doubt that a well-fitting bra not only looks better and feels more comfortable, but also prevents the occurrence of any potential health problems which may be associated with a badly-fitting bra.”

Dr. Jyoti, a gynecologist at Lifecare Centre in Preet Vihar says, “Wearing the wrong size will not only give you discomfort but will also disfigure the body structure (in the long run).” So all you women out there, who are still fighting shy of finding out your correct bra size, shed inhibitions, seek help from the internet or exclusive lingerie stores to save yourselves from some real health risks.

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