Swimsuit Safety: On The Beach And In The Pool

The pareo is dropped, and everyone sees you in a new, bright, extremely frank or, conversely, restrained, emphasizing the advantages and hiding the flaws in a swimsuit. You swim, return to the sun lounger, water flows down from a wet swimsuit, the sun warms the cool skin, you dry yourself with a towel, and then there are options ─ stay in a swimsuit that will gradually dry out, or immediately change into a spare dry one. After consulting Lilia Ustinova, MD, PhD, therapist at City Clinical Hospital No. 15, we definitely recommend the latter.

Why is it better to take off your swimsuit?

Doctors do not recommend staying in a wet swimsuit, because, firstly, when it dries on the body, the fabric takes heat away, and you get hypothermic, and in the most "critical" places - the lower back, pelvis and chest. Secondly, because of the ubiquitous fungi, microbes and viruses that are in the water, if it is not from the Dead Sea and not overchlorinated from the pool. There are definitely a lot of pests on the beach among the sand, whatever it may be ─ white pearl from shells or black volcanic. Microorganisms are clogged in the folds and seams of a swimsuit (they dry out last) and there, in warmth and dampness, multiply, gain strength and creep into secluded parts of the body, attack the mucous membrane, cause candidiasis and other diseases.

Actually

No doctor will be able to say with certainty why suddenly after a trip to the sea you have a thrush, cystitis worsened, pulls in the left side, the lower back aches, runs from the nose or “stuffy” chest. There can be any number of reasons: walking along the coast under the gusts of a cold mistral, evening dampness from the sea or mountains that fills every centimeter of your bungalow, or maybe in a fishing town on the Greek Evia, where you rent a house, have not repaired treatment facilities for a long time?

Close contact with nature - walking without shoes on unknown paths, sleeping almost under the open sky, tasting not washed, but only slightly rubbed fruits with your hands and feeding wild monkeys in Asia is a risky business. It is safe to say that dangerous fungi do not live in a pearly stagnant lake, formed many centuries ago in the crater of a volcano on Pantelleria and filled with rainwater, where you decided to swim, is impossible. A wet swimsuit, in which you are after that for some time, all the more does not guarantee safety. The potential danger of sand play in a wet swimsuit on the beach is also not discounted.

Which swimsuit is safe?

A swimsuit ─ on the beach or in the pool ─ is considered outerwear, and must look decent, be not faded, not out of shape, stretched after washing. In fact, a swimsuit is lingerie, because it is worn on a naked body. This means that special sanitary and hygienic requirements are imposed on the bathing fabric. At high air temperatures, it should not literally melt ─ heating up and emitting hazardous chemicals that can penetrate into heated open pores. She cannot be electrified and "bite", leaving microtraumas on her body. The fabric should also be hygroscopic (dry quickly) and hypoallergenic (not leave redness and irritation on the body).

Not all fabrics are suitable for these characteristics, and the composition of already “approved” fabrics is constantly being improved.

Natural, but heavy and out of shape cotton ─ it least of all meets the specified criteria ─ came polyester and polyamide, fabrics are very dense and therefore well protect the skin from dangerous ultraviolet radiation, but “sparkling”, melting under the sun and floating body. Polyester swimwear quickly loses its appearance (bikinis or swimming trunks will last 1-2 seasons), and therefore such raw materials are used by the budget brands themselves.

Polyamide is a more suitable option in all respects. A polyamide swimsuit dries quickly, does not lose shape after contact with sea or chlorinated water, is resistant to attacks on tissue folds by various fungi and microorganisms, durable. However, all of the above applies to polyamide mixed with lycra - pure polyamide is not used for the production of swimwear, since it is completely devoid of elasticity (i.e. does not fit the body) and quickly stretches.

Lycra (other names ─ elastane, spandex), microfiber and supplex are lightweight, durable and super-elastic modern fabrics that are used for the production of swimwear. Bathing accessories made of them dry quickly, do not lose their shape for a long time and retain their color. The combination of these fabrics in different proportions allows you to bring the properties of the swimsuit to the closest possible to the ideal.

Simple rules of protection

Doctors are right who advise to be prudent in any unusual situation, no matter how you want to forget yourself and dive headlong into the delights of a simple and artless life in nature.

Take off your wet swimsuit and lie down on a sun lounger or go to the cafe for ice cream in a dry bikini.

There is plenty of evidence that vacation carelessness and laziness can turn into trouble. Take off your wet swimsuit, in which you have spent an hour in the sun - in closed areas, the skin will be much colder than on the rest. This means that the organs located "under it" are overcooled.

In order to prevent the unpredictable development of the situation, we take a shower after each bathing in any body of water, we do not allow wet fabric to leave scuffs and marks on the body, attractive to pathogenic microorganisms, and we play beach volleyball in dry shorts that save from sand and dust, which will surely gather in the folds of the body. By the way, all the same applies to visiting swimming pools and water parks. Have you never caught yourself thinking that you really want to change after swimming in chlorinated water? So that the specific smell of disinfection emanating from the skin and the swimsuit does not interfere with the pleasure you get, it is better not to take another swimsuit with you.

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