Warning: Wearing Skinny Jeans Is Bad For Your Health

A too-tight pair of pants put a woman in the hospital.

Skinny-jeans

Could these harm your health? | Shutterstock.


It’s a cautionary tale for fashion victims around the world: An unidentified 35-year-old woman from Australia spent the day squatting in her skinny jeans and ended up in the hospital. As a result, doctors have now issued a warning about the side effects — namely muscle and nerve damage — from squeezing into the polarizing pant style.

The Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry (JNNP) described the victim’s skinny-jean scare:

“On the day prior to presentation, she had been helping a family member move house. This involved many hours of squatting while emptying cupboards. She had been wearing ‘skinny jeans’, and recalled that her jeans had felt increasingly tight and uncomfortable during the day. Later that evening, while walking home, she noticed bilateral foot drop and foot numbness, which caused her to trip and fall. She spent several hours lying on the ground before she was found.”

According to the JNNP report, the victim’s lower legs were so swollen that doctors could only treat her by cutting open her second-skin jeans. (Let’s hope they weren’t designer denim.) In fact, it took four days of bed rest for the patient to get back on her feet — presumably sans skinny jeans.  While we previously reported that skinny jeans devotees are more “confident” and “happier” than their bell-bottom wearing counterparts, we can’t help but wonder if they will also be more nervous following this health hazard.

Frazzled by the alarming effects of this go-to staple? Maybe it’s time to try out wide-legged pants, which no longer seem like such a fashion risk after all.