Illness and Dressing

A Collection of 9 Anecdotes, Old Wive's Tales, Good & Misguided Advice, Stories and Experiences

I have been ill in September - strep throat gone wrong. After 10 days of thinking that I should be able to overcome this myself, I went to see a doctor here in France. I have just completed a couple of potent medications right now but this health related lead-in has a purpose. When one is feverish, one loses all personal inhibitions and what one is wearing is of no consequence. 

I began thinking about the stories, old wives' tales, good and misguided advice and other anecdotes I have encountered about clothing and illness - the following post is a hodge podge related to illness and clothing choices.

1 Did your mother tell you to wear clean underwear, in case you were in an accident? This advice should be: if you have to wear dirty underwear, you might as well, especially if you are in an accident. This is not the place to describe the details of what happens when the body is hit with force but clean underwear is not even a consideration.

2 For the female gender, if you are prone to yeast infections tight pants and synthetic underwear are two things to be avoided since the two provide the perfect environment for a yeast infection to develop or if you already have one, the environment that needs to be avoided. As for men and this piece of advice - not wearing tight pants - I can imagine that there are health consequences, I just don't know what they are.

3 Continuous wearing of tight neckties and shirt collars are an issue for men who are genetically pre-disposed to stroke concerns.

4 When going out for dinner, where you expect to indulge, leave the spanx and tight clothing in the closet. Acid reflux can be the least of the negative consequences.

5 If you are a chronic wearer of spandex for the torso and thighs, you need to know that compression clothing worn habitually can lead to nerve damage and pain.

6 Many with sensitive skin or eczema, are often irritated by wool products. However a friend with eczema told me that she's not affected by cashmere.  

7 A woman I know in Switzerland was angry with her mother for a long time after her mother's death. Her mother was dying of cancer and apparently in Switzerland one can make a choice for euthanasia. The mother awoke one morning, went to get her hair and nails done, put on her favourite suit, went out for lunch with her daughter and told her about her decision. That afternoon she returned to the hospital.

8 I worked in an upper end dress shop while in high school and the most memorable sale I ever made left me slightly appalled and amazed at the same time. A young woman, who looked very pale, very ill came into the shop with her parents, who in turn looked distraught and overcome with fear. They asked to see bridal gowns. I informed them that I had to get my supervisor because I was not part of the bridal sales team. The young woman, who looked about the same age as me, said she would like me to help her and so it was arranged. Apparently in her heritage, a young woman who dies before marriage is buried in a wedding gown. This young woman and her parents were shopping for her wedding gown, which was not going to be used in a marriage ceremony. I still get goose bumps when I think of it.

9 The classic hospital gown or "johnny" gown is not an example of warmth, modesty or dignity yet it is endured by most just because the last thing we are thinking about while hospitalized is what we are wearing. Yet between the pain killers and being lofted from bed to gurney and being rolled through public access places in hospitals, we see patients conscious of their gowns as they tug and pull so that their bottoms are not exposed to passersby. Short of bringing your own, which may or may not be tolerated by the hospital, cost and the idea that this is trivial when you are ill, will keep the "johnny" gown the mode in the majority of hospitals.

Culturally there must be many more stories and anecdotes about what people wear during illness and beyond. Your comments in response to this post may just be the place for this "odd" collection of stories.