One in five women don’t change their underwear daily, some going for days, a survey has found.
Experts believe it is the ideal environment for bugs to thrive.
The survey of more than 1,000 women by The Derm Review – a skincare platform – found that 21 per cent wear underwear for “multiple days”.
One in ten women has the same knickers for at least three days.
It means the dirty habit is far more common than you’d imagine, with friends and colleagues picking their pants out of the laundry basket.
You may be saving time, money or the environment. Others might consider it perfectly normal.
55% of women wear their pants to bed when they’ve spent a full day in them. This includes 55 per cent of those who are over 55.
Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of women said they don’t change their washing and changing after exercising, most common in under 25s.
Bras typically need to be washed after three or four wears.
However, the study showed that 33% (33/3) of women wear bras for more than they are supposed to. The highest percentage of this was among those between the ages 35-44 (38%)
Although there are no specific hygiene rules, experts recommend changing your underwear each day and taking it off at bedtime.
Responding to the findings of their survey, Elle Macleman, Skincare Biochemist, said: “It might be tempting to cut down the amount of laundry by wearing the same underwear for more than a day.
“But the health risks of infections, irritation, abnormal discharge, and skin breakouts should make you think twice before re-wearing your underwear for multiple days.
“Those wearing their underwear to bed are potentially heightening the risk of thrush, vaginitis and bacterial vaginosis.
“While, those not changing and washing their underwear soon after exercising could see a noticeable increase of body odour and the potential for breakouts, or disruption of the vaginal microbiome.”
Thrush is an extremely itchy and sometimes sore rash around the vulva caused by a yeast infection.
You can avoid it by wearing cotton undies all the time and sleeping in loose clothes at night. The bacteria love warm, humid conditions.
Among the other causes of a strong, fishy odour is bacterial vaginosis.
Bad hygiene can be the cause. However, too much-perfumed soap and bubble baths can also affect the balance of bacteria within the vagina.
If these bugs aren’t enough to put you off, consider that your odour can become stronger if you wear the same underwear too much (even if you don’t notice yourself!).
According to a previous survey, 22 per cent of men don’t change their pants daily.
OnBuy’s research, which included nearly 2,800 respondents, revealed that re-wearers often sniff their underwear to determine if it is too dirty.
Dr Nichola Cosgrove, the skincare specialist at Natura Emporium, told Metro.co.uk: “We have naturally occurring bacteria in our genitals that will happily stay at their normal levels as long as we use the correct hygiene products and correctly fitting underwear, wash after a particularly sweating activity etc.
“Bacteria transfers throughout the day.
“By not changing your underwear every day you will start to have an accumulation of bacteria like Escherichia coli, staphylococcus, streptococcus and many others that are perfectly normal and useful when they remain at their required levels.
“However because they thrive in a warm and humid environment, they will start to multiply out of control.”
She claimed the effects “can be as simple as a bad odour, a rash, excess itching, to full-on yeast infections, urinary tract infections and potentially life-threatening staph infections”.