If You Wear Yoga Pants, You're Going to Want to Tune In

You basically live in your yoga pants. They're comfy, practical, and perfect for all kinds of workouts as well as every other outfit you put on. But some scary things can go on down there, due to your leggings. YourTango gives us the inside scoop about why wearing your yoga pants all the time can be pretty nasty.

Um, gross.

It's tempting. You've just finished up an intense session at the gym or biked that 25 miles, and instead of taking a shower and changing into some clean clothes, you decide to just stay in your workout clothes.

They may look good on you and are comfortable, and it's not like there aren't people doing errands or picking up the kids in their athleisure wear. But the problem is that constantly wearing workout clothes such as yoga pants, leggings, and other athletic apparel can lead to some icky and unpleasant side effects.

Because workout wear is often tighter fitting, it has a tendency to hold warmth and moisture in. The body then becomes the perfect environment for bacteria to grow and flourish — a living petri dish for microbes and organisms.

Disgusted yet? OK, hold on. If you wear your favorite yoga pants all day/every day, here are some health issues that can develop.

These infections can go from bad to worse pretty quickly and can be caused from the follicles rubbing against clothing or shaving. The first is folliculitis, a superficial infection of a single hair follicle that looks like a bunch of small red bumps or whitehead pimples, which can spread and turn into nonhealing crusty sores.

Next, there are furuncles/boils, deeper infections of the hair follicle that look like raised red bumps on your skin but can rupture and weep fluid (gross). If you have a number of boils, you get a carbuncle, which is deeper and more severe than the rest.

Fungal groin infections can start in one area, such as athlete's foot, and spread to other areas like the groin, making it itchy and irritable.

You know when you've got one because of the pain, itch, and funky smell. What's extra special is you can have more than one at any given time. Make sure it's breathable down there, and you might be able to avoid them.

This is a very common inflammatory condition that affects areas of the skin that are in contact with each other, such as the groin, armpits, under the breasts, and any skin folds. It's caused by frictional rubbing, increased temperature, and moisture and is complicated by various microorganisms.

You can avoid these thoroughly unpleasant infections by wearing moisture-wicking material designed to draw the moisture away from the body and by working out, showering, and changing into clean, loose-fitting clothing after you've done your 5K or hiked that hill.

Also, always remember to breathe . . . everywhere.

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