This is particularly true if you have breasts with a C-cup or larger. “The shoulder straps on a bra carry some weight of the breasts and if they are too thin for your cup size, they can press into the top of the shoulder and compress the nerves, causing pain in the shoulder, arm, neck or head,” says physiotherapist Tim Allardyce.

He adds that a generally poor-fitting bra can also be a headache trigger. “If the bra is too lose, the muscles in the neck and head have to work harder which can cause pain.”

To solve all that, get professionally fitted every time you buy a new bra. There’s nothing quite as aggravating as having to discreetly replace an annoying bra strap or having the underwire digging in to your ribs.

READ MORE: Tips For Choosing The Right Sports Bra For Your Bust Size

If you’re a mosquito magnet, it might be time to take a look at what you’re wearing. “Black, blue, green and floral patterns on clothing attract mosquitoes as they act as camouflage for them,” says insect expert Howard Carter. “Wear white, beige, light brown or light olive if you want to reduce your risk of being bitten.”

Mosquitoes can also bite through fabric, which means the tighter your outfit, the more likely it is that this bite will break the skin – so go for floaty tops and skirts or palazzo pants.

READ MORE: Your Definitive Guide To Getting Stubborn Stains Out Of White Clothes

The bacteria that causes body odour don’t just live on the skin; they can also start to grow on clothing, particularly polyester. Washing at high temperatures can help reduce numbers, as can drying clothes outside as the sun contains UV light which helps kill off the bacteria, says odour researcher Dr Chris Callewaert from Ghent University in Belgium.

If you try both these tricks and the odour remains, however, the bacteria has taken hold and you will never get rid of the smell in that garment.

READ MORE: Kitchen Hack: 5 Ways To Use Lemons To Get Rid Of Bad Odours

While shapewear is brilliant for keeping your body tight when you’re dressing up for an event, wearing super-tight control underwear causes us to produce lower levels of melatonin, which might affect sleep, say researchers in South Korea. Shapewear can also compress the stomach upwards, which increases the risk of acid reflux. If you’re prone to reflux or insomnia, make sure the control underwear isn’t too tight.

READ MORE: The Sleep Mistakes You Are Probably Making

In 2015, the case of an Australian woman who had spent the day packing boxes in a pair of skinny jeans made headlines. The jeans had become a clothing hazard – having stopped the circulation to her calves, causing the muscles to swell, and this damaged the nerves enough that she fell over and couldn’t get up.

It was an extreme case but “compartment syndrome”, as it is called, is a risk if you’re squatting for long periods in tight clothing. As such, Professor Thomas Kimber, the neurologist who worked on the case, suggests wearing loose clothing for tasks that involve a lot of movement to reduce such dangers.

READ MORE: The Jeans Shopping Guide For Petite Women

The type of knickers you wear are very important if you commonly suffer from thrush. “G-strings and nylon underwear increase moisture and reduce the circulation of air in the vulval region and this combination of heat and sweat exacerbates thrush,” says gynaecologist Dr Robyn Lloyd.

White underwear might also be preferable to dark as there’s a theory that chemicals in dye can also irritate the skin.

READ MORE: 7 Undergarment Myths, Debunked!

“G-strings are also not recommended for cystitis sufferers,” says Dr Lloyd. Cystisis is triggered when bacteria from the bowel colonise the bladder, and the string shape of G-strings can transfer the bugs between the two.

Close-fitting collars or waistbands can slightly restrict your breathing which, for susceptible people, can trigger an attack. “Panic attacks happen because something makes us feel scared, in this case the feeling that it’s slightly difficult to breathe,” explains Brisbane psychologist Lana Hall. As you start to worry about this you breathe faster – and this cycle is what triggers a panic attack.

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This might make you want to dump all your tight clothing but Lana says a better approach is to manage your thoughts. “A panic attack occurs because you’re worrying about your breath. If this happens, simply try telling yourself it’s just the anxious part of your brain talking and thank it for trying to keep you safe. Then distract yourself by thinking of something else.”

You probably know that wearing an unsupportive bra is bad for your breasts, but it can affect fitness too. If you run when your breasts aren’t under control you land more heavily, increasing the risk of problems like knee pain, stress fractures or shin splints. Poor support might also slow you down.

READ MORE: Tips For Choosing The Right Sports Bra For Your Bust Size

How effectively you swing your arms is one of the key things that determines running speed. “When we’ve measured how people run, we find that if the breasts are moving too much women tend to reduce their arm swing to compensate,” says Dr Deirdre McGhee from Breast Research Australia at the University of Wollongong.

There are more than 400,000 bacteria on the surface of an average shoe, including bacteria that cause stomach upsets like Ecoli and C.difficile, making them an often overlooked clothing hazard.

READ MORE: 7 Things You Need To Know About Choosing The Right Running Shoes

“On top of this there ís a definite risk of indoor air pollution via contamination from shoes,” says Sam Crothers from Space Check Building Biology and Environmental Health. “Dirt on shoes can include pesticides, mould spores and heavy metals from car and truck exhausts. Once these substances are inside, they can be released into the air and breathed in.” The solution is super simple though – take your shoes off when you get home and leave them outside.

Allergy to dust mites causes wheezing and sneezing and clothing that doesn’t get washed regularly like jackets, scarves or wool jumpers can be a common trigger.

“They can collect a lot of dust mites and we’ve recently shown that every time you move, a cloud of these is released, which can trigger symptoms,” says Professor Euan Tovey from the University of Sydney. If you’re suffering, it’s time to give the item a good wash – dry-cleaning doesn’t work as well as water does.

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7 Easy Ways To Protect Your Home From Mould And Mildew

Photo: Pexels

TEXT: bauersyndication.com.au