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December 17th, 2010
09:41 AM ET
What the Yuck: Could I catch something from vintage clothes?Too embarrassed to ask your doctor about sex, body quirks, or the latest celeb health fad? In a regular feature and a new book, "What the Yuck?!," Health magazine medical editor Dr. Roshini Raj tackles your most personal and provocative questions. Send 'em to Dr. Raj at whattheyuck@health.com.
A: Heard of scabies? The most common stowaways in secondhand threads are Sarcoptes scabiei (aka scabies)—eight-legged mites that burrow into your skin and cause intense itching and blisters. But you can still look fabulous in vintage with these tips: Be picky about your stores. Good vintage and consignment shops (as opposed to the rummage sale in a church basement) are careful about what goods they take, so you're less likely to have a problem. Roshini Raj, M.D., is Health magazine’s medical editor and co-author of “What the Yuck?!.” Board-certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine, Raj is also an assistant professor of medicine at New York University Medical Center and a contributor on the “Today” show. Copyright Health Magazine 2011
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Completely grossed out now. Just in time for lunch. Yay!
Don't worry– it's just your government trying to spur economic activity. If they can keep you consuming, it's more $$$ for them and their corporate cronies.
Haaaa! Yes, I too am completely grossed out.
Joe, I doubt the government has much interest in stimulating the economy by getting people to buy used clothes. They'd want you to buy new goods, you see. But increased sales of tinfoil hats might stimulate consumer confidence!
This article is such a crock. I have been dealing in vintage clothing for over 20 years. Its in my home , my new home, I have hundreds of fellow sellers and retailers that deal on a high level of vintage goods and we have NEVER not even once had this problem. clothes are clean and always ready to wear. I think this is just a retailer realizing that recycling is taking from their business.
Seriously this is just ridiculous unless your gettting your clothes from the homeless shelter....wow
I wish responses like this would site some kind of statistics so people know how common or uncommon it is to get bugs from second-hand clothes. Otherwise it's just scare-mongering. I've worn mostly hand-me-downs and second-hand clothes from Goodwill and church basements for over 40 years and I've never gotten any bites or anything nasty. It's fine to suggest precautions, but let's be realistic about dangers. People are hurting and need to save money; don't scare them or make them feel gross about wearing more second-hand clothes, CNN. Unless you have unusual clothing needs, buying new clothes is almost always a waste of money, like buying a new car.
Thank you!!! You are so right! This is a ridiculous, uninformational piece written in typical CNN fear-mongering style. *yawn*
I 100% agree with you.
I agree with you Kate, I been working with second hand clothes for years and never had this problem, but we don't take stuff that looks like it come out of a dumpster either.
I take a lot of my and my kids' clothes to Salvation Army when I believe they won't be used anymore. Everything is washed and checked for any damage: I believe that if I wouldn't buy it, why offer it to somebody? I also buy things there, usually pants for my kids, something to wear at home...The rule is: everything must go through laundry before we wear it.
I agree with you. Actually new clothes could have them too, if someone with scabies tried them on beforehand and transferred the mites. I'm a bit surprised they are singling out vintage wear, when the mites that cause scabies could also reside for up to 3 days anywhere an infected person has been for awhile – couches, hotel bedspreads, etc.
What we fail to realize is that very strong pyschic impressions come with any hand-me-downs we chose to incorporate into our wardrobe or enviroment - impressions for good or for bad.Walking around in a dead man's shoes or clothes, or adopting an old matress or chair that a someone with lung disease, cancer or whatever habitually used can transer those impressions into the body tissues. Likewise, old jewlery, rings and such worn by another will have a definite effect for good or for bad upon the new wearer. Since these things are not easily seen with our gross eyes, we have a tendency to think that these powerful imprressions are not affecting us on a subtle-energy body level. They most certainly are. . ..
Without statistics this is just more blathering..back this up with some facts CNN. Scare mongering...in a time of economic uncertainty. In a time its a known fact that people are buying more and more used clothing.
Shame on you CNN, where is your social responsilbity?
babaelf: So, will two weeks in a plastic bag get rid of those pesky impressions?
This report is flat out irresponsible fear mongering. Places that have used or vintage clothing, like the costume shop I run, are pretty careful about cleaning their items and their sources. In fact, we'll even wash something if it gets tried on by someone we think is a little questionable. That is never going to happen with that new sweater at Walmart.
Amen! What a ridiculous article...ridiculous in the fact that what was written could have been mentioned as a one-liner in an article about what a great idea it is to shop for second-hand clothing. I'm biased in the other direction...I can't help but question why someone would throw away money on brand-new clothes. I understand that some people are wealthy enough that it isn't taking food away from their table...but it is still a waste of money. I'm not tight...I just try to be smart. You're going to find the same or comparable clothes for up to 90% less!! Sometimes more! I'm getting excited. Also, it's such a great variety at the consignment shops. You get access to so many different types of clothes and styles in one or two places! Love it!!
YOU CAN GET SCABIES FROM OFF-THE-RACK NEW CLOTHES TOO!! Most consignment and vintage stores wash or clean the clothes items before placing them on a rack. Stores selling new clothes do not! You ought to tour the facilities where these NEW clothes are made. They're prone to house bedbugs and scabies.
My mother-in-law just told me the same things...regarding bedbugs. These clothes are coming from some poor places!
I buy a lot of used/vintage clothing for myself and my child, no sense in wasting hard earned money. I heard today though, that some of the people at our local Wal-Mart were saying that people should not buy used clothes because "you could catch fungus from them." O.K. so their choice of diseases was funny enough, but like they haven't seen the people in Wal-Mart trying on the clothes in there, or heard about returns to the store that have been living in someone's bug infested home for a while? The things you buy new in the store are used too, only you pay more for them!!!! Unless you are stupid, you just need to carefully handle it all when you get home and wash well before wearing, anything could be contaminated!
To be even safer, put the bagged clothes in the freezer for several days. Trout fishermen do this to their waders to avoid spreading Whirling Disease parasites and Zebra Mussels.
We do? That's a new one on me.
See, this is exactly why I go commando!
Hot! Email pics
The freezer is a good idea. When I had snakes, we would freeze the sawdust before we put it in their habitats, so it would kill any mites that might be in the substrate and not infect the animals.
I think I'd rather have the mites than the snakes!
I had snakes once, and I had to shave off all my body hair to get rid of them. Or maybe it was mites?
WOW... I never have or would have ever thought of this. Something to be considered i suppose but wont deter me from my purchases.
I agree with Jesus. I own a vintage clothing store and everything gets washed or dry cleaned before it is offered to customers. And all vintage store owners I know do the same. I'd say you have a better chance of buying a truly clean piece of clothing in my store than in any mall store with "new" clothes that have been tried on by dozens and dozens of random people!
After reading this comment and thinking about it, I believe I will be buying my clothes from catalogs and online. No more trying on clothes off the store rack. Eeewwww.
I agree with Kate, I've saved hundreds of dollars buying clothes from thrift shops and consignment stores over the years, and never once gotten scabies, bed bugs, or fleas. I have a relative that got scabies at a very expensive health spa, though! The facility knew they had a scabies infestation, but didn't want to close and lose all of the revenue, so stayed open while they were trying to eradicate them. Nice!
Silly – wash them first! I swear. . . .
This is just silly. Im in college and buy many things from consignment to save some $$$. Everything has always been clean and fresh. This article only serves to deter and frighten.
Tell that to someone who has become infested, or whose home is infested with bedbugs. You've been lucky, that's all.
The best way to get rid of the mites is to burn 'em.
Please explain how you would burn the mites without burning the clothes.
LMAO
I'm so glad to see all these reasonable responses! I too buy a lot of things second-hand – including clothing. It's wonderful because you:
- save money
- produce less waste
- find clothes that are better quality than stuff made nowadays
- cool retro clothes!
All you have to do is wash and/or dry clean the stuff when you get it home. I've never had a problem with bugs of any kind.
What does your comment have to do with this article? I think you posted on the wrong article (see "Where can a vegetarian get good protein?"
Don't try them on at the store, and wash them before wearing! Simple as that!
A friend of a friend's 3 year old got scabies from (most likely) playing in a sand box...
I was mortified one day while at the Dr's office for what I thought was just a rash to find out it was scabies. My Dr. asked me if I had recently tried on any new clothes. I had tried on a couple of things and brought a robe at a name brand store two days previously. Clothing comes from different countries and sometimes is stored in boxes in warehouses for long periods of time, so this can happen. I always wash anything and everything I buy before wearing it.
I just forwarded this to my best friend. She's always bragging about the money she saves buying used clothes.
I picked up scabies once from my ex-girlfriend who used to get her clothes from thrift stores. I got mine on the naughty bits; it caused a swelling allergic reaction that looked really scary at the time. It soon went down with medicine, but a cool side effect was that it didn't go down all the way. We both still laughed after that and said it was such a good thing.
I think that if you eat the beans that the mites don't like the smell of your farts, therefore scaring off all of the mites.
I could have saved a lot ot suffering, time and money if I had read your comment when I had scabies. lol
This is a bit of fear mongering. The mites need to feed every 7 days so any live mites will be dead in a week. Eggs will have hatched and died by day 14. However, when you consider that most clothes have been on the shelf for longer than that, the risk is miniscule.
Also, the first tip makes no sense. I see patients of all socioeconomic strata who have scabies. No visual inspection by an untrained eye is going to tell you if clothes are infected or not. Feel free to buy from wherever.
If you're really worried then just put them into a bag, as suggested, for 2 weeks or wash them in hot water. The former is easier for vintage furs or woolens that might degrade in a hot water cycle. High heat in the dryer isn't necessary.
Finally, there are other arthropods that take longer to die, but unless you're buying clothes off of homeless people or refugees the odds of coming across those critters is essentially zero.
So, from a dermatologist please be reassured that getting scabies from your vintage threads is very unlikely.
HI,
does anyone know if you can catch other diseases from wearing previously owned pants (like jeans) that have been washed?
I prefer buy used but am paranoid.
Thanks
I caught it once from sitting on a communal couch at a club wearing a tank top. I've had this intense phobia about sitting on fabric couches ever since. It's great.
Wooooo, if the scabies don't get you, the bed bugs will.
I would imagine that bed bugs are a picnic compared to scabies. I washed sheets and clothes in hot water so many times a day when I had scabies that it caused $2,000K damage to my septic tank. You can see bed bugs and they don't burrow under your skin & lay eggs like scabies.
Scabies is like gorilla spiders crawling in the skin driving you nuts till you get treated and then you have the hastle of machine washing everything you own. The Salvation Army cloths just aren't worth the cost anyway. Just go naked. It works for her.
Gorilla spiders are no joke, I knew a guy in Sydney who picked up an infestation in the forests near Melbourne, and the gorilla spiders had been feasting on his body for four days before the authorities found him. I am not sure why people don't take the spider threat more seriously. First you spot them in your luggage, then in your furniture, then they are biting you while you watch TV, then one day they swarm you and it's lights out.
I suppose if you're really concerned about it, you could just treat the clothes with permethrin in the first place. Travel supply stores sell kits for doing this (the clothing treatment is used by hunters who will be spending a lot of time in the wilderness and by travelers who will be traveling in tropical areas where malaria, dengue fever, etc. are a concern).
Most places clean the clothes thoroughly before putting them on the rack, but you still have to be careful they didn't pick up something from the building (most thrift shops aren't exactly sterile) or other shoppers. I get the vast majority of my clothes from second hand shops, and I've thankfully NEVER had a problem, but once I picked up a garment and saw little guys crawling on it (YUCK!). Bag it, freeze it, wash it in hot water, just do something but don't act all paranoid. And remember that new clothes from a retail store, even something high end, can have the same problem – you never knew who tried them on before you.
ugh scabies ! (Mites) its awful . I caught it from a hotel bed..it was a nice room except for that.. I didnt know what i had ,i was scratching for 3 or 4 months b4 i got treatment but then it was too late becuz now i have some scars from the scabies. This is a good article becuz it reminds people to always wash clothes first even if its hand wash,..whoa now i feel itchy after reading this
"...it's time to see your doctor. She may prescribe..."
But what if my doctor is a man?
This is a horrible article, like many of you have mentioned, and apparently read...
Babaelf, not to sound harsh, but what the h are "psychic impressions", and what is a "subtle-energy body level"? You gots to get yourself some science!
Who doesn't wash purchased clothes (new or old) before wearing them anyway? On a side note, if you can't wash them in hot water or put them in the dryer, you can also use ammonia in a wash of cold water. While not 100% effective, it's better than nothing. Honestly though, who just puts clothes on the moment right after they buy them?
What kind of ignorant and closed-minded, not to mention materialistic and snooty person really thinks you can "catch" something from used clothing? The same kind who believe in cooties and avoid the elderly, the homeless and children? Did Paris Hilton or Jessica Simpson ask this question? It's so stupid it's offensive.
I caught scabies from a persian cat that I bought at a cat show, so scabies can be caught from anyone of any socio-economic class, not the elderly, homeless, or children. Also my dermatologist said that often people are exposed to scabies and they don't even bother them. I caught them at a time when I was under a great amount of stress and that probably made my immunity low which contributed to the problem. 3 different people spent the night in my house during this period & didn't catch anything. One was 80 yrs old.
What type of beans? Green? Lima? Pork and beans? And isn't this considered inhumane? What would PETA have to say about this???
If there were an epidemic or wide-spread national problem with scabies and second hand clothing, that would be news worth reporting. I consider this story however, to be an irresponsible use of the national media.
I believe the reason this topic came to light is because of the vintage dress that Michele Obama wore the other night on the White House Christmas TV special......by the way, her dress was stunning! The store she purchased it from is very upscale.
I would think that bed bugs could also be passed thru clothing.....
a bigger threat is going to china. that's where i picked up a case of scabies. it's not fun, and something to avoid.
uh... yuck.
I can't seem to keep good clothes in my closet. I do love used clothes and the bargains that I've gotten, but am also afraid of catching anything. I have found that if I burn the used clothes first, it kills all the "buggers" that may be lurking.
This article is ridiculous and sensationalist scare-mongering journalism at it's most pathetic. Desperate for a story, this is what they come up with....lame. Where are your cases and statistics? How many stores? how many cases of scabies? You are harming an entire industry in your attempt to write an article that will be alarming enough to get attention. Our journalism is beyond worthless, it is harmful. I'm not even in that industry and I scoff at the meaninglessness of this article.
Don't worry Laura, if you are in this business, rest easy
. The people like myself who appreciate saving money and most certainly the styles we can get are not going to stop buying the product! We have brains and no article that tells us the obvious (like you can catch something from clothing, but they left out ALL clothing, including new) is going to change our ways. Either they had nothing to say and thought up this elementary school article or they had some bone with a vintage retailer. Perhaps themselves not understanding that it is not gross or even poor like to buy used clothing.
Dear Article Writer... I can change my wardrobe every year 3 times a year but embarrassing low amounts. I am old enough to understand washing clothes. Thank you for your grade school lesson!
oops I meant "but spend embarrassing low amounts"
DR Raj missed the boat . He should stay in his field of Gastroenterology.
The Scabies mite only lives for 2 days off your body. Any old clothes
not worn for more than 2 days should not be infectious. Regular
laundry will kill all mites in clothes and bed items.
Scabies by Kenneth Mellanby(read it)
Most infections are from close contact with infected people.
Dermcardoc Dermatologist
Wow. Way to run plagiarism CNN. Looks like poorly re-worded: http://ezinearticles.com/?Can-You-Catch-Scabies-While-Wearing-Second-Hand-Clothing?&id=4997471
I don't see this as fear mongering....just some information for those like me who may not know it...but have already taken steps to prevent things like this. Others may not.
Can anyone tell me what the picture of the model in a bra has to do with this article.....except for a daily shot of eye candy?
Never wear the clothes straight off the rack. Wash them in hot water with detergent and a splash of ammonia, then rinse with white vinegar... the vinegar does a good job of stripping out all those odd fragrances, especially if you prefer fragrance-free clothes
DR Raj
The Scabies mite only lives for 2 days off your body. Any old clothes
not worn for more than 2 days should not be infectious. Regular
laundry will kill all mites in clothes and bed items.
Scabies by Kenneth Mellanby(read it)
Most infections are from close contact with infected people.
Dermcardoc Dermatologist
Just the thought of wearing dead peoples clothes,is enough to get you out of bed and earn a little more cash.
Sorry!! I only now buy clothes I can wash above 80 degrees because of scabies.
Read:I have had scabies for years until I found the triphala herb. This has been a slow process for me getting rid from my body those little itching burrowing mites and I intend on taking this herb for at least 6 months. Please have a routine for not getting reinfection. Boil all the clothes you can. Find out how to make a scabies kill spray ( spray furniture,mattress, car interior, toys, door handles,shoes and clothes which can't be washed above 80 degrees. A seven step process can be found scabiescurev.com. Please remember to have 3 different cream treatments rotating every other day.
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Lying in bed tonight, three hours out of the shower, I was suddenly itching all over my body. There are no bumps (yet) but I decided to look up the symptoms online to be proactive. Discovered itching all over can be caused by anything from pancreas tumors and vitamin deficiencies to mold allergies and scabies. All bad. In the last 48 hours, I have had exposure to several possible culprits but I’m not sure which the most likely cause is.
About 48 hours ago, I began to treat some mold that is starting to show up in our bathroom. Upon closer inspection, I discovered the exhaust vent is really bad up inside. I just don't look up at the 12 ft ceiling that often. The ventilation system is terrible. At that point, I started treating by spraying white vinegar from a spray bottle on the mold. Spot sprayed a few places but because there is no time, I won't be able to clean until tomorrow. The bathroom is adjacent to my bdrm. I hang my freshly washed delicate garments to dry on clothes hangers that I suspend from a wire, over- the -door rack in my bdrm. The door separates the bathroom from my bedroom. I happened to put on a nightgown that was hung to dry the same day I began treating the mold. Did something lodge in my n9ghtgown after being stirred up on its way drifting toward our HEPA air cleaner that constantly runs in our bedroom?
Speaking of which… This afternoon I walked by and knocked the cover to air purifier off which exposed a neglected need to change the filter. Unfortunately I have to call around to locate a vendor, and then drive 30plus miles or mail order my carbon pre-filters and HEPA replacements. I’m out of replacement filters so had to resort to cleaning the disposable carbon pre-filter and replacing it after vacuuming that and the front of the HEPA filter, and washing the cover.
Less than 24 hours ago, I spent about 1 and ½ hours digging around in a dusty attic, packed with clothes, and accessories of every sort. This community borrowing closet serves as community wardrobe and prop storage for those of us involved in local community theatre. The goal was to retrieve several pieces of men's 40's outfits. I ended up with about 6 piece suits of varying pieces, made with silk, wool, rayon, polyester and who knows what else. I was told that my son would have to try these on to get approval from the director a few hours. I took the clothing home and proceeded to vacuum the heck out of everything since there was no time to wash or dry clean. He only ended up trying on about 5 items. I hope he doesn’t end up itchy too.
Finally, my husband was out on San Nicolas Island which is a naval compound off of the coast of California. He had to stay in a hotel on the island five of the last seven nights. He came home yesterday. When I started itching tonight, I asked him if the sweat pants he was wearing to bed at home tonight and wore last night are the same sweats that he wore sitting in the hotel room chair and bed. He said, “ Yes.” But he isn’t itching… yet. I cannot believe this. He knows I’m freaky about hotel cooties. I asked him to change. He did and I crawled out from under the covers and am not as itchy as I was. Can scabies survive transportation via sweat pants from hotel chair or bed on an airplane and make it into my bed? Yuck!
Which of these activities is the most likely cause of my itchy problem? I can’t sleep through this annoying misery. Help!