Experiment concludes dirty jeans not a health risk

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (AHN) - Young people who argue with their parents over wearing the same pair of smelly and tattered jeans could not cite an experiment that what they are doing may not be unhealthy at all. They can cite the case of a 20-year old University of Alberta student who wore the same $167 Nudie Jeans pair for 15 months straight or about 200 times beginning September 2009.

John Le wore the skin-tight jeans - made of raw denim which was not treated or washed with chemicals when manufactured - almost every day and even had the denim pants on while sleeping. Aside from daily use, the Le's jeans was sometimes spilled with food, but he only wiped the spill with a paper towel.

At the end of the 15 months, Le and University of Alberta Assistant Human Ecology Professor Rachel McQueen swabbed the inside of the jeans for bacteria. The jeans yielded normal bacteria levels.

Then Le washed the pants, wore the pair again for 13 straight days and had the apparel tested again. The bacteria levels were almost similar to the first test, which said the bacteria counts were highest in the crotch area at 10,000 units per square centimeter. However, there was no E. coli or other bacteria from fecal matter, McQueen disclosed on Wednesday.

The results of the experiment underscore the importance of underwear, which Le wore underneath. McQueen said that while the experiment indicated wearing jeans for months is likely safe for a normal, healthy person, she recommended at least a once-a-month wash for the smelly denim.

To reduce the smell, Le tripled bag the jeans and froze the pants every other week.

On Christmas, his brothers gifted him with a $185 Naked and Famous jeans, which Le had worn for 19 consecutive days. He wants to make another experiment by going for 18 or 24 months without washing the denim trousers.

News From: www.dbune.com