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British Soldiers Get Germ-Fighting Undies
Ant writes "Yahoo! News reports that British soldiers will be getting germ-fighting underwear. The antimicrobial underpants have been introduced by the Ministry of Defense as part of a new desert uniform for soldiers. They are the first undergarments issued to British troops, who traditionally have had to supply their own.
Military officials said Thursday the unisex trunks were made from artificial fibers for comfort, with silver particles woven into the material to prevent sweating.
"It is coated to prevent bacterial infection, and we have tried to arrange the seams so that they don't chafe," Col. Silas Suchanek, who led the team that procured the new equipment, said Thursday."
Really, we should defer to the UK's right to name its own institutions and call it the "Ministry of Defence", just like Pearl Harbor should not be "Pearl Harbour" or "Perl Harbor" (as I've been admittedly prone to think).
I hate to comment on my own comment to bitch about moderation, but I noticed a few comments below mine stating that it should be downmodded.
Look, this is what happened to me. Like it or not. The comment came from my heart, formed by my own personal experience. Sure, it's gory, sure it's detailed, but this is exactly what happens to folks when bacterial infections happen. Boils form on the skin, and in the crotch area, this makes for a very debilitating condition. Like I said, I had the luxery of my house, soldiers in Iraq don't have the same immenities that I have.
Just a follow up, after this happened my wife and I started buying anti bacterial soap. Since then, I haven't had so much as a zit on my legs. Before the boil, I showered every day but with regular old soap. Regular soap just isn't enough to prevent this from happening. Just one juicy bit of info I read on antibacterial soaps, you have to leave them on the skin for at least 2 minutes for the active ingredient to work.
So please mods, don't downmod my parent post. It was completely on topic and showed the dangers of bacterial infections of the crotch. Thank you.
--toq
It doesn't cause permanent damage.
It just makes the sperm currently being produced less effective. Go back to boxers, and you're fine within a 'production cycle' which I think is something like 30 or 45 days.
I doubt soldiers in a warzone are particularly interested in maintaining maximum fertility.
For one thing, these look like boxers. For another, wearing breifs prevent your testicles from moving so much. This prevents Testicular torsion (yes it is real). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testicular_torsion
Though, I do wonder if the heat problem is as bad as you say. Any one have any reliable websites?
I got my silver underwear from REI several years ago for mountaineering. What sold me was mostly the reduction of odors, since when you're on a mountain, you're wearing that sweaty underwear for two days of solid work! Highly recommended.
"They are the first undergarments issued to British troops"
I don't think that's quite true. Atleast, in WWI they were issed with them (with buttons in them too).
Most US Forces use Under Armor underwear. It doesn't have silver to prevent bacteria, as far as I know, but it seems to last forever and keep sweat and chaffing away. I think they wash their clothes in the US, so maybe silver particles were not on the top of their list.
http://www.underarmour.com/
Yes, silver is antibacterial. They've started putting silver in elastoplast.
2 6
http://www.allcures.com/shared/product.asp?id=853
I, along with many many other Marines in Iraq, was recently issued something that sounds very similar. I actually haven't even worn mine yet favoring the Under Armour I purchased myself before deploying. A note on the silver fiber, though. First, judging from experience of the others who have worn it, nothing in it prevents sweating. And second, according to the tags, at least, the silver is what prevents microbial growth.
-- Napalm sticks to kids.
Could this be related to the temperature? I'll let you in on a secret: yes it could.
It could, but not for the reason you imply. It's simpler than that. When cold, the muscles responsible for this naturally contract and become tense, and when warm they expand and relax ... but this happens naturally with most muscles in your body, and has absolutely nothing to do with trying to control the temperature of your nads. Jump in a cold pool and I promise you most of the muscles in your body will tense up as soon as you're in the water. Part of the reason is that your body is converting stored energy into heat to make up for the heat loss, but this is NOT to regulate the temperature of your balls, it's to save you from going hypothermic and dying. Honestly, your balls do not need such quick reactions to temperature changes, firstly because warm temperatures pose no risk to fertility unless sustained for months or years, and secondly because even then, the infertility effects are generally only temporary, i.e. once your balls are back to a few degrees below the rest of your body, you'll be producing again.
But thanks anyway for "letting us in" on that "secret".