Research and discussions on the internet show that most men change their underwear regularly. About one-fifth of men still think it is OK to wear the same underwear for 2 or more days in a row. So, should a man change his underwear every day?
Men should change their underwear daily after showering. Wearing the same underwear for two or more days in a row can lead to bacteria forming. This is due to urine, sweat, and dead skin particles accumulating in the underwear. This can lead to increased chafing and irritation of the skin.
We wear underwear all day long, so we should pay a little more attention to it, as it is the piece of clothing that is in direct contact with our skin. Here I’ll tell you whether men should change their underwear every day, what happens if we don’t change our underwear regularly and whether there are any benefits to not wearing underwear.
Should a man change his underwear every day?
There are interesting discussions in online forums where wives and girlfriends ask whether it is normal for men not to change their underwear regularly.
The debate on Reddit started with this question: “Just learned that my boyfriend goes for days without changing his underwear, and I’m horrified. Is this a normal dude thing?“
Those are some of the responses to that question (some of them are quite funny):
- I change them every time I take a shower, so pretty much every day (unless I spend my entire weekend at home alone)
- Even if I’m at home alone the entire weekend, I change them when I wake up, I change out of my sleeping clothes to my lazy lounge clothes lol. If I don’t change my boxers, it’s usually depression
- Days?? Once I take it off it doesn’t go back on unless it’s been laundered.
- How am I single?
Personally, I think we should change our underwear every time we shower. And we should shower every day in the morning or in the evening and after every workout. Because it can be uncomfortable to put on your dirty underwear after you’ve showered. Sometimes, you will have to change your underwear several times per day (showering in the morning, showering after the workout, etc.).
This does not include exceptional situations such as camping where water is not always available for showering. Or when we run out of clean underwear and have to put on the same underwear again or go without (more on whether you can go without underwear below).
To ensure we never run out of underwear in our wardrobe, we need to buy enough underwear and replace it when it wears out. If you usually change your underwear once a day, then 10 pieces of underwear are enough to keep you going. Even if you don’t do laundry for a few days, you won’t be without underwear.
If you change your underwear several times a day for exercise or other reasons. In this case, I recommend increasing your underwear stock (15-25 pieces). This will also come in handy when you are traveling and can take enough underwear with you.
See how to fold your travel underwear to take up less space in the picture below.
What happens if men don’t change their underwear?
If you don’t change your underwear regularly, bacteria can build up and irritate your skin. Urine, sweat, dead skin, and more accumulate in your underwear. This makes your underwear wet and dirty, which makes it rub against your skin, which becomes irritated and itchy.
I think we do not pay enough attention to underwear, including the choice of underwear. There are types of underwear that are not the healthiest for men. You can read more about that here.
Changing your underwear every time you sweat excessively is a good idea. The underwear we wear is mostly made of cotton, which absorbs a lot of sweat but quickly becomes soggy. Wet underwear increases chafing of the skin, which can lead to irritated skin, and impurities can cause pimples and itchy skin.
Are there benefits to not wearing underwear for men?
Not wearing underwear has a positive effect on testicular health. As with wearing loose underwear, if you are without underpants, the increased air circulation increases sperm concentration and fertility. Not wearing underwear also reduces the chances of getting infections.
Have you ever wondered what is the reason we wear underwear and what is its main purpose? You can read all about it here, where you will also get the answer to the question of whether it might be better not to wear underwear.
In addition to these benefits, not wearing underwear can reduce skin irritation and genital chafing. If you have problems with your genitals rubbing excessively when you walk, I suggest wearing loose underwear. Or not wearing underwear and loose-fitting pants to prevent contact between clothing and genitals.
But there are also disadvantages to not wearing underwear, which is why only 5-8% of people choose to do so. We may drop urine, and without underpants, we will have no protection so that the urine will run down the leg and down the trousers.
We sweat during the day, and the underpants usually absorb the excess sweat on the genital area. If we don’t wear underwear, the sweat will either be absorbed by our trousers or run down our legs.
Personally, I do not have to be without underwear for this reason, so I prefer to wear looser underpants.