New Delhi, 6 November (IANS). If you are fond of wearing saree daily then you need to be careful. Doctors in Bihar and Maharashtra have issued a warning saying that wearing tight petticoats worn with sarees can cause skin cancer.
Doctors at Wardha’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Bihar’s Madhubani Medical College and Hospital, after treating two women suffering from cancer, warned that the underskirt (petticoat), traditionally worn under the saree in rural areas of India, Due to being tied tightly, there is constant friction. Due to which the skin may become swollen. Many times this may result in blisters and in some cases skin cancer may also occur.
It was earlier referred to as “saree cancer”, but doctors said in a study published in BMJ Case Reports that the tightness of the waist string was responsible for it, and hence it was named ‘petticoat cancer’.
In the first case, a 70-year-old woman sought medical attention because she had a painful skin ulcer on her right side for 18 months that was not healing. The surrounding skin had also lost its color. This woman used to wear saree from the beginning.
Doctors conducted a biopsy of the woman, after which it was discovered that the woman had Marjolin ulcer, also known as squamous cell carcinoma (ulcerated skin cancer).
Doctors said that Marjolin ulcer is rarely seen. But this is very dangerous.
It can develop in old burn wounds, non-healing wounds, leg ulcers, tuberculous skin lumps and wounds caused by vaccination and snake bites.
Doctors said that it is still not known how ulcers or wounds become fatal.
“Continuous pressure on the waist often causes the skin to become weak, which can lead to the formation of wounds or blisters,” he said.
Experts said that this ulcer often does not heal completely due to the constant pressure caused by tight clothes. An old wound is formed, which can become dangerous in future.
Health experts recommend wearing a loose petticoat under the saree to reduce pressure on the skin, and loose clothing to allow the area to heal if skin problems develop.
–IANS
MKS/AS
