In a recent viral video, content creator May Ricketts brings awareness to an especially important practice. She urges everyone to wash new clothes before you wear them. She highlights a significant health concern: ringworm, a highly contagious fungal infection that can easily spread through clothing. Ricketts has pulled in over 300,000 views on TikTok. He wants the public to be more aware of the contamination risk that can come from trying clothes on in retail stores.
Ringworm isn’t a worm at all—it’s an entirely different kind of organism. It often causes diseased-looking, itchy, scaly patches on your skin. The miserable infection is the result of a parasitic fungus that flourishes on the outermost layer of skin cells. The Mayo Clinic and CDC say that ringworm is something very common. Its most serious threat is in areas in which people often handle or wear garments.
Ricketts shared her own photograph of a shameful shopping experience. As she told us, “I understand you want to wear your clothes right after you purchase them, but I contracted ringworm from working in the fitting room of a large fast fashion retailer. She is keen to stress that one infected person with ringworm can quickly infect everyone. Anyone else who tries on the same item is putting themselves at risk. “Because all it takes is one dirty person with ringworm to have tried it on.” She cautioned.
That challenge only compounds in retailer settings where multiple customers try on the same pieces of clothing. It’s problematic because clothing that looks clean can still be a home to unseen hazards. Follett Ricketts explained, “You see it hanging on a rack and you think, ‘Oh, that’s clean.’ No! This misunderstanding is dangerous because it may cause consumers to ignore the basic steps they need to take when buying new products.
Ricketts implores consumers to wash new apparel before wearing. So when you purchase new clothes, wash them and make that promise to do it,” she implored in her video. Her message comes at a critical juncture. In recent years, new strains of the ringworm-causing fungus have emerged, making it more important than ever for consumers to protect themselves.
It’s a very serious disease,” explained the UK based whistleblower named ringworm, helping demonstrate why it’s imperative to educate the public. Consumers do not realize that clothing made from these materials can be a source of contamination. The practice of trying on clothing in stores can unknowingly put people at risk for ringworm and other infections.
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