Can your flip-flops kill you?

[angi_is_altered]

Ah, the casual, comfortable flip-flop: A symbol of summertime, an emblem of relaxation - and a harbinger of death?

OK, well, that may be overstating it a little bit - but not by too terribly much, health experts say.

TODAY, with the help of the University of Miami emergency mobile flip-flop lab, tested some footwear and found that there were more

Comments

[get_baaaaack]

Ugh, so glad I never wear flip flops.

Honestly, I don't understand how ANYBODY finds them comfortable. Gimme a pair of flats any day, man.

[chaobell]

Yeah, I can't wear them at all--the little thingie never fails to rub a blister between my big toe and the next one down no matter how many times I wear a pair. D:

[albeitslowly]

Your icon! Whee!

As for the article, I wonder why flip flops would be so much more contaminated than other shoes? Maybe we just keep them around longer because we only wear them a few months out of the year? *shrugs*

ETA: Upon reading the little snippet about how they're dangerous because we touch them more and therefore transfer the bacteria to other places, I disagree. I never touch my flip flops. That's half the beauty of them. You just slip them on and go. How much hand adjusting is actually required to insert thong between toes?

[reticent_lass]

My problem generally isn't the toe, it's the strap--every pair I've ever had ends up with one of the straps getting twisted and digging into your foot. But I have giant feet so this might just be people like me.

The other problem with flip-flips is the exposure--if you've got cuts, scrapes, or ripped-up cuticles on your feet, they're exposed to all the elements you drag them through when you've got flip-flops. And half the time, if you do slice up your feet, it's because you're wearing flip-flops that they ever get injured at all.

I dunno, I personally just don't like wearing the things, so I get a kick out of hatin' on them. I don't think there's a real risk inherent in wearing them, though.

[albeitslowly]

LOL, I'm a Wisconsin farm girl. I grew up running barefoot through cowpies. Not much about flip flops could bother me. :P

[mourning]

ia. i never touch my flip flops. THAT'S WHY I WEAR THEM.

[squid_ink]

that is so nasty. I love my Okibashi flip flops

I never touch them with my hands, though, and I do wash them ever couple of weeks (I dump them in a bin of hot water and DW detergent) because they get kinda smelly

[foobilicious]

w/e only my feet ever touch those anyway

[fromyourashes]

They're also horrible for your back. They're worse than high heels when it comes to long term pain (if you wear them year-round, like many people in the tropics tend to do).

[syderia]

How come ?

[fenris_lorsrai]

They alter your natural gait because you need to adjust angle of foot slightly to keep them from falling off. Shoes with an ankle strap that keeps them from falling off don't require that same alteration in stride.

[syderia]

Thanks for the explanation !