It’s what causes the wedgie that you should be worried about.
There are many reasons we’re thrilled to no longer be teenagers: Wisdom, financial security, watching our children grow, and the absence of aggressive wedges.
Yes, we’re talking about wedgies today. Remember when it was deemed funny to torment your peers by pulling their pants or underwear up so high it created incredible discomfort? Thankfully, those days are far behind us. However, we all get accidental wedges occasionally, and most often, they’re harmless. But, if they’re accompanied by extreme force, say, on a water slide, for example, they can actually be dangerous.
Don’t believe me? Well, in 2023, a woman actually sued Walt Disney Parks and Resorts after she sustained severe gynecologic injuries on a water slide at Florida’s Disney World, causing her to be hospitalized.
After descending the 214-foot slide — the park’s tallest and fastest, according to NPR — the water at the bottom forced her swimsuit into a painful “wedgie,” the lawsuit says.
Extreme waterslides that reach high speeds can cause severe vulvovaginal injuries. Both from the force of the water going into the vagina itself and also from sheer forces of the bathing suit and friction on the labia. People in my TikTok comments also mentioned that they’ve had the water go into the rectum and act like an enema.
And just because you don’t frequent water parks doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. Anything where the water can hit the body at high speeds can cause injury, including waterskiing and falling from a boat or jumping into water from height. There are actual published case reports of these injuries.
This likely won’t happen with your average wedgie caused by too-tight clothing. It’s when the injury occurs at such a high speed and force that the clothing can actually cause labial lacerations.
Watch my video to learn more about how the force of water can cause damage, and follow my tips to avoid water-induced injuries.
- If you’re going to a water park, follow instructions carefully, keep your ankles crossed where the signs say to do so, and avoid the extreme rides where they have sharp drops/reach high speeds if you want to minimize the risk of injury.
- Use caution on boats, and avoid consuming alcohol if you’re going to be doing activities like waterskiing.
And if you’re interested in learning about *more common* gyno problems and facts, check out my book, It’s Not Hysteria: Everything You Need To Know About Your Reproductive Health (But Were Never Told).
