Jun 12, 2008 11:00 pm US/Eastern
Health Alert: Bra Danger
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
In health, what some are calling Victoria's nasty little secret. Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl has details on burning bras.
Victoria's Secret lingerie is sizzling hot, but instead of feeling sexy, some have had some not so pleasant experiences.
"It was itching, and it was welts. And it was the shape of a bra and it was just bizarre," Roberta Ritter said.
Roberta has been buying Victoria's Secret bras for 20 years.
But when she recently wore two bras bought from the companies "Very Sexy" line, she didn't look very sexy.
"It hurt, it actually hurt. It was like the patches were so dry it was like sandpaper, it burned," Roberta said.
And Roberta had plenty of company.
"I thought I had spider bites all over my chest. I quit wearing the bras and it went away eventually. It took about four weeks," Melissa Yacoullo said.
Vicki Kulos went through weeks of pain as well.
"I was trying hydrocortisone creams, Benadryl, antihistamines anything over the counter to try and stop this itch," Vicki said.
All of these longtime Victoria's Secret customers say they broke out after wearing their bras.
And there are dozens of similar complaints on medhelp.org.
Dermatologist Dr. Lydia Parker looked at pictures of some of some of the other victims and met with Roberta.
"Different manufacturers will use different types of formaldehyde resins or they might use different levels," Dr. Parker said.
She says the rash likely comes from a chemical finish used on the bras, which gives them a fresh crisp look.
"They reformulate products and the way they make them so sometimes even products under the same label one ingredient changed or one supplier changed and all of a sudden someone can have a problem," Dr. Parker explained.
The women say the bras in question had labels saying they were made in China.
Now, after two decades she's going to switch her lingerie.
"We spend billions at Victoria's Secret, $40 dollars for a bra, obviously they are not doing quality control," Roberta said.
If you are having an allergic reaction to Victoria's Secret bras you can contact the company at
1-800-945-5088.
We called Victoria's Secret, they sent us a statement that says in part:
"We want to assure our customers that we take this matter seriously. When this issue came to our attention, we initiated a thorough review. That review is still underway."
RELATED LINKS:
MedHelp Complaints
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