GETTING stopped at airport security is never fun, especially when it’s your crotch setting off the alarm.
That’s exactly what happened to one traveler, who was flagged at two different airports on the same trip.
Sweat, pads, lines or even the wrong fabric can all potentially cause a false alarm (stock image)[/caption]
She was flying for the first time in 15 years when she got pulled aside at both checkpoints for a pat-down.
“I flew for the first time in 15 years this week, and both airports flagged my crotch at the arms up scanner,” the woman wrote on Reddit.
The passenger, who described herself as a “midsized adult woman (5-foot-8, 169 lbs.)” said she wore bike shorts and regular underwear — no piercings, no medical devices, and empty pockets.
“I don’t care about the pat down, they were polite and professional and it doesn’t bother me,” she said.
“But I’m wondering what did it.”
The most likely answer was sweat or as one security guard allegedly called it, “swamp crotch.”
Other travelers chimed in with similar stories, saying the same thing had happened to them.
“Last time I flew out of my home airport of Tampa, I got searched too,” one Redditor said.
“The [security] guard said something unnerving like ‘swamp rot’ or ‘swamp crotch’ or something similarly embarrassing.”
It turns out that excessive moisture can trigger the Transportation Security Administration’s scanners.
“Perspiration is probably the weirdest thing that can set off the scanners,” TSA expert Shawna Malvini Redden told Reader’s Digest.
“It has to do with millimeter wave technology and how the waves bounce off water.”
The technology is designed to detect anything that disrupts the signal, not just metal.
That means sweat, pads, lines, or even the wrong fabric can all potentially cause a false alarm.
TSA’s 3-1-1 rule
The Transportation Security Administration regulates the amount of liquids, aerosols, and gels that flyers can bring through airport security with the 3-1-1 liquids rule.
The 3-1-1 rule consists of the following:
Each container of liquid has to be 3.4 ounces or less.
All liquids have to fit in one clear, quart-sized, resealable bag.
Finally, passengers can only bring one bag of liquids each.
The issue has caused enough problems that countries like France and Germany have ditched the machines altogether.
But in the US, they are still widely used and regularly pull travelers aside for secondary screening.
Even body shape can affect the scan, according to TSA.
“On-person screening technology effectively screens diverse populations of travelers every day,” the agency told the New York Post.
Their systems are trained to recognize different body types, but any unusual readings, including sweat, can still set off an alert.
While the woman who posted about her experience said she didn’t mind the extra screening, it left her confused.
She wasn’t alone in feeling uncomfortable.
Other travelers said it can be awkward being searched because of a natural bodily function.
Swamp crotch, as gross as it sounds, is caused by sweat pooling in the groin area, often in hot weather or tight clothes.
“Crotch sweat happens for the same reason it happens in our armpits,” Dr. Karyn Eilber, a urogynecologist and coauthor of A Woman’s Guide to Her Pelvic Floor: What the F*@# Is Going On Down There, told the Huffington Post.
“We have glands in those areas and so when it gets hot, we sweat.”
It can lead to irritation, chafing, and infections if left unchecked.
Experts recommend moisture-wicking underwear or pants to help keep the area dry.
Loose clothing made from breathable materials like cotton or linen can also help, according to holistic physician Dr. Sony Sherpa.
“Avoid wearing nylon, polyester and other synthetic materials, which will trap heat and moisture and exacerbate the problem,” she said.
Speciality deodorants for the groin area are another option, using aluminium-based ingredients to temporarily block sweat.
