An Ohio woman claims her Victoria’s Secret bra left her with a painful rash, and is suing the lingerie company. Now, hundreds of other women have come forward to allege similar experiences, and attorneys are seeking class action status for the Ohio lawsuit.
Roberta Ritter, 37, claims she became “utterly sick” after she wore her new Angels Secret Embrace and Very Sexy Extreme Me Push-Up bras. In her lawsuit, the plaintiff said the rash she suffered was “red hot to the touch, burning and itching.”
Lawyers for Ritter sent bras like the ones she purchased to a lab for testing. Those tests detected formaldehyde in the bras. Formaldehyde is used in the textile industry to make fabrics crease-resistant.
Formaldehyde can irritate the skin, eyes and lungs, and is being phased out of many consumer products in the United States because of long term cancer risk and other health concerns. It is possible that Ritter and other women who have been injured by Victoria’s Secret bras are allergic to formaldehyde.
Apparently, Ritter was not alone in her suffering. According to various media reports, a number of online medical forums have been flooded with complaints about the bras.
Ritter’s lawyers said they have received well over 200 inquiries from women who experienced rashes and other skin problems from Victoria’s Secret bras. They have now filed a motion to give Ritter’s suit class action status.
For its part, Victoria’s Secret admitted it had complaints about its bras from “a small number” of consumers. But the company claims that it does not use formaldehyde in its bras.
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May 22nd, 2009 at 7:51 am
I’m so glad to have stumbbled upon this website!! I purchased some of these same bras & within hours of wearing them EVERYWHERE they were touching my skin, I was on FIRE & in tears! I told my husband I thought that I was having an allergic reaction to them. He thought that I was crazy, now that he has seem my breasts immediately after taking the bra off & the next 2-3 days afterwards he believes me. I can no longer wear these expensive bras nor will the store allow myself to return them, so here I am stuck with expensive bras that I have a severe allergic reaction to! They include Severe burning, itching swelling, redness with hotness & hives that will last for days after I do not wear the bra. So bad that I’m unable to wear a bra for a few days afterwards. Looking for any help. THANKS!
September 18th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
I have to agree with the responses that i am reading.Ther are several style Victoria’s Secret bras that are irritating to the point where,yes a small ,itchy rash has devleoped.I could not imagine what could be causing it,i have been using that brand for years,but now i have heard that the material contains something that does not do well with the female skin.Please send me any information on this class action suit.Thank you.
November 15th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
last year I had a severe case of red rash and intolerable itching that followed my bra straps and under my breasts and the worst itching was on the sides of my breasts. It was so bad I went to Emergency because I could not sleep and later went to my doctor and he gave me a prescription. The itching was so intense I could not work because I could not sleep for several days until it cleared up. I kept all the prescription meds and trips to the doctory. Yesterday morning I put on one of the bras and wore it for a few hours when it happened again, the intense itching. I went home, undresed and there were huge red patches under each breast and following the outline of the bra up into the straps. I put on the medication that I had the last time, but after several applications yesterday and today, it has not gone away. I have taken a Benadryl capsule am now going to try to get some sleep tonight and call my doctor tomo to refill the Rx he gave me last year.What are you suggesting that will stop this more quickly? And have they found out what is in the bras that is causing it. I have worn Victorias Secret bras for years and never had this problem . Help is needed. It seems to be with the bras that were made n China..even ones I bought from Dillards that were not V.S. bras but were made in China…
January 9th, 2010 at 8:00 am
I’m so glad I came upon this site. I’ve been experiencing an itchy rash for the past 5 months in my underarm region. The doctor gave me antibiotics, it cleared up and is now back. It’s painful and itchy. I’ve tried changing everything but then realized this all started with a particular VS bra. I only have VS bras so I plan on buying a different one today to see if that helps. Please send me any info you might find.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:45 am
So glad I came across this site! For the past 8 or so months I have had a rash with a lot of heat and hives on my chest that have made scars. I notice it is worse in the summer, so this all makes sense now. Please send me any information.