The Ten Binding Commandments

Never wear a binder so tight that you have a hard time breathing in it.

Never wear a binder or binding device that doesn’t have a form of elastic within the fibers. Your binder must allow you to breathe in and out without any trouble.

Never wear a binder for more than 12 hours in a single day. Optimum wearing time is between 8 to 10 hours, and less is always better. Bind as little as you can stand to.

Never wear a binder when you sleep. Your breathing slows when you sleep and your muscles relax. The binder could become too tight and cause apnea symptoms (you could stop breathing in your sleep) and could cause fluid to build up, resulting in a form of pneumonia.

If you hear a rattling or wheezing in your lungs when you breathe in or out, take off your binder NOW and cough hard a few times to loosen up fluid. This means you have been wearing your binder too long or too tight.

If you continue to hear rattling of fluid in your lungs for more than 24 hours, see your doctor. Do not ignore this; you could be heading toward pneumonia.

Always cough hard a few times when you take off your binder for the day. This will loosen any fluid that has built up in your lungs or the pleura of your lungs. Be sure to follow with a few deep breathing exercises to open the lungs.

If your muscles under your binder twitch or spasm, take off your binder and give them a rest. Muscle spasms are likely due to a diet poor in magnesium. Many people using testosterone have reported muscle spasm problems, which are helped with a good magnesium supplement. Always consult your doctor before starting any supplement!

In the long term (over months and years), binding can make the breast tissue less dense, which causes the breasts to sag/droop. This may or may not bother you, but it’s something to be aware of. It is permanent. The less dense the breast tissue is, though, the less it will resist and try to stick out when you bind.

Buy a binder that compresses the breasts just enough to hide them, but does not compress your rib cage.