lead phobia. Desperately need advice?!

[TheMonster]

Alright, I am new to the site, and reading some posts on this site have made me realize I'm not alone. I have OCD and anxiety disorder.

However, right now, I'm obsessing over lead. And it was started because of Christmas lights (as they have lead on them). My daughter and I are living with my parents until April when my fiancé gets leave (he's in the Navy). I was hoping to be moved out, because my mother goes insane with Christmas lights. Everywhere! She washes her hands now that she knows there is lead on them (basically because I tell her to because of my 8 month old daughter), but my mind has a "story".

Like the Christmas lights have touched the floor at some point during installation. Therefore when my mother would step there, it would drag the partials of lead throughout the house. I washed my sheets. I pulled them out of the washer to put them in the dryer, and my blanket touched the floor. I had just washed them two cycles because of my fear, so I was determined to not let this get the best of me again. It's 2 am here. Im exhausted. But now that they are in the dryer, I'm paranoid that the blanket picked up partials and are now covering the sheets. AHHHH.

Any reassurance or advice? Thank you in advance!

[PinkRoxy]

I'm sorry but I cant offer much advice on it but I do know how you feel.

I take things to extreme aswell with skin infections I always smother the area with dettol, savlon or even crystacide and cover it up with a plaster and usually repeat up to 10 times a day lol I know excessive but I just call it being extra cautious esp since I try my hardest to avoid antibiotics if possible.

I just look at it with you too that you are being cautious but yes I understand the going over the top thing too. I hope things do get better for you and try not to let it worry you too much whiich I know is hard.

[stevenr1986]

i understand your plight but i spent hours and hours playing with lead as a kid with my dad and its done me no harm, as far as i know! lead in LARGE amounts and in the blood is bad and you may not want to breath in huge amounts of lead powder but its not going to harm you from lights, i would put £1000 on that right now!

[Danath]

when I worked for a friend a few years back he used scrap lead as part of his work, it was in sheets folded up and my job was to use a huge lever to cut them up ready to be melted down in a pan, they gave off loads of lead dust as well, I smoked at the time too(hand to mouth action) probably breathed a bit of lead dust in, and had nothing other than cold water to rinse my hands (if I did at all, I can't recall). Never did me any harm :smile:

same post I gave to someone else worried about lead, I really dont think you are at any risk. hope you feel better soon

[mat]

As long as you don't eat the lights you'll be fine, it's tiny amounts of lead. Even if you licked them all the time, all year round, i don't think you would end up in hospital with the doctor saying "you ate too much lead, you shall die now" or even get affected at all.
People do crazy things with christmas lights, and not get affected. Normal christmas use certainly isn't dangerous.
If your interior is covered in deteriorating lead paint, that's when one should worry - or restore the paintwork...