Asbestos exposure worry - someone please help!

[Cbear83]

Health anxiety over old cottage ruining Christmas :(
Hi have a huge health anxiety about asbestos at the moment and it
Is ruining my life and Christmas.

I live in a 300 year old property and been renovating since we moved in 4 years ago.
During this time I believe I have been exposed to asbestos .

1st- when stripping paint off an old beam using a paint scraper. I believe I scraped the edge of an artex ceiling as well as it was up to edge of beam.
I remember paint and dust in my face.

2nd- we have had our bathroom remodelled and we moved the door to which part of a partition wall covered in artex was removed - about 4 inches wide/ ceiling height. I was not present when this was done but hoovered up the mess caused by builder hours later.

3rd - potential other exposures in put cottage - I feel it is everywhere :(

I am terrified I am going to die or cancer in 10
Years time due to this literally exposure and cannot function or live well.
It is ruining my life and Christmas - someone please help me.
:(

[sebinkent]

I understand your fears all too well. I went through a similar thing and my anxiety has always been lung/breathing related.
I'm no expert in this but, from what you're saying, I doesn't sound like you were exposed to any dangerous amounts of asbestos dust. Your lungs have an amazing ability to filter out a lot of rubbish before any harm is done.
You are speculating about something bad happening in ten years time - try to relax and live in the present moment and enjoy the rest of the Christmas period.
:)

[Cbear83]

Thank you for you reply.
I cannot seem to let this go and am going through every material in my
Home to see if I have been in contact with it.

My recent worry in the last hour is out bathroom
Partition wall. When we scraped wallpaper off it 3 years ago it was a shiny board underneath easy to push a pin through and took coats and coats of paint for it to stick. Our builder removed half of it when he did building works and I hoovered up.
Am worried now it was Asbesstos insulated board made with the brown stuff and I breathed in lots when roved and scraping wallpaper!!!!!!!

My dad said probably not as asbestos board but it was not like normal plasterboard walls :(
Please help my worries

[MyNameIsTerry]

It can't be brown asbestos, they only ever used white outside of industrial buildings and industrial processing. At most it could be white, the last dangerous kind by far.

Builders are very aware of asbestos, would he put himself at risk? If he did then he wouldn't care again and be exposing himself potentially on a regular basis. This would make him either completely incompetent or incredibly stupid. Do you think he was either of these?

Engaging with this obsessional fear will only reinforce it's need to exist. Going through all the materials in your house can be a checking compulsion. Such compulsions can make you worse (completing compulsions in OCD don't always reduce anxiety, some of mine didn't) and they only complete the cycle hence reinforcing the obsession.

I've beaten a lot of my OCD do I understand all of that pretty well.

Challenging these thoughts needs to be positive and based on counter evidence. In CBT you can use a Thought Record to do this. Try them, it can help getting it onto paper and out of your head where you would try to rationalise it but end up just repeating the whole process because you feel you can't stop it.

Distract yourself for a period with something engrossing, if possible, even something mundane.

I really would encourage learning Mindfulness to anyone with anxiety and especially those with obsessional disorders like OCD. See the link in my signature for free downloads and make a start with some meditation. It can help but more so over time.

[Cbear83]

The builder had only been doing it for 4 years and was pretty useless.
I remember it being pink it colour when we scraped wallpaper off it. It was kits hard to paint as no porous. I cannot find on the internet what asbestos board would feel like and it is panicking me no end.

It sounded hollow like plasterboard and was easy to push a pin in.
Does this sound like asbestos?

---------- Post added at 12:03 ---------- Previous post was at 11:29 ----------

And blue walls under wallpaper covering- is this ok or asbestos?

[Fishmanpa]

First off... a 300 year old property sounds absolutely cool as heck! Living in a home that's probably a piece of history sounds awesome to me.

Question... In the US, when you buy a home, it needs to be inspected and checked for potential issues including lead paints and asbestos. The potential buyer is made aware of any issues before purchasing. If there are any issues, the seller either addresses them or works with the potential buyer financially so they can address them. With a home I purchased many years ago, it needed a new roof. I got estimates and the seller dropped the price of the house more than the cost. I had it replaced after I moved in. While I personally don't think there's an issue, perhaps there is a home inspection service in the UK that could help you?

Also, I would have to think if there were an issue, the workmen involved in renovations would have notified you as they wouldn't risk exposing themselves... just some common sense thoughts there...

Positive thoughts

[Pamplemousse]

It really will not be asbestos and as has been said before, your potential exposure levels are so low if it were they present to all intents and purposes, zero risk. Construction-type asbestos panels are mixed with cement so you certainly wouldn't be able to push a pin into it: whilst if it was a 'purer' form of white asbestos it would be way too fragile to use as it's very soft and that stuff is also quite absorbent (I have experience of this stuff through my hobbies). If it was pink-coloured that sounds like a thin coat of finishing plaster, and plasterboard is soft enough to push a pin into! What's more likely is that there is a material sold as 'tile backing boards' which is a mixture of fibreglass and gypsum or cement and it is sold for high-moisture areas like bathrooms. That too is quite soft: I'd not encountered it before until my house was renovated last year. Have a look for it on the web.

Also, in addition to your edit; you really will not see blue asbestos in a domestic setting.

HTH :)

[Cbear83]

The wall may have been blue in colour, it was not plastered underneath just coated on wallpaper which we stripped of with scrapers and then painted.
It was difficult to paint as they paint would ok adhere to it.

The builder cut a chunk out to move to door frame across and I cleaned that night with the Hoover. It sounds hollow when you know on the remaining wall. I cannot remember now about the in and if it was easy to push in.

Regarding the walls, under all our wallpaper the bare walls (I think the plaster is blue, black and grey) is this just because old or worried it mixed with asbestos.
We hacked off lots of this and chased in electrics. Dust everywhere :(

[Fishmanpa]

Wow... You're really in a spiral about this :( Seems there's no convincing or reasoning with you unfortunately. Hope you find a way to deal with this fear. Feel better soon!

Positive thoughts

[Cbear83]

No am in a state and do not know how to deal
With this.
I need to know answers as cannot cope
Likes this and feel I am going made with worry.

The walls in all of our house when stripes back are blue :(

[Traceypo]

You can either accept the answers people have given you, consult an expert or live in this constant fear.
Personally, I'd believe what people have already said, that the harmful asbestos was not used in residential dwellings.
I hope you find a way to resolve this fear.
X

[Pamplemousse]

That looks like the sort of colouring that was applied to slightly wet plasters to colour them.

I used to be acquainted with someone who renovates period properties for a living; she'd never encountered the asbestos-like materials that seemed to be concerning you and her oldest properties were Tudor in period. The last house I saw she did was a mixture of Tudor, Georgian and Victorian as it evolved over the years.

I realise that we are trying to break you out of this spiral that is consuming you and it's heartbreaking to watch - I do know, I've been there too to the bemusement of my colleagues as I have had such episodes at work - but if it would help, get a piece analysed. But the most important thing to do now is to distract yourself from this destructive behaviour: follow some of Terry's mindfulness links.

Please?

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, please do something to absorb your mind. Your mind can't keep overthinking if you give it another focus and you would surprised how this respite can weaken it's current hold. It likely will come back quickly bit it won't as strong until you engage with it to increase it but this may give you back enough control to challenge it more effectively.

And don't be surprised if you have intrusive thoughts triggered by people & objects involved but try not to avoid them because that will only reinforce or create attached our new fears within the context of the main theme.

[Jherron]

My grandfather was in the Navy during the period that absetos was common 1952. He was also a mechanic during the time it was used in vehicle brakes. Heck he even worked in a steel yard that had it around. In all those years he never had a problem. He is healthy and going on 80. If your worried about it get a respirator at a local hardware store.

[MyNameIsTerry]

My grandfather was in the Navy during the period that absetos was common 1952. He was also a mechanic during the time it was used in vehicle brakes. Heck he even worked in a steel yard that had it around. In all those years he never had a problem. He is healthy and going on 80. If your worried about it get a respirator at a local hardware store.

That's excellent to hear he is heathy! :yesyes:

I hope he has many happy years to come. It's funny isn't it how we don't hear about ex servicemen much but they were exposed just like the rest.

[uru]

You've posted this very thread about 4 times over a week. I think you need to try and break out of these thought patterns. Is there anything you can do to take your mind of things for a while?

[Jherron]

Thanks Terry. Strange thing about him is he has pretty bad anxiety. He even drank a lot and I mean a lot for years. I guess he finally opened up to the doctors as he is now seeing a therapist. He is more social now than I have ever seen him. Your right about not hearing much about ex service men. Over here on this side of the pond a lot of ex military get benefits from exposure.