contamination fears

[pandora]

Hi, I suffer from OCD. I have developed a total obsession with germs and contamination which has been devastating in the way it affects my day to day life.

I have lots of contamination issues both at home and when I’m out; I am constantly frightened that by not taking enough care in containing germs etc. I will cause harm to others.

I have been receiving treatment from a psychologist for over 18 months now and am also on meds (clomipramine) but I feel as if I am no better with regard to the core issues - in fact these now seem so deeply entrenched that I fear I will never be free of them.

I am just wondering if anyone has similar problems and would like to share things I have found helpful and perhaps hear of things which have been helpful to them.

Best wishes
Pandora

[smudga]

Howdy Pandora! I've always had similar thoughts, though not as obsessive as yours. I've read of a lot of people having the same obsessive thoughts as u. Between the ages of 13-15 (now 26) I had OCD where I was obsessed with double checking to see if things like lids were on properly, taps were of, I'd have to keep putting my jumper back on until I had a good feeling when I put it on. I never saw anybody for these thoughts. They just went away. I guess there comes a time when u get sick of doing such things. So I'm thinking in time u will gain the confidence to stop thinking as obsessivley as u r at the moment.

[bishop]

hi p
my sister suffers from this,she find it had to cope with anything thats not clean,keep say its not clean her house is like a new pin
cant sit down,it might crumple the cushion,shes getting help for her doctor,but she worrys too much also about what everyone else thinks of her,she wont go out the house without full makeup on,too me that a problem,she will not relax at all.
bish

[juswannahelp]

Hi Pandora.
My sister is 21, young smart and beautiful but she's becoming more and more withdrawn. she wont sit next to us for fear of contaminating us, she doesnt come out of her room at all and when she does she thoroughly baths and scrubs her hands. she's always changing her clothes and goes through at least 7 toothbrushes a month. I dont know what i can do to help her. Please do you have any suggestions?

[antibac]

Oh crikey... Hi there, I've got this too... Exactly this... If you check out my thread in the OCD bit, you'll see what I've been up to... Today I've improved a bit... It's an absolute nightmare for everyone this... People try so hard to reassure us sufferers, but it seems that we have got to actually try to learn to reassure ourselves, then trust our decision... I'm just going over to my thread now to reply to kate... Stay in touch... antibac

[t0rt01se36]

I have just been rehoused and finding it hard to cope with OCD where I've moved to. OCD is continuous for me and hasn't stopped, just cos I've ben rehoused.

Theres no hot water in the bathroom apart from from the Shower and I refuse to touch the button with germy hands. I know how the problem can be resolved but I don't wanna do it. Instead, I've annoyed my parents by going to their house to use their shower and bath. The irrational thoughts I get are unbearable at times, knowing others have lived there before me, leaving their germs behind.

[Gryphoenix]

I get a slight fear of contamination sometimes too. Well it's worse at this time of year because of colds. My lovely antibacterial bottle is a lifesaver. I hate touching stuff in a public restroom but you gotta do what you gotta do. I just use paper towels to turn off the faucets and so on.

[antibac]

Hi there gryphon and ju-ann, I often think this is the worst thing, when we ask others for re-assurance, and they get fed up with us asking... The poublic toilet thing for me is difficult too, cos we always have to pull the door handle to come out of the loos, we've washed our hands, but most others don't... Strange thing is, no one else seems to get ill from this...
I've tried to start 'peoplewatching', to see what others do... And they're worse than me! I've seen people come out of toilets in the supermarket, then walk into the instore canteen, and give their families food... It must happen for babies too... If they can do this, then why not me?
I carry a bottle of anti-bac with me too! It's a good idea... I'm trying not to use it much... I try to resist it, cos apparently giving in to the compulsions actually gives strength to the obsessive thoughts... In theory, we don't catch stuff from others, because we have a lot of immunity to the world around us, otherwise we would never have survived our childhoods... We have acid in our stomachs, saliva in our mouths, sweat on our hands. If we're immune, then in theory, everyone else is too... Any germs or bacteria etc we put on anything, is maybe gonna help others to get better immunity... Just as we may get for ourselves, but touching the same items, that others have already touched before us...
It doesn't help when anti-bacterial kitchen sprays tell us that there are an 'x' number of bacteria on our kitchen table... But they don't mention that they're not all bad... Just as germs aren't all bad...
The reason that methylin resistant stapphylococcus aurea (MRSA) in our hospitals... We've made the germs resistant by being too clean perhaps?
When children crawl on the ground, they're building their natural defences and immunity... It's so against the grain for me, but I wonder whether I should do that too... I might get the odd tummy-ache, but it won't kill me, and I'm not likely to try and claim against myself with one of these solicitor companies that advertise on TV... By the way, is it possible to be given the wrong kind of ladder for a job? Chat again later... antibac

[Gryphoenix]

AUGH the MRSA thing got me in a tizzy because there was an outbreak not too far from where I live and I went to the convention where there was even lots of serious and scary sounding warnings against it, telling everyone to stop sharing towels, don't touch your mouth or nose, and to use antibacterial. I used my antibacterial a ton of times there but I accidentally touched my mouth or tongue or something when I stuck it out for a photograph (it's the character I was playing, don't ask lol) and I freaked because I was just in the store and touched everything.

Well, I'm still here. :D I'm probably going to have to knock on wood for this one but I was around people with colds a few days ago, even shared food and still feel fine.

So you're right--we probably have a higher resistance than we realize. I've been trying to lighten up on the whole germ thing and quit worrying about the MRSA thing. The antibacterial is good I think for public places and situations where you've touched stuff that sick people may have touched like shopping for several hours in a mall. I'm still wary about sharing food and drinks with people who might have a bug, that could still be asking for it. Let's all drink more orange juice and use less antibacterial! :D

[JMT]

I'm still convinced OCD is somewhat linked to unbalanced hormones. I first had OCD at the same time of the month before it got a hold.

Any thoughts on this please?:flowers:

[Jimgym]

As a microbiologist I can tell you that there is no reason to freak out about MRSA unless you have a severe injury or are immunocompromised (unable to mount an immune response due to malnutrition, HIV/AIDS etc etc). There are drugs that are capable of treating MRSA if you were ever to have an infection - which is rare unless you have a gaping wound or are going to undergo major surgery - in which case the hospital would swab you for MRSA and then treat you with antibiotic therapy and disinfectant before surgery to make sure that the MRSA threat has been dealt with.

MRSA can be found in the nose of some people (not everyone) where it lives a peaceful existance -in some cases prevent worse bacteria from setting up camp there!

Always remember that you have an immune system and are able to mount an attack against germs - even MRSA which the body see's as just normal Staphylococcus aureus. Even if you do pick up germs from somewhere - the worst you can expect is a stomach ache and stomach upset. Not a life or death situation.

Please reassure yourself that there is nothing to worry about. Don't forget also that many infections require a dose of thousands if not millions of bacteria - something which is rarely found on a surface.

It's not surprising that people have OCD given all the cleaning adverts and media hype (they aren't experts in Microbiology...)!

Stay strong,
Jim

[westofengland]

Jim, what a brilliant reply. Throwing logic at OCD can really help - I like to think about it this way. It's only been the last 120 years that the majority of people in this country have had bathrooms and proper toilets, ever mind anti bacterial sprays. People in Elizabethan times used to empty chamber pots out their windows into the street

Sure, it was not a healthy environment, but the human race did NOT die out

You don't have a problem with MRSA, you have a problem with worrying, anxiety and compulsive behaviour.