today's panic

[bab]

so,

i have just been to get milk from the petrol station and when i handed the milk over i noticed the guy was wiping all his hands with a j cloth as if he had touched something bad and was trying to wipe it away.

now, although i wont use the milk, im scared that he would have had something bad on his hands which will transfer to me as i touched the milk:wacko:

[bottleblond]

Bab hun, Milk cartons are usualy always wet because the are kept in a fridge. He was probably just drying his hands.

Please try not to worry


Love Lisa
xxx

[AnnieMags]

Dear Bab, I am 100% certain that you don't have anything to worry about. Every day we touch things that if we knew what was on them, we, in our health anxiety, would probably run a mile! :) I will go further, nothing can permeate the carton or bottle, so the milk is absulutely safe to use. To put your mind at rest, wipe the bottle/carton down with an antiseptic kitchen wipe, and use the milk. If you can manage to, it might feel like a small victory. ( I know what I am talking about, as someone who has thrown away more good food than I care to remember because of casual/imagined contact with all sorts of contaminants.) If you cannot bring yourself to use the milk, believe me, I do understand, but please rest assured that you yourself is absolutely safe. This is only the anxiety playing tricks on you. Love from Anne xx

[bab]

Thanks Lisa and Anniemags -

Anniemags you seem to know how i feel - i just wonder why he was scrubbing his hands with a j cloth - an dthen i start to wonder all kinds of things like i shouldnt for instance terrorism and stuff and what if something bad on the bottle and i have touched it etc

[Trixie]

Thanks Lisa and Anniemags -

Anniemags you seem to know how i feel - i just wonder why he was scrubbing his hands with a j cloth - an dthen i start to wonder all kinds of things like i shouldnt for instance terrorism and stuff and what if something bad on the bottle and i have touched it etc

If we worried about these things we wouldn't touch anything. Perhaps he had something sticky on them or he had been handling petrol, the list could go on but I am certain it was nothing to do with terrorism so forget it and drink the milk.

[AnnieMags]

Dear Bab, yes, I have worried obsessively in the past about contaminants/germs etc, and still do to a degree. I hate it when my husband takes the dogs out - I prefer to do it myself as I monitor much more carefully what they might step in (as you know, the streets can be full of unspeakable things). He does however wash their paws when they come back - I suspect not because he thinks it is necessary, but for a quiet life! :)

Let's look objectively at your experience today - short of going back to ask him, you will never know what the attendant was wiping away from his hands, but it is highly unlikely to have been anything dangerous (when you say 'terrorism' - are you thinking warfare germs etc? Completely out of the question - they are not available to the general public - if they were, the planet would have been wiped out long ago! :) It was more than likely moisture from the bottle or some other innocuous fluid that he was wiping off - perhaps he had just rinsed his hands and did not have a towel to hand. Let's imagine for a moment that it was something dirty and contaminating - the only thing you both touched was the bottle of milk. Whatever it was would have had to transfer from his hands to the bottle and then from the bottle over to your hand and somehow into your body - I presume you did not immediately put your fingers in your mouth? :) I am sure you have washed your hands since then and I am also sure that you have not put yourself in any kind of danger. Try to forget about it - throw away the milk if that's what it takes!

I know we always find it so much easier to reassure other people than ourselves, but from the outside looking in, I would say you have zero chance of catching anything from this encounter. Love from Annie

[Derek]

hi, as much as you never told him you were anxious - what about the scenario that he was panicing like hell and never told you?

Hence suffering from sweaty palms which he was trying to sort out prior to serving you?

Food for thought. Litterally.

x

[bab]

thanks guys

im worrying as why scrub your hands with a j cloth - if it was nothing dangerous why not just wipe with a tissue

[AnnieMags]

Bab, relax - he probably grabbed the first thing to hand - jcloths abound in petrol stations, boxes of tissues probably don't. Exactly what is it that frightens you - what is your worst case scenario? Then we can try to put your mind at rest better than we have so far managed. Love from Annie

[Emaa]

Could be that the j-cloth was the closest thing nearby?
It's just your anxiety playing tricks on you honey, the milk will be fine to use - Although it's understandable if you don't.

I get like this all the time, then if I think my hands have come into contact with anything I scrub them loads and won't eat with my hands or anything :/

I do it when I touch metal alot, incase it has rust on it.. But I do it even if it's brand new :S