Need some guidance

[miss_sunshine]

I used to wash my hands so many times one way so many times another way, scrub my nails and not touch anything until I got a clean towel, I hated sitting on chairs after people, would have to count things and things had to be done the right way, I had overcome it after a lot of change such as not washing my hands more than once even though ''voices'' told me something bad might happen and for years I haven't lived like this. I put it down to having an illness about 10 years ago!

I do usually have the obsession with raw chicken, I have to wash my hands before touching it and after touching it and everything needs disinfected so I don't cause my children to pick up salmonella but thought this was reasonable!!

However things have become crazy with me again since my partner has got an abscess on his gum/tooth...his face has swollen up and Im petrified to go near him!! I hate that he touches everything incase I get it and Im constantly washing all the door handles and taps after him, I have even refused to hug him or touch him and Im scared when he kisses my children incase he infects them, I stayed out all day today just to be away from him and he just touched my door handle inside and I feel like I cant open it incase I get infected!! I even have toilet wipes for the toilet seat and I don't use the towel in the bathroom incase he has used it and left an infection!! Please tell me this will go away after his infection has gone!!

[nosweat]

Are you doing any therapies for the OCD? Life will be a lot easier for you if those symptoms are lessened. I can relate to the washing, I also have had to tap things a certain amount of times and check the oven to see if the knobs are all off. Once I couldn't leave the house because i couldn't convince myself it was off even if i looked at it (that was the worst). Hang in there! i Hope you feel better

[blackbroom]

Sorry to hear your OCD has flared up so badly at the moment. It's hellish, isn't it? But just remember that you've beaten it before, so you can beat it this time. Can you use some of the strategies you used last time to make yourself not give into it, rather than just hanging on until the infection clears up? Your fears probably will subside a lot when the infection goes, but it seems a shame to be living like this even for the short time that your partner has this problem.

Has anything else happened to stress you out lately, other than your partner's problem with his mouth? I find that my OCD can temporarily get worse suddenly in response to stress, change or taking on extra responsibility.

I know logically you know this, but the chances of you catching anything from him are zero - I've never heard of a mouth abscess being infectious. And even if it were, the infectious matter would be in his mouth, not on his hands or on the toilet seat!

And, yes, your attitude to raw chicken just sounds like sensible kitchen hygiene to me - not obsessive at all.

Hope you feel better soon