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Contamination


Guest JC123

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At the moment my OCD has been okish, apart from contamination. My hands have got a lot worse, probably because of the weather (snow e.t.c), but washing them has seemed to have got worse to. I am trying to be scrict with it, but I am finding it very difficult because it feels like i can't stop myself from washing them again, it is like my OCD is controlling the use of my arms (sounds very werid). As anyone got any advice they could give?

Also I am using this cream called LOTIL which I have got from boots, it seems to work but it is very expensive to buy, and I am using them quite quickly so I was wandering if anyone knows any other cream which can help for my dryed, cracked hands.

Thank you for reading. :)

JC123

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Guest Annabel

Hi JC123,

I'm sorry you're struggling. It seems like we deal with one symptom and another pops up. When do you wash your hands? what kind of things do you worry about? and how long do you wash them for?

I read in an OCD guide that you should only wash your hands:

- After using the loo

- Before preparing food or cooking

- After handling rubbish or dirty laundry

- After handling pets/pet food

- Before applying face cream or make-up

I would probably add - 'After getting in from outside' to the list- but that's because my main contamination fear is of norovirus.

Each handwash should last 20 seconds, which is the time it takes to sing the alphabet song!

My psychologist asked me to keep a list of times when I was washing my hands and list the reason and the time spent- perhaps you could try that? Then put a cross next to any handwashes that were unnecessary or that took a particularly long time and try to eliminate/reduce these.

Handcream-wise: I love Neutrogena intensive hand cream, it has healed my hands when they've been chapped and bleeding. It's not that cheap (I think £3.50 ish) but it's worth it! Also you can buy conditioning gloves from some chemists & if you put them on on top of the cream then it helps your skin to absorb the cream better.

I hope you get better soon!

xx

Edited by Annabel
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I think I use the same Neutrogena handcream as Annabel - the "Norwegian formula" stuff - it's amazing :)

I also really like the Body Shop's hemp extra dry skin cream - it's really thick like toothpaste but puts moisture back into my hands and smells yummy too. A pair of thin cotton gloves over the top is a great idea - it means you can get on with doing other things like reading a book or surfing the internet whilst the cream soaks in. Also, I believe that because the gloves warm your hands up that actually helps the cream to soak in more quickly. I found the gloves from the chemist quite expensive and luckily had bought quite a few pairs when I was in Sweden which were considerably cheaper - but you can get something similar cheaply from eBay (not sure how good they are as I haven't bought any yet but my pairs are starting to get a bit holey so I might need to soon).

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Guest sarah1984

Yes, the Body Shop's hemp range is fantastic for dry skin. I bought two tubes of the hemp hand protector at £5 each (50% off) just before Christmas. I put a thick layer on last night before bed and I slept in my cotton gloves. My skin's much softer this morning. It's got a lovely clean smell too.

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Guest FobicFairy

I think Bella gives good advice, it would be great if you could cut down your hand washing in the circumstances given on that list.

Personally, I would chop that list down even further. I was taught by my therapist that you wash your hands after using the loo, before you prepare or eat food. Putting 'dirty' washing into the machine isn't a reason to wash your hands, even when handling your pants. Try to take a risk by just cutting out one reason to wash your hands, whichever is easiest first.

Totally agree about Neutrogena Norwegian formula, it's the best thing I ever used when I had my contamination OCD, I also wore cotton gloves in bed at night (which I got from the Body Shop) and it worked brilliantly. If you want something cheap you can keep using in the day time then E 45 would be your best bet, because it's so cheap and it wont matter that you keep washing it off again, I would save the decent stuff for in the night time when it can really soak in.

Take care, FF x

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