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Ocd bad skin


Guest Phil10

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Anybody have bad skin due to hand washing? I sometimes don’t dry my hands or need them wet or covered in hand soap.

I have bad deep cuts in my fingers due to it anybody else had this? One cut is taking to heal as it’s near my thumb and I move it anybody else have this issue?

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I use simple too - no unpleasant additivies plus it moisturises too. 

When my hands get chapped, as they do in the cold, I use Nivea Soft refreshingly soft moisturising cream. 

If your hands are getting chapped because of excessive washing due to OCD contamination, you must learn the cognitive side of CBT - why the urge to multiple wash is a gross exaggeration of likely minimum threat - and stop using a hand-wash that says it kills germs - this might have a relevaance in a hospital environment, but not for daily use. 

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I have bad skin on my hands and arms from using antibacterial wipes meant for surfaces. (I don't recommend this!) They used to be even worse before my sink blocked though, when I was washing them all the time. They were cracked open and bleeding, with layers of skin peeling off.

Can you put some cream on at bedtime? Then it can soak in properly without being washed straight off again.

I hope it heals soon. It's horribly painful, isn't it?

Edited by Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze
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Antibacterial wipes... jeez. I would be afraid to use say Dettol wipes because most dirt would be safer I would think. Though I do use 70% rubbing alcohol wipes as the alcohol evaporates in half an hour roughly. I think alcohol wipes safer than wipes aimed for the toilet. I am trying to curb my use of alcohol wipes.

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It feels like that only because of the OCD. 

Do we all go around using these antibacterial wipes on our bodies?  No.

Have we caught all these various feared issues?  Don't think so. 

We get better from OCD when we recognise the false or erroneous messages of OCD and refuse to play along with them. 

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Hi Phil,

I've had contact dermatitis for years due to excessive hand washing. My hands are very dry and I have painful splits usually on the knuckles because of it. My hands have become infected too due to the open cuts and I had to take antibiotics. 

I'm sorry that you are experiencing this too, and anyone else, it's very painful. 

I use Palmers Intensive Itch Relief and it's very good. It's not perfumed and is more like an emollient so gives a little protection too. It's also a cruelty free brand which I like.

J

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13 hours ago, Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze said:

It is Dettol wipes I use, and not just on my hands and arms either. I have wiped just about every part of my body with them at one time or another. :shy:

I know it's not good, but at the time, the germs/contamination feels worse.

 

I don’t think Dettol wipes are supposed to be used on ANY part of your body. I would even wash my hands with plain soap after using them (with my hands)

Edited by daja
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13 hours ago, taurean said:

It feels like that only because of the OCD. 

Do we all go around using these antibacterial wipes on our bodies?  No.

Have we caught all these various feared issues?  Don't think so. 

We get better from OCD when we recognise the false or erroneous messages of OCD and refuse to play along with them. 

People do catch sickness bugs though, and other illnesses, that is the way I see it. I am emetophobic.

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Agree with polar bear. You need to confront the compulsion. A common concomitant of contamination OCD is excessive hanwashing.  I use special soaps and hand creams because of recurrent eczema on my hands. Not OCD relalated. Though there are risks with these because their composition contains liquid paraffin which can smear on clothing. Recent government warnings say to take care when close to flames BUT contain taking if a medical need. You might need temporary treatment but not long term. 

Edited by Angst
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In OCD the possibility, however remote,   of a small threat can balloon into a threat of catastrophic potential. 

Non-sufferers deal with real threats and wouldn't believe the false or grossly-exaggerated ones. 

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I have a friend who literally never washes his hands even when cooking or when using the loo. He doesn't even own hand wash. Kind of gross yeah  - but he's only ever been sick once and that was when on holiday in a foreign country where lots of his fellow travellers were getting ill.  If there was such a big risk you'd expect him to get ill constantly. 

I'm inclined to think that sickness bugs are quite random and you're probably gonna get one at some point no matter what you do. So why ruin your life with ocd in the process? 

Edited by gingerbreadgirl
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This is absolutely so Lost. 

Another angle to contamination fears is the kitchen. Ours is tidied up twice a day. We have a dishwasher for bulk of the washing-up and hand-wash selectively. 

But do we wipe up every day with anti-germ products and disinfectant?  No. We just use those periodically, we don't see the germ infestation risk that the product manufacturers want us to see from their advertising. 

Do we need to use hand-wash items that kill 99% of known germs?  No we don't think so, and don't. 

And we do very nicely. 

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That's far too much Phil. Yes you need to work on reducing the excess. 

I reckon the one at our handbasin in the showerroom/toilet lasts around 3 weeks with both of us here most of the time. 

Edited by taurean
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12 minutes ago, Phil10 said:

I use one full hand pump a day so that’s 7 I buy a week anybody else like that? I first have to reduce the amount of soap I use..

Oh my goodness Phil do you mean one full bottle of handwash a day? Poor you and your hands. I hope you are able to cut down on your hand washing and cope with the anxiety that will come along with it a little better.

J

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7 hours ago, jenny77 said:

Hi Phil,

I've had contact dermatitis for years due to excessive hand washing. My hands are very dry and I have painful splits usually on the knuckles because of it. My hands have become infected too due to the open cuts and I had to take antibiotics. 

I'm sorry that you are experiencing this too, and anyone else, it's very painful. 

I use Palmers Intensive Itch Relief and it's very good. It's not perfumed and is more like an emollient so gives a little protection too. It's also a cruelty free brand which I like.

J

Hi Jenny,

How do you know it was infected?

 

As for dry hands-- you need to apply a thick cream and wear gloves at night. 

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I honestly have no idea, I suppose it could have been anything. At the time my hands were so full of splits and bleeding that it could have been anything. It did encourage me to be kinder to my hands and I did see a dermatologist. She said that using antibacterial hand washes are bad for our skin and we should avoid them. I did mention to her the handwashing was due to OCD and she was lovely about it.

Edited by jenny77
Correct mistakes.
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