To sterilise new toothbrushes?

[Petsinmypudenda]

Actually i know i an not being unreasonable. I don't know what's been done to it before it goes into its box.

Husband says its weird but no its not, he is just a filthy minge

????? What are you worried you'll catch from a cardboard box?

Seriously I'm completely incredulous that you do this. There are germs everywhere, there are little bugs crawling over our bodies, yes, even yours. Is it only toothbrushes that freak you out?

Thebody yes you clean, sterilise (!) and then a month later merrily reuse your mooncup. That's one of its points, together with comfort and long term financial sense.

You realise that our mouths are not sterile?

news.stanford.edu/news/1999/december8/mouth-128.html

Maybe you should get this kit and try it out with your toothbrush before first use and after being in your mouth and before you use it again.
:o
www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/bacteria-growing-kit

Bet you don't sit on toilets seats either do you OP

This is completely nuts. It reminds me of my v nice but frankly loopy SIL whose husband has been issued with a pair of slippers for the kitchen, a pair of slippers for the rest of downstairs and a pair for upstairs. He has to change them every time he moves from one area to another. Quite quite barking.

What do you think will happen if you use the toothbrush without sterilising it? What are your feelings about the thought of using an unsterilised new toothbrush? Do you feel dread or unease or something else? Would you be able to use it after being re-assured it is clean/not handled by anyone else/packed in a clean way or would you be unable to cope with that?

It may be you have low grade OCD - just about everyone has OCD behaviours to one degree or another after all almost everyone has Intrusive Thoughts (the kind of thought that says 'What if I kissed my boss right now' or 'I might shout Piss off in the supermarket queue') or the urge to (re-)check the cooker/iron/front door just to make sure you turned it off/locked it or the urge to do a ritual to make something/someone safe.

How you deal with those thoughts/urges depends on whether you have OCD or not - if you ruminate on why you thought about shouting in the supermarket (did you want to upset the old lady standing next to you, are you a bad person for thinking about shouting bad words, what else are you capable of doing in public....) or doing something to mitigate/atone for that thought (performing a ritual or behaviour that comforts or reassures you) then OCD is likely. If you shrug it off and think 'that was a silly thought of course I'd never do that!'

In doing what you are doing - having a thought that 'they' might have done something to your toothbrush which is outside your control which means you need to perform a ritual to comfort and reassure yourself (i.e. boil your toothbrush), this thought is unreasonable (i.e. the majority of people on this thread wouldn't think that about the situation/item/thought) then it the action/behaviour you do following that thought is also unreasonable. Sorry!

I say this as someone who has OCD and who has these same kind of thoughts/behaviours (e.g. having to repeatedly check on the children in the pushchair if they were facing forwards instead of facing me as they may get stolen or die without me noticing or being aware - while I was still pushing the pushchair even on an empty path ).

If this is your only 'quirk' then it's probably okay(-ish) to keep doing this, however if you do other things (or start to do other things) to cope with things outside your control it may be wise to see your GP for a referral to CBT therapy or something similar.

I do hope you don't take offence at this.

Bonkers

I at on the loo yes. Because its not about the germs

I'm well aware my mouth is unclean its why we Brush our teeth no?

I sit sorry

That is just totally bonkers!!

Do you give your dh blow jobs?

If so, does he sterilise his knob first?? No, thought not.

Just think of all those germs hanging around in his boxer shorts!!

ah well if it makes you feel better go for it - it's a tiny thing therefore YANBU (YAB slightly bonkers, but not U)

Poor old Toohtbrush Industry, I wonder what they've done to elicit such suspicion. I'm sure there are lots of Colgate employees at their conveyor belt right now without any inclination to insert toothbrushes into their rectums.

if it's not about the germs, what is it about though? still as to me sterilisation is for destruction of pathogens.

Bet OP is someone who walks round touching the rails on staircases where people have been putting their snotty hands and doesn't think twice about it, BUT OMG TOOTHBRUSHES WHAT IF THE GUY PUT IT IN HIS ASS IN THE FACTORY EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE ALL MACHINE MADE AND PEOPLE BARELY COME INTO CONTACT WITH THEM?

2:48 - "A human hand rarely has to touch the bristles and so the process is incredibly hygienic." Plus they make the whole toothbrush in that video and never once touch it, even the spot check is done by a machine.

OP you sit there like a petulant toddler saying it's not about the germs.

But you are ignoring the sensible comments that all sterilising does is kill germs.

Sterilising doesn't even clean, it just kills germs. So if there's pooh on the toothbrush and you milton it you get a toothbrush with (briefly) germ free pooh on it.

?

That makes no sense at all. They are usually packaged in sterile bubbles aren't they? You'd be better off sterlising them after you've used them.

YABU and a bit loopy! The human mouth is FULL of germs, so the toothbruh would become unsterile the minute you put it in your mouth! I realise that there may be some germs on it from handling etc but NOTHING compared to the bacteria found in the human gob.

Well I've survived 43yrs without sterilising new toothbrushes

And I've got all my own teef

I think Peter Andre puts it best:

This is insania.

I guess if you want to do it it's harmless so why not...? I remember reading about why people should place their toothbrushes in cases or a cupboard in the bathroom rather than a mug on the side . It's because when a toilet is flushed faecal matter in the air travels and settles on your brush... Grim. I still don't have a toothbrush case though..

Peter loves his kids so much i bet he boils their new brushes...

Thanks madhouse. I had honestly never heard of this. Very interested, my first thoughts were eww but on consideration I can see benefits.

Can I ask is it inserted like a diaghpram as such and do u get leakage past? But of course you get that with tampax.

Tempted to give a go. Thanks.

It sits slightly lower than a tampon and forms a light vacuum seal. Nothing gets past. Even when cycling with it. An absolute dream after endless annoyance with tampons since having ds.

How refreshing to discuss moon cups after this (still not explained) tooth brush nonsense.