To wash my hands with domestos bleach spray?

[germsgoaway]

I've NC for this and I'm fully prepared to be told I am BU and that I have a problem. I know it sounds odd. I'm just wondering if anyone else has a similar issue.

I am severely phobic of germs and getting unwell (it's mostly tummy bugs that terrify me). Whenever I take my toddler DC places like soft play etc i have so much anxiety when she picks up all the things and then puts her hands near her mouth. I feel an internal panic but try to just be as normal as possible for her sake. I do insist on washing her hands before she eats anything, but she will put her hands in her mouth in between times anyway (as toddlers do). So I'm usually filled with anxiety around this when we go out places.

I have to scrub my own hands several times before I'll eat anything, no matter where we are. If there's no toilet / hand washing facilities I just won't eat.

I've just come home from a soft play and I've felt compelled to spray my hands with Domestos bleach before washing them with Carex. I washed them for a good 60 seconds with just the spray on, and then with Carex for the same length of time. I do this because I'm aware that things like norovirus can only be killed by bleach. I had to do this before I will make myself a cup of tea or anything to eat. It's the only way I feel that I am "safe" from the germs I may have picked up from the soft play by touching things.

My question is: am I strange for doing this? Is it unusual behaviour or does anyone else feel the need to go to this extent due to worry about germs and illness?

My mum was like this. She used to wash our hands in Milton and all unwrapped food was doused in it too. It is not normal and it will leave a lasting impact on your children if you don't seek help. Good luck OP, I wish you well

You do need to see your GP about this OP. Health anxiety is awful and you very likely suffer from this on top of OCD. You can overcome this.♥️

Wow... I tick off a few of these 😔

I also wipe down my phone with bleach, and door handles in the house etc. i never, ever touch toilet handles or locks with my bare hand, I always have my sleeve over it. If I touch the handle accidentally I feel "unclean" again and have to re wash my hands.

Doesn't the bleach mean your hands end up sore and cracked? Intact skin is the best protection against infection as a rule.

Soap and water will physically remove bacteria and viruses from your hands so whether they are dead or not becomes irrelevant.

Hand washing with soap and water works for norovirus. Bleach is only used on surfaces where you can't soak them for a hot soapy scrub like doors, handles etc.

Doctors aren't washing themselves with bleach sprays before surgery - just soap and water - albeit a longer process than is required for any other person or procedure.

I disagree that your daughter might not be affected - my children were definitely affected by my mum when they were toddlers (or would have been if I wasn't there). She can't control her body language around what she feels are unhygienic things.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/norovirus/

This says washing hands with soap and water is the best way to prevent spread of norovirus

Yes yabvu. Germs are a normal part of life, building up an immune system is crucial I hate being sick but you can't avoid it forever. As an adult I'd say its normal for me who does wash my hands with usual soap and water to have a stomach upset once every 3 years or so. And that's including when I had young children.

And your child needs to "eat" a few germs to help her build up her immune system, so it is important that she isn't subjected to excessive handwashing. Most of us are soil, dirt & who knows what when we were kids - it's fine. As previous posters say, you need some support to overcome your fears.

Ahh thank you - that explanation makes a lot of sense!

No my hands aren't too bad. A little dry but not really cracked. I don't do it every day. Just when I've been somewhere where I've touched lots of things and there's potential for lots of germs

My friends dil was like this. She washed her children's hands everytime they touched something and now all 3 boys have very severe ocd which affects all aspects of their lives eg: 2 of them won't play with other kids in case they catch something.
Please get help before your behaviour affects your child.

Hi OP,

Carex (or any soap) by itself will wash Norovirus away. They don't denature Norovirus (you can only denatured, not kill viruses OR you can wash them away) but washing it away is just as good!

If you need an intermediate step to take before washing your hands then try an antiviral hand sanitizer (e.g. ecohydra or nilaqua - one with benzalkonium chloride for noro as alcohol based one's don't work).

Do you have emetophobia? I have OCD and emetophiobia and CBT is the recommended treatment.

I know where this has come from. My daughter has picked up 3 vomiting bugs from nursery in the past 10 months, and I caught them all from her and got really sick. This is after almost my entire adulthood (I'm late 30s) of never getting sickness bugs because I'm so careful about hygiene etc. But since my daughter has gone to nursery it's just one bug after another. So I think that's what's triggered all of this. I'm terrified of anymore sickness bugs getting into the house 😔

The using your sleeve to flush the loo thing doesn't even make sense. If the handle is so full of awful germs why would you contaminate the fibres of your clothing that you wear all day long? You touch your sleeves constantly, with your arms.

@Rosesandstars

Yes, emetophobia and severe fears about germs and contamination

Speak you your GP. Its great you've questioned this.

I said I use my clothing for door handles. Not flush handles. For toilet flush handles I always use loo paper then flush it.

As someone who has suffered with bouts of OCD for years, I just want to say PLEASE go and see your doctor.

This is not normal and it will likely get worse, to the point that it is debilitating.

Washing hands was where I started, soon after came paranoia about people handling food - be that prepared food or cans etc handled by staff in supermarkets. I was soon making myself sick after eating as I'd panic that the food had germs in it once I'd swallowed it. I started these silly little routines of counting and checking that things were where they should be. It was utter madness but I couldn't relax unless I'd done them. I also became fixated on certain bad things happening - things that could never plausibly happen but the anxiety I felt was off the scale. I was utterly trapped in this place of misery and unfortunately it looks like you may be heading there.

It's normal to want to avoid viruses and everyday germs, OP. It's not normal to feel panic when watching your child at soft play or to spray your hands with bleach on returning home.

Get some help, OP. You sound awfully anxious already.

It's OCD. I have it so can totally sympathise with you.

I have therapy and take medication for my OCD.

Microbiologist here!! Soap and a good effective clean followed by hand sanitizer is ample @germsgoaway but also you need to remember that a lot of germs around us is harmless and actually helps us and our natural biome. Using product containing bleach too much can be so harmful to you and the environment unfortunately

You are wrong about norovirus. Sanitiser doesn't work on its own and won't kill it, but washing hands gets rid of it. You don't need bleach. This will do more harm than good, so isn't a logical thing to do.

Having lived with someone with OCD for many years, please get help as it does rub off on your children. I do understand as it rubbed off a bit on me too especially as I was already emetophobic from childhood incident and picked up norovirus twice from work (hospital). I have to wash my hands before eating anything and will not eat from a communal bag at work unless I'm first in😝 but soap really is enough, bleach is terrible for the skin and those antibacterial soaps are too. If it helps tea tree essential oil is known to be antibacterial/viral too. I read a study about them trialling it to kill MRSA so if necessary try weaning yourself off bleach with tea tree soap (faith in nature do nice ones) will be much better for your skin and safe for your little one. Try some self help cognitive behavioural strategies to force yourself outside your comfort zone and see that nothing awful happens. If that doesn't work please see your GP as it only gets worse💐

@germsgoaway

You've had some excellent advice from other posters - particularly around seeking help from your GP and getting some treatment before this starts to affect your child.

I have OCD, although thankfully mine is not contamination related as I am a nurse. Soap and water is sufficient enough to remove norovirus - as previous posters have said, bleach will eventually compromise your skin integrity and lead to worse problems.

However, knowing OCD, the logical explanation won’t help the ‘itch’ of the compulsions inside or your need to feel ‘safe’.

I would strongly suggest contacting your GP for supported help - OCD can be a slippery slope and suddenly completely unreasonable expectations and compulsions spill over onto other people/areas in your life. If you want to look into self help - Mark Freeman has written 2 books that I have found massively helpful - You Are Not A Rock and I think the other is called How to Train Your Brain. I would also suggest looking into ERP (exposure) therapy - it is very effective against OCD and requires you to face your fears without compulsion. This can be very scary at the start but feels incredibly liberating after suffering with OCD compulsions.

you should NEVER use bleach on your hands. Ever

Every part is excessive op. Your child needs germs to build up an immune system. I have 2 young children and am nothing like this. We are very rarely ill. Please seek help.