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Children's health

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How to stop health anxiety

1 reply

Ethny · 02/11/2024 18:14

I recently gave birth to a beautiful DD2. And my health anxiety is as high as ever. It doesn’t help that during the last two weeks we are treating nits and worms at the same time (DD1 is in primary school). It’s worth admitting I had health anxiety after giving birth to DD1 too which passed after a couple of months.

I wasn’t raised in the UK and don’t have family here so I’m not familiar with some aspects and statistics. Some diseases that triggered my anxiety in my native country are not prevalent here but also nits/worms/scabies are very rare in the place where I’m from. So it’s just different. And my ignorance elevates my fears.
So my question is: will we eventually get infected with every school disease? Molluscus? Scabies? How prevalent are they? Will it be better in a smaller town or in a smaller school?

My DD1 lives on a floor. She plays, dances, does gymnastics on a floor. She washes her hands after toilet and before meals but sometimes she holds toilet seat with her hands while sitting on a loo to keep balance and not fall. I guess it’s all normal but it elevates risks. I can’t control her every minute neither can we always wash her hands before every snack when we are out (antibacterial wipes won’t kill everything) so do I need to accept it?

OP posts:
Lostworlds · 02/11/2024 22:49

I live with health anxiety and it’s exhausting. I have as on medication for anxiety, completed lots of cbt and spoke to a therapist. The one thing that sticks with me is focus on what you can control- treating the illness. You can’t control everything in life and sadly children will catch bugs and be unwell. At the time it’s tiring, I’m currently dealing with a poorly baby and each day feels like it’s a month but I’m reminding myself that this will pass.

I am also a primary school teacher, sadly you will get hit with stomach bugs, sickness, lots of coughs and colds and head lice but scabies etc are really not common and in my 15 years of teaching I have never come across it.

It doesn’t matter the size of your child’s school, all children get sick, it’s part of life so please don’t change things. The main thing that’s with me is I don’t want to put my anxiety on to my children so yes we wash hands, especially before eating but I’m encouraging her to be messy and be a child. If she feels you’re afraid then she will start to act that way too.

I think it might be best to speak to a doctor and get some support. You’ve just brought a brand new life into this world so try focus your mind on that for now,

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