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I have a problem with hygiene. Not my own, but of others. I don't trust anyone handling my food or anything that touches my face. This is one of the reasons I never eat fast food, and rarely at restaurants.
Sometimes, though, I have to get out of my comfort zone, and today was one of those days.
I had a family reunion of sorts and my mother baked,a hobby she's taken up a few years ago. I don't have a problem with that, and I find her food tasty, growing up with it and all. But, this time I felt a bit different.
I thoroughly wash my hands every time before I handle food, both before preparing it and before eating it, something which, I noticed, is not a habit for most people, unfortunately. My mother is one of them. When I lived at home, she at least made the effort of washing her hands most of the time, but after I left, not so much.
I watched in horror how she picked up the bread she had just made and broke it with her hands, after not washing for several hours. I had to force myself to eat a little, so she wouldn't get mad, but I felt horrible.
Now I remember why I love being alone so much. I live healthier than before and I'm also assured that everything I eat is as clean as possible.
Maybe I'm a pansy, I don't know, maybe I overreacted. Many people have called me out on it saying I'm just spoiled. I self-diagnosed myself with OCD at an early age, and it wasn't even that hard to tell. I just like being clean, and everything I handle, as well.
I've tried combating this, and the only thing I manage doing is grossing myself out. I try to think of those poor souls unfortunate enough to not really have a choice. That doesn't help either. At least I haven't gotten sick in years.
Do I need help, TL?
 
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Washing your hands before handling food should be pretty much universal, I would call people out on that (as diplomatically as possible). That's not a problem. Washing your hands every time you think about the fact that you have hands and they touch foreign objects is OCD that needs to be managed.
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If it's getting worse it might be a good idea to consult it with a professional. If it's stable and you're doing fine there's no reason imo. Just make sure it doesn't get to some extremes - like you're afraid of leaving your house because of all the dirty people outside etc. ^^
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Two things -
Yes, you need help.
A person that attempts to diagnose themselves has a fool for a doctor and a bigger fool for a patient. (General truism, not an insult.)
Something else to think about - most antibacterial soaps and many other products utilize Triclosan (aka, MicroBan) as their active ingredient. Recent research shows that Triclosan may over time cause muscle weakness - and it's pretty much already ubiquitous. If you absolutely, positively, MUST wash your hands frequently, use a product that does not contain triclosan. Just to be on the safe side.
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why would you want to be so uber hygienic? the biggest effect that probably has is that it makes your immune system less resilient, and thus you just get even more susceptible to all kinds of germs. I get that people can be afraid of stuff like germs, but doesn't being obsessed about hygiene make them actually more dangerous?
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I thoroughly wash my hands every time before I handle food, both before preparing it and before eating it, something which, I noticed, is not a habit for most people, unfortunately.
In my experience I've noticed that most people do wash before handling food. In either case, the world is dirty, being afraid of every crumb must be very tiring. Don't know how to help you with your obsession. What is it that you are afraid of? The thought of germs? Afraid of getting sick?
Also ever since the Bird flu thing a few years back, there are now hand sanitizers like in every building in every room. If anything I would say people are getting cleaner.
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As Iranon said, washing hands before eating is good. On the other hand, there are some downsides to being too clean:
1. Food that is "too clean" has lost some of its nutritious content.
2. Skin that is cleaned too often loses the natural oils that are required for it to stay healthy.
3. Preventing exposure to bacteria and protists makes you more vulnerable to them over time.
4. Not all bacteria are even harmful, and thousands of different types are good for you.
You breath in more bacteria than you share via double dipping or other similar "dirty" eating practices; so as long as the other people are free of any particularly dangerous and infectious disease, you will be unaffected.
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To Spikeke, I don't really know what I am afraid of. For the most part it's getting sick, or parasites, I think. This thing all started when I was very young, and living in the countryside, typically, I didn't wash my hands too often, that, until at the age of 10 or something like that I got a really nasty worm infestation. It was a very big thing for me and I won't go too much into the gross details, but that changed me, for the better or the worse. Since then I've been religiously washing my wands and generally maintaining good hygiene.
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On September 07 2012 07:31 Incze wrote:
To Spikeke, I don't really know what I am afraid of. For the most part it's getting sick, or parasites, I think. This thing all started when I was very young, and living in the countryside, typically, I didn't wash my hands too often, that, until at the age of 10 or something like that I got a really nasty worm infestation. It was a very big thing for me and I won't go too much into the gross details, but that changed me, for the better or the worse. Since then I've been religiously washing my wands and generally maintaining good hygiene.
You have a phobia, you should see a psychologist. You qualify for specific phobia, and at the least, the bare minimum for it. Now, your hygeine is great, but the level it is at now is not healthy. Also its not OCD because you want others to do it rather than only caring about yourself. Thats just my knowledge as a psych student. Also you should see a psychologist who specializes in phobia treatment.
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EPT
