does anyone have OCD and have to keep washing their hands? My son is driving me crazy.?
398652
Yes I know about it because the person is me.It used to be that I would wash my hands so much, that the skin would crack . And forget about picking up anything that was even remotely gross or dirty, I'd freak out and run to the sink and scrub for minutes at a time. I was driving my Husband crazy, and myself . So I got help. I went to a therapist and he put me on medication to ease the symptoms, and I see him to get a handle on this sometimes debilitating condition . The med. that worked for me was Prozac , which will also help with panic disorder. Get your Boy into the therapist as soon as possible .I'm sorry to say that it is unlikely that He will grow out of it . These things only get worse over time.Good luck, hope it all works out for You and your Son.
970931
He doesn't seem to be able to bath himself, maybe you need to do it for him.\n\nYes it is a illness, it's called lazyass.
897228
I keep baby wipes on me during training and I wipe in a downward motion.  \n\nAlso, I clean put my chin-strap in the washer as often as possible. Those things are a breeding ground for germs.
59206
My son's stepmom seperates her clothes hangers with the width of 2 fingers.  :(\n\nMe on the other hand:  My desk at work is spotless.  (I have 2x the amount of cases as my co-workers.\n\nI hate having dirty hands.  And I don't mean just dirt.  I hate anything on my hands.\n\nSpell checking people in chat rooms.\n\nI have so many :(\n\n**Self diagnosed OCD**
129935
I think you need to focus on his reasons behind the fingernail biting. These habits usually have underlying causes. Maybe he just needs lots of extra hugs and love from you. Some boost for his self confidence. It can do wonders. Have him help you more around the house. Keep him occupied with "jobS" he can feel good about accomplishing. Laundrey, dishes, cleanuing the shower or other household things with a rag., have him wash the walls etc... He will be SO PROUD and tell him you are too. I bet the fingernail biting will dissapear with a little extra love and attention!\n\nI really discourage you from putting substances on his hands. At 2 they do not have the ability to understand what yoiu are doing to them and are building trust. I think this hurts this.\nGood Luck!!\n\nI wrote the following for another post about an 8 year old sucking fingers.http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ar_1QOdonvEolBG8Z0b1YNfsy6IX?qid=1006021005280\n\nIt may be agonizing to watch but you know what they probably wont go to college doing it. The more attention you give it the more she will do it. When she gets good and tired of it or truely embarrassed when friend start commenting on it she will stop. I bet she doesnt do it at school. I bet it is an attention seeking thing for you. I guarantee she will stop on her own when she is ready.\n\nAnd if she didnt? Arent there worse things in life. Focus on her good qualities and building her self esteem. Making her think something is wrong with her for doing it will only make matters worse. Build her self esteem and it will probably disapear on its own. Nagging will only exacerbate the issue.\n\nPick your battles. Let it go. Focus on what is really important. The foundation of the problem not the surface.\n\n\nhttp://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/pare...\nhttp://www.positivediscipline.com/parent...\nhttp://www.naturalchild.com/guest/pam_le...\n\nSome Maxims About Childhood Behavior\n\nChildren aren’t adults, so don’t expect them to behave as though they were. \nChildren learn by doing, so don’t expect to approve of everything they do. \nIt is a rare child whose behavior equals his parents’ expectations. \nChildren are more likely to do as you do than to do as you say. \nIt is often less important for parents to control their children’s behavior than it is for them to control their own. \nChildren react to anger; they respond to love and affection. \nA secure and loving home environment and emotional stability within the family appear to be the major elements in overcoming some of the specific behaviors that concern or displease parents. These include thumb-sucking, nail-biting, nose picking, rocking and head banging, bedwetting and erratic sleep habits. You can deal successfully with these problems if you refrain from making an issue of them, pay close attention to the emotional needs of your child, make sure that he knows you love him, whatever he does, and exert yourself to make him feel secure. If you develop that kind of warm relationship with him, you’ll do more than eliminate annoying habits. You’ll be rewarded with a happy, confident, and emotionally stable child!\n\n\nTo me putting a substance on your childs hands will not creat security and love. Thats probably why it rarely works.
438192
Being in the med field this sounds strange for to me to tell someone else, but try not bathing in soap or any other substances. Just H20 and avoid being too clean, my niece has the same issues, and avoid clothing that rubs? as far as topical treatments i have a natural remidies book that ~I can't locate~ try health food stores, maybe something as simple as garlic? there are many foods that aide the body in homeostasis!
330339
My brother has OCD and I don't think that there is anything that you can do on your own. Remember OCD cannot be cured just treated. Advise: go to your psychiatrist and discus your options.
745626
I have ADHD and OCD -- (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder) -- and it's very hard for me to concentrate on things that are typical for other people.  Things like housecleaning, for example.  If I am cleaning a cabinet, my OCD kicks in, and I'll completely disassemble the cabinet and clean the entire hinge mechanism, taking all day long to clean one cabinet door and reassemble it!\n\nBut then, the ADHD may kick in, and I'll get distracted, and the door may get ignored and not ever get reassembled!!  Yikes!\n\nBut I have coping mechanisms in place (finally!)  --  my family understands and realizes when I have gone into one of these phases, and will help get me through it;  I take medication for the ADHD and it saves my life, and I have checklists that help me stay on task.\n\nEvery day, though I am bound by some of my obsessions that I will always have:  I cannot go to sleep without throwing away exactly THREE things (who knows why??),  I have to double lock all the doors twice, and I can NEVER have the nutrition labels showing on the foods in my pantry.\n\nSince these are not harmful, they are just quirky things in my personality that we live through, and we try to overcome the rest.  Family and good doctors help us through the other stuff when it becomes too unbearable, and when all my cabinets are disassembled and laying in the floor!!
354413
I'm a busy mom...I WISH I had the chance to shower every day!! I shower every OTHER day....and most of the time I use deoderant....You'll usually know the day I toook my shower, because my son will have a bald spot where he cut his hair while I was in the tub, and i'll have those white marks on my shirt from the stick deoderant.
555005
If it's of themself then they have a whole other incestuous issue on their hands. I say stop showering with your child and the phase will subside.
476006
I have no doubt that you have been trying to instill values of the clean nature in him for a long time. Here he is almost 18 and has yet to adapt. Soooo, I am relatively sure you are asking for help, but not expecting any miracles. You know that you have probably already exhausted every avenue that any one of us might tell you. I have sons also, and when you describe your son its as if you were talking about one of my boys. I have no solution for you,... I just wanted you to know you are not alone in this aspect. There is one thing you can "teach yourself" though that might eliminate some of your frustration about him. Don't take it personnel when he does this! Save your energy. Choose your battles! Keep instilling the lesson of what he needs to know, but don't worry about him not doing it. Try a role change with him on occasions,... when he needs you to do something, tell him "just a minute", or "I will get on that soon", or "I meant to do that, but forgot", ...throw his lines back at him and watch him get frustrated. Its good clean amusement for you, I promise!  My boys, and I am sure your son, too, are 'good' people, and yes, lazy people. But as long as he is staying out of real trouble, you really have no problems compared to some Moms out there. They do grow up, and when you go to their homes in the future, he will make you proud. I know!!! You are me, 14 years ago. Hang in there, its going to be alllllright!
782283
Have you officially been diagnosed with OCD for these symptoms? The reason I ask is because your symptoms sound more like generalized anxiety disorder. \n\nOCD is an obsession with something (like germs) and acting on it in an exessive manner (like cleaning obsessively). However, your symptoms seem more like a fixated fear of HIV and substances that could spread the disease than the obsession and compulsion that is the trademark of OCD. \n\nI suggest talking to your doctor or psychiatrist about what you described here. He or she may decide to give you meds that will help with the anxiety related to these thoughts. \n\nHope this helps!
619865
Yes, it's disgusting to think about that. However, germs are everywhere, there's no avoiding them. Have you noticed though, that the most sickly children are the ones with the most neurotic parents, who make them wash up all the time, don't let them eat from anything, etc.? Maybe, as gross as it sounds, we really need to ingest all these germs, and that's how we build up a healthy immune system.
165500
Do you mean the constant hand washers? Well you do what you have to do for them and let them wash their hands after. The psychiatrist will give them meds that will help control their behaviors. The ocd person knows that what he is doing is silly but he does it anyway because he has an underlying fear of something else. Example the handwasher afraid of catching an infection. the person who turns off and on a stove, afraid of fires. A person who locks and unlocks doors afraid of someone breaking in. There are meds that control some of the behavior with psychotherapy. Most of these people unless they are physically ill are not locked up. A person only gets locked up for 3 reasons. Harm to themselves, harm to others, and inability to care for themselves.
958294
It kinda sounds like OCD Obssessive Compulsive Disorder.\n\nWith the right meds you can control it.
213376
My son has mild Tourette. It really bothers me that everyone thinks it's a "cursing disease." (Thanks so much, LA Law and Ally McBeal). Less than 10% of people with TS have copralalia.  \n\nAnther misconception that I find upsetting: that most kids with TS exhibit violent behavior (a myth spread by some MOMS of kids with TS and behavior problems--some have it, and some don't, but please don't tell people they ALL do!!)\n\nAlso, it's very hard for people to understand that the condition ebbs and flows. Not just the tics, but the ADHD and obsessive-compulsive symptoms that tend to come with it. Just because a child's symptoms were mild one day doesn't mean that he can control them on another day.
809328
It's a fairly common preoccupation of some OCD sufferers. Just like there are different types of other illnesses, there are several different typical presentations of OCD. Some patients are into worries of contamination (frequently leading to repeated handwashing and other self-cleaning behaviors); others are into checking locks, or sniffing certain objects, etc.\n\nOver time, someone with a contamination fear leading to their OCD behavior can start feeling like they may have even missed noticing just when it was that they came in contact with potentially contaminated or dirty items. So the worrying and efforts to "undo" the real or imagined contamination (much more imagined than real, for sure) takes on a life of its own. They may start washing their hands pre-emptively as it were. So the answer to your question is yes. The rest of the answer sheds some additional light on this type of disorder and how it comes to adopt certain forms.