I have always known that I'm a bit Obsessive-Compulsive. It's actually one of my finer qualities. I don't often forget things, because they are constantly spinning around in my head. This has never been a major problem. You won't see me washing my hands raw or returning to my house 14 times to ensure that they stove is turned off. However, the annoying thoughts are there. I see them get worse during times when I have little control over my environment.
We went on a mini vacation this week. We drove down to Cincinnati and went to King's Island Amusement Park for a few days. A great time was had by all!!
Yet, ever since I cultured mycobacterium I have been having thoughts (obsessions) about germs. I have no issue whatsoever with germs in my own home. However, spending several days at an amusement park and hotel just made those thoughts overflow... Hotels are the worst. I will never let my feet touch a hotel room or shower floor. Forget about the remote control...who knows where that thing has been. I have to mentally block out the whole pillow/comforter situation, or I would never be able to get any sleep. The shower curtain is right up there with the remote. If that thing brushes my arm while I'm showering that's another 15 minutes of scrubbing that arm. Then we head to the amusement park. The railings, the safety harnesses...everything is infested with little kid bacteria. It's times like these where I wish everything with germs I needed to avoid would glow red, like in the Lysol commercial. I think the worst thing of all that made me almost panic was the pens I had to use to sign receipts. I have been trying to bring my own pens everywhere I go lately, but I only put what I could fit in my pockets to the park. A pen didn't make the cut. Next time I'm thinking of leaving some cash behind to make room for a pen.
So I noticed these things more during this trip, likely because I have been sick and am worried about what I will catch next. I'm frustrated that I caught this nasty mycobacterium and I haven't a clue where it came from. A normal, healthy person can't even catch these bugs that I have and that I'm susceptible to. I've heard that one of the side effects of some of the drugs I may be taking to treat my mycobacterium is that they can make you dangerously immuno-compromised. I'm thinking I may just have to quarantine myself in my house for the next year. OR I have to get a life and stop worrying so much!
8 comments:
Oh my gosh.. this sounds So much like me Stacey. I avoid vacations for this very reason. My fam is going to the mountains to a beautiful cabin in a few weeks, and I'm already having anxiety about staying there. I tell people I have hotel phobia!!!! Ughh.. I'm glad I'm not alone, but not glad you are dealing with this too. :(
Someone in my only family jokingly called me a germaphobe the other day. It hurt a little bit. I normally can handle some teasing (which is what this was), but it hurt a little bit. I guess it's hard to explain to people unless they live with a compromised immune system.
I don't think it's a bad thing to be cautious, so long as it doesn't stop you from living your life. :-)
"Only"? Geez, Josh! Learn to spell check. :-)
I am the same way about many of the things you mentioned and many more. I'm always afraid I'm going to bring home something to my CF husband. I use my own pens, have anti-bac in my purse/backpack, keep a Ziploc of Lysol wipes in purse/backpack to wipe off restaurant tables, toilet seats, or any other surface that freaks me out. My friends tease me and laugh, but they don't really realize what it is like to have someone who can catch a simple cold that takes them down for weeks. I hope you had fun at Kings Island. We love to go there. We are only 1.5 hours on the other side of Cincinnati in Louisville, KY.
You are a woman after my own OCD heart. Nice post. I actually got an official diagnosis of it years ago because it got so bad. You've inspired me to write my own post about it one of these days.
Best to you and the family.
Stacey, I have often thought the same way! I always try to use my own pen at places - I mean, have you SEEN some of the things people do with their hands and NOT wash them?! It is so hard for us when we do catch the yucky stuff out there so easy and takes us so long to get over! I think that's why I have kept inside my house most of the time since this last lung infection I got in May...at least I know what's in my own house...for the most part at least. :-)
I've gotten sick much less than before I carried the paper towel from the restroom to open the next several doors and carrying my own pen everywhere. I'm at the point now that I will refuse to hug the next stranger who is a "hugger." I don't know what they might have in the first 8 seconds of meeting them.
I'm a little obsessive about germs too. I never knew how handy carrying a canister of Wet Ones was - always in the diaper bag & one in the car. Eventually we'll quit carrying the diaper bag, but I think there will forever be a canister in the car & singles in my purse.
I wipe off restaurant tables.
I try hard to keep my own pen in my purse.
I wipe lots of surfaces in hotels after seeing a special on TV - remote control, door knobs, telephone are tops.
And like Jesse said, I open the bathroom door with a paper towel & turn off the faucet with one too.
If the meds do make you dangerously immuno-compromised, then your doctors should give you a protocol for minimizing exposure. I imagine something like one would get for chemo - washing up to the elbows, etc. Then you can let your OC run a little wilder.
Keep up the OC tendencies where practical and try not to sweat it. ;-)
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