Hygiene Extremes

Post Reply New Topic

I'm not sure how to reply. my fingernails are always immaculate, I brush my teeth once every few weeks or occasionally substitute it by eating an apple (I inherited bizarre tooth enamel that means I've never had a cavity in my life despite my lack of oral hygiene. I once went for 6 months without brushing as a child just to rebel against my mom and the dentist barely noticed. I also almost never eat sugar or drink soda so that may have something to do with it.) I shower multiple times per day on some days and can go for several days without showering as well. when stressed I shower 4 or 5 times per day but now in winter it gives me dry skin so it's down to 1 or 2. I'm not sure my hygiene is "good" or "bad", it's just "weird". if there were an "irregular but inoffensive" option I would chose that. no-one ever calls me smelly or comments on my teeth or anything of the sort, (and I have friends and family who definitely would), so I don't know where that puts me.

I have OCD as diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

I shower 3 times a day. I spend 3 hours a day cleaning. I get severe anxiety on a daily basis due to OCD-related phobias of dirt and contamination.

I live in supported housing and I am trying my hardest to move out into a flat of my own because my OCD makes living with others a nightmare (imagine seeing dirt and contamination in everything the other people touch - even if they touch a surface, I have to clean it, or I can only touch it with a towel covering my hand).

I go through several "OCD cleaning routines" every day as well. I cannot function without them.

I am on medication for the OCD and I have just started exposure therapy but I am still struggling and will be asking for an increase in the dose of the medication.

Going on public transport is hell. Not only because of sensory overload and paranoia about mind-reading (psychosis), but also because I can't sit on the seats or hold the poles. I end up leaning against the side trying my hardest to not let my hands contact anything. I wear gloves when I go out so that my hands don't get contaminated.

I've got cracks and rashes on my hands from washing them 50+ times a day, but I cannot stop. It is so hard.

I can be at both extremes.

I am quite normal with showering and brushing the teeth and flossing. But I particularly want to be feeling clean at home. So, I have to have a shower when I am going to stay home. I don't want to shower if I am going out. I'd rather be smelly when I'm out than when I'm at home. Flossing is very refreshing because I notice there are often some yukky things that only flossing can remove.

Although I might be digressing a bit, I don't like touching doorhandles, shaking hands with people, using other people's pens, eating food other people prepared, being too close to people when talking, touching oily things etc. I know I am a hygiene freak in this sense. Some people around me do think I'm a freak because of this.

I used to have good hygiene. Being depressed has made that harder. I just haven't had the energy to do anything so I never brushed, I put off clipping my nails for 5-7 days after I first thought they needed clipping, and I never washed my hands not even after using the bathroom.

I'm still having trouble. Everything seems like a chore but I force myself to brush once a day. That's still less than I should but it's a start. I'm washing my hands after using the bathroom every time but not before each meal. I don't think too many NTs wash before each meal though.

I'm struggling with hygiene. It seems like a lot of work that I am often too tired to do.

I generally shower every other day, although it's not very regular so I might go without showering a day longer. So according to the definition of the poll I'm at the border between poor and awful hygiene. I don't see why it is so terrible not to shower every day though. I don't do heavy manual labour, nor is my environment very dirty, so showering every day seems excessive. Of the people I know a large portion doesn't shower every day either, as far as I can tell. Could it be a cultural thing, showering frequency?

I always shower and brush my teeth before I leave the house. But when I am at home I wash when my skin or hair gets oily. Depending on the weather, my activity level and various other factors that can take up to 3 days. I wash once a day or every other day in the summer. And in the winter it is more like 2-4. I don't sweat when it is freezing and my skin gets dry. Of course, there are extenuating circumstances. For instance, when I had mono, I didn't shower for over a week because I couldn't stand up. And on a couple very hot days this summer I showered in the morning and evening.

My teeth brushing has never been consistent. I have major sensory issues w/ it and sometimes I scrape my teeth clean in between bushings. I am getting a little better now that I am in a relationship, I don't want to have nasty breath when I am kissing. Sometimes I will go a couple weeks w/o brushing, sometimes I will brush every day for several weeks.

I shower Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which I think is adequate to not be offensive. By Sundays I can end up a little ripe but I live on my own so who cares?

I brush my teeth twice a day after meaks (I only eat twice a day) because I don't like the feel/taste of a dirty mouth. As a kid I seldom brushed because the feel of toothpaste foam used to make me gag. It took a long time to desensitise myself.