I am a nurse and have an anxiety about germ. This seriously affects my job! What should I do?

Hello! Fellow nurse here. There’s at least 2 other nurses who use this app on here! There is no quick and easy answer. My contamination OCD decided to focus on the fear of giving my patients sepsis. Is your fear is getting or giving germs? What has worked for me had been finding a medication combination that works for me 200mg sertaline + 2mg aripiparazole and lots of therapy. Scripting in particular helped me. Also watching videos as exposure.

That’s tough. Nurses have a tough job. Have you spoken to anyone about it?

What are your triggers and compulsions? As a nurse I’m sure hand washing is tough as it’s already oftentimes necessary. Hang in there!

Mine are both, giving (to my family) and (me) getting germs. It is very frustrating. I feel "infected" whenever I see my hepatitis B and C patient. Everything about them including blood is my trigger. I try to avoid them as much as possible. This is sad. It happened after my ward full of hepatitis C patients. It is kind of traumatic. Anyway, thank you guys for supports. I'll try my best.

You must stop avoiding them. This is a compulsion. If this is too hard right now, try imaginal exposure. The good news is the Hep C is now curable through medication. Additionally, you are probably vaccinated against Hep B as a healthcare worker. A script could go like this: I am afraid I could be exposed to Hepatitis at the hospital despite taking standard precautions and become infected. If this happened, I would be horrified and feel like [insert feelings here]. If I became infected I could accidentally infect my family members and I would feel so guilty. [Insert additional catastrophic thoughts here]. Ex: I would be resistant to treatment and die a prolonged death from liver failure. Despite these concerns, I must accept the uncertainty and act according the facts and not because of my fears. Record the script on the loop player and listen to it until it no longer triggers you.

Yes

Well, nurse has something to do with patient, right? From IV to intubation assistance, it is for me very painful that I cannot perform what I used to do. It is a nightmare everytime when you have to think whether you will be infected after procedure or patients are hepatitis positive or not. It is really disturbing.

Thank you, worried driver. Thanks and thanks again.

Wow, it occurred to me before to be a nurse but I did not due to the germ aspect/did not want to touch anyone. Were you recently diagnosed?

Was it a recent diagnosis?

By a psychiatrist, yeab

Wait sorry, brain fart. I am curious, how much does it interfere with your ability to get to your job?

Holy crap. I have contamination fears that I have worked on when they originated from 1992. I cannot imagine what your going through. Have you been advised to go though CBT or ERP therapy?

I have tried ERP recently. Is it gonna be helpful? My psychiatrist said it takes time you have to bear with it.

I am actually a psychology major for my masters and studying theories of therapy. It has great research behind it. I have been practicing on my own in small spurts and am having success.

Thank you, rachel1979

I am currently having a lot of problems not with contamination but with checking rituals. A lot. And realized today that I missed my doctors appt. For meds last month. Thank God the nurse practitioner can get me in today for my meds.

Is anyone on this thread still here? I am also a nurse with contamination OCD.