The "strange disease" of washing hair seven or eight times a day may just be a precursor to obsessive-compulsive disorder

Recently, it was revealed on the Internet that a 79-year-old grandmother in Changsha suffered from a strange disease. According to her family, she basically cannot live without water.

During her waking hours, she washes her hair seven or eight times a day and her face every few minutes. When I saw her, her hair was dripping with water. She looked like she had just come out of the water.

When I saw this news, as a doctor, I immediately became very interested in this case. The reason is because of my own experience: a few years ago, due to the high pressure of anesthesia work, I suffered from anxiety. Later, after a long period of physical and mental conditioning, I finally became normal. In addition, it must be admitted that almost all doctors have obsessive-compulsive disorder. The specific manifestation of this obsessive-compulsive disorder is washing hands countless times a day.

Some people say that washing hands should be a work requirement!

Yes, hospital work does require frequent hand washing. According to the requirements, we have five moments to wash our hands:

1. Before direct contact with the patient;

2. Before performing aseptic operation;

3. After contact with blood or body fluids;

4. After direct contact with patients;

5. After coming into direct contact with a patient.

However, I would say that when you have been engaged in medical work for many years, this habit will become part of your life. In daily life, the first thing I do when I get home is to wash my hands. If I don't wash my hands, they will itch and I will have nowhere to put them.

At one time, I thought I was suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, because I know that obsessive-compulsive disorder has two main manifestations: obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.

I have also come into contact with similar patients in my daily work. For example, a relative of a friend consulted me about this aspect. According to her description: She is a clerk. In the past two years, she has contracted a disease for some reason. She always feels that the surroundings are very dirty and there are many bacteria. Others cannot touch her, and she does not touch other people's things. If she has to touch other people's things, she will wash her hands immediately, and she will wash them endlessly. Sometimes she even washes for 1 to 2 hours. Because of the constant washing, her hands have become rough and peeling. The patient said that she knew it was unnecessary to do so, but she just couldn't control it and was very distressed.

Later, when I realized that I had this problem because of stress, I promptly provided psychological counseling. Gradually, I realized that washing hands frequently was just part of my job. Besides, it was not a bad habit.

After I recovered, I saw the strange disease of this old lady and felt that this was indeed a big problem. Especially when the doctor arranged brain MRI and other related examinations for her and confirmed that it was not a physical disease, I felt that mental and psychological problems were also a big problem at the moment.

Under such high social pressure, perhaps few people can be completely normal. Therefore, it is very necessary to learn to adjust and release stress.

For example, this old lady cannot live without water. Although it is difficult to trace the cause of her behavior, it is obviously a mental problem. Because from a medical point of view, our skin has evolved to the point where it does not need to maintain such a close relationship with water. It can even be said that soaking in water for a long time will destroy the skin's defense function and is harmful.

Therefore, once someone is found to have such repetitive or high-frequency behaviors, the first thing to do is to seek medical attention to rule out physical illness, and the second thing to do is to make timely psychological adjustments.