Dry hands OCD?

[awoodz33]

Hi. My name is Ashley. I am 29. I have the exact same "compulsion" I guess we are calling it regarding my hands feeling dry. I never in a million years thought this would be something shared by another individual. I have the same obsession/dependence on lotions, and the same discomfort and even anxiety over hands (or even feet) that "feel" dry (whether they truly are or not). I have several surfaces I "can't" touch. The WORST of these is after I shower, and go to dry off. The feeling of a towel on my pruny hands makes me gag and get goosebumps all over. I either have to have my husband dry me off, or I wear latex gloves to dry off. I, too, get goosebumps even writing about this. Touching paper, clothing, PAPER TOWELS (shudder), really anything besides a smooth plastic or metal surface is bothersome to me. I know my hands cannot really be dry, as I moisturize constantly and do NOT overly wash my hands. I ball my fists up, and have also licked my palms to dissipate the "dry" feeling.
I have a history with extreme anxiety issues, since childhood. I don't know why I never attributed this odd behavior to something like anxiety (or OCD). I guess I just thought I was a weirdo with a weird phobia. Turns out I am not alone! Let us "dry handed" freaks unite!

 

[vgonz701]

I have this same problem but mine goes in different directions too. I'm curious if these things bother you...

Anything dry touching teeth... this one drives me crazy where I have to rub my teeth with my fingers to get rid of the feeling it gives me.

Thats really the worst one for me. I cannot touch anything dry with my feet or hands. As soon as I step out of the shower, I have to put lotion on my feet and hands because of the dryness. I'm actually having surgery tomorrow and they said that I have to shower the night before AND that morning and CANNOT put any type of moisturizer on. I'm thinking of skipping the shower just so that i dont have to go through the dry torture. mg:

 

[lazerteam]

I can't explain how happy it makes me that other people actually feel the same thing i do. I have suffered from OCD for a while now, mainly really intrusive thoughts, and me having to think about things for them not to happen, but this dry hands thing is fairly recent. Its gotten to a point where i forgot my lotion at home when i went to the grocerie store, and i couldn't hold the paper that we had written down the groceries cause it actually made it hard for me to breathe. I CANT BREATHE IF I DON'T HAVE LOTION IN MY HANDS and this is freaking insane. I went to therapy for about 3 years and i have been taking meds for depression/anxiety/OCD for a couple of years, but for financial reasons i havent been taking them for the past 3 months so I'm assuming thats why this has started happening. Its a ******* relief to know other people know how it feels tbh. <3

 

[Stargirl]

I don't have this, but I went through something very similar in elementary school, in about fourth grade I think.

I got a cut on my finger, so I put a band-aid on it. After it was almost done healing, I took the bandage off - but my skin felt dry and uncomfortable without it - being exposed to the air. So I put another band-aid on. And it became a very viscious cycle. When I got cuts on my other fingers, I did the same thing. After a while, I ran out of band-aids and resorted to using clear tape over my dry skin. It was so bad at that point. I couldn't stand how dry and raw it felt.

Then my gym teacher noticed my fingers, pulled me aside, asked about them, and cut them all off with scissors. I was forced to go the rest of the day without them and it was toture!!! But they eventually healed and I've never left a band-aid for more than a few days now, hehe.

Anyway, I wonder if you would benefit from a humidifier. When I was little, my parents got me one because I had dry skin and I was always breaking out in a rash. I can't remember if it helped, but hey - worth a shot.

 

[tomdelre]

Hi, my daughter (10 y.o.) has had nearly exactly the same symptoms since 3 year ago that I have seen described in this thread and is extremely dependent on her cream (in this case it is called Silic 15, made in Australia). It seems clear this is an OCD issue, she has other minor ones and some she has grown out of.

I was hoping that she would also grow out of this OCD issue but reading this thread I should not be so optimistic.

Can anyone give me advice on how to try cure/solve this?