Is it bad to wash your hands a lot.?

Question

I wash my hands a lot through out the day. My bf said its not good to do that. is it true?

It because i have a baby and im constantly washing my hands to keep them clean.

Answer 1

It depends upon how often and why and a good question to ask yourself would be “do I wash them because I want to or because I need to”. Do you become annoyed if you are interrupted when washing or stopped from washing? I suppose that the concern might be is this washing a sign of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and if so will it harm the baby.

I have come across many women, post child birth, to whom this happens and it seems to be as a consequence of a very real concern over their baby’s well being (this is not helped by the constant bombardment of advertising suggesting that every one will become ill unless we spry our entire environment in disinfectant) and, possibly, a little dip in mood following the birth and the tiredness experienced when a new baby comes into the house.

Washing your hands is not in and of itself a “bad” thing, even washing repetitively will do little more than make your hands sore and cracked. If, however, it is stopping you from enjoying your baby and causing you anxiety and difficulty with your partner then it is a problem. Some of the new anti depressants can aid this but they will not be good if you are breast feeding. Asking your GP/Health Visitor if you can talk to someone about this (a cognitive behaviour therapist would be good) is something you can also try.

Babies need to develop their immune systems and so they need to encounter everyday things without them all being sterile. If you follow basic rules of hygiene like washing your hands after visiting the lavatory, before and after preparing food and handling pets then your baby will be fine. Ask yourself how many babies have you heard of that have suffered ill consequences because their mother had not washed her hands. Make a note of how often you do this per day, find a reasonable number of times to wash your hands by observing or asking others, and then gradually, and I must emphasise gradually, reduce your frequency and maybe the time you take to wash over a number of weeks. You might feel a little anxious when doing this but I promise it will improve.

Best wishes and good luck, John

Answer 2

Unless you might have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, no. You're golden, as they say. This is also a great way to keep from having a bad cold or the flu, especially this time of year, so keep washing them! Better safe than sorry. I wash my hands five or six times a day. You should be able to gauge pretty well if you're overdoing it. If your hands are starting to get all dried out, find a moisturizer and slow up a little.

Answer 3

It's actually not good to wash your hands all the time. It can be the beginning of a compulsive disorder.

But it depends when you wash your hands. Of course, you wash your hands after you go to the bathroom; when you come home; before you cook; before you eat...

Can't think of other moments when you HAVE to wash your hands. If you have a young kid. What do you mean by "throughout the day"?

Answer 4

No it is actually good to wash your hands as long as it isn't a compulsive thing. Some people think that you should expose yourself to a certain amount of germs. I once read an article written by a professor at Columbia;he stated that we should all take part in ummm well eating our own boogers. Yep thats right he said that it would help to build our immune system. Errrrr no thanks..but my point is some people think that exposure is better. I disagree..I wash my hands frequently and use anti bacterial gels and I do not get sick a lot:)

Answer 5

I have the same problem...you can get a cream called "hemp" from the Body Shop. That is pretty good! it is bad for your skin to wash your hands all the time and i am sure that your work place doesn't buy the most expensive liquid hand soap so that makes it worse. It is a good idea to wash your hands often to avoid getting sick.

Answer 6

Wow, I am shocked that I am the first one to say this, but yeah, it CAN be. Depending on how much.

Because just like its bad to brush your teeth too often (you wear away the enamel) washing to frequently can be harmful. Because you can strip you hands of the natural oils causing your skin to peel and leaving your hands open for infections. If your hands are starting too peel, put on some heavy duty moisturiser and try hand sanitiser sometimes.

~*~Smo~*~

Answer 7

It depends on why you're washing. There are times when a lot of washing is in order.

But if you're just washing and washing and making your hands raw, then there is a problem.

Answer 8

not at all but its difficult to answer because you have not really stated how many times or under what circumstances you do it as some people suffer a bit from obsessive compulsion and do it 200 times a day so what if u decide to wash frequently your clean and at least your not spreading around nasty germs

Answer 9

No. Not really because you're cleaning germs and also dead skin cells off your hands. Just make sure you use lotion or moisturizer on your hands often during the day. I'm kinda like that too so believe me i know how it is.

Answer 10

No it is not bad to wash your hands a lot. The cleaner your hands the healthier you will be.