HIV Fear

[bloomingfox]

Hi,
I know this is a really stupid question, yet I still have to ask it for someone to reassure me that I am wrong. Last Wednesday we received some flat pack furniture from a well known swedish company and yesterday my husband and I decided to put it together (bedside tables and chest of drawers), I suffer with a terrible fear of HIV and check everything for red marks that could be blood, I was having a good day yesterday and wasn't too bad but when I went to put the cardboard boxes out into the bin I noticed that one of them had a red mark inside (about the size of my little fingernail, maybe a bit smaller), I straight away assumed this was blood and when I checked the other box it too had a very small red mark on it. When I showed my husband he said there was no way it was blood as it was bright red and dried blood would have a browner, dark red colour to it, he said it was just either a pen mark or the grain of the box and that whoever packed the furniture would have to wear gloves for health and safety. I know he is most probably right but now I am completely freaked out and won't touch anything in the drawers, which includes my hairdryer and make up. Is there any risk?

[livingwithfear75]

I really wish I had you guys to talk to a few years ago when i was just like this. My "thing" now is obsession that i have done/said something awful and forgotten it ;(
Can anyone help with that?

[foxy1978]

Your right it is absolutly crazy the amount of things that I see red marks on, before I would have compltely ignored them and thought nothing of it, but now I have to analyze the red mark and sometimes don't throw the item away so I can wait for my husband to come home and tell me what he thinks it is. Last night it was the cardboard centre of the toilet roll, (had a bright red mark on it), I took it off the holder, put a new one on then realised the cardboard had a red mark and now won't use the new paper incase I contaminated that, crazy!!!! I know hmf099 is right and that HIV dies pretty much straight away when exposed to air, but I can't seem to get that round my OCD BRAIN!! Hoping to see a councellor soon.

[hmf099]

Just incase it helps at all, hiv dies within 7 minutes of being exposed to air, but the other posters are right, I would bet money it wasn't blood

[soapman]

hi.  I do the same thing as you.  Funny how many things you find with red spots on them, huh>?  I literally have to "proove" that the spot is not blood../    Anyway...we both know the only way to get over it is to purposely trigger an ocd spike and NOT do anything about it.  So, that may mean you need to use./touch the furniture, etc.  And not do anything about your fear./

Sounds great, huh>?  It's the only way to re-train the brain.

[bloomingfox]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I know you are right, but this OCD is driving me crazy. I try and tell myself that anybody else would have taken no notice of it and carried on as normal and it seems to help, I will beat this!

[LivingwithOCD07]

Hi, no you have nothing to fear, more than likely it was a marker marking the boxes or somewhere along the way some kind of red color rubbed off onto it. That happens alot with packages, I see it all the time on mine. Anyways, just say theoretically if it WAS blood (which I'm 99.9 % sure it is NOT blood) HIV can only stay active on surface for like a very short amount of time, minutes only. You can most definently continue to use your hair dryer and makeup, everything is just fine. Say another example, if someone else who didn't have ocd at all received the same package as you with the same red marking, they would think nothing of it and go about there business, happy that they had new furniture. Go ahead and relax! And know that this is only your ocd making you have these fears. God bless.