actually, and this may be different for other people with the disorder and I can relate to a lot of what Tigerdream described, and then some....I have washed my hands to the point where they have cracked, peeled, and/or bled.... I feel constantly contamintated (and this not my only ocd thing, but just what I will focus on for this post)...but the contamination I feel goes far beyond germs....although germy things tend to be worse than other things, for me it is not an actual fear of germs, and or bacteria, but a fear of (to put it simply) cooties....it is going to sound like I am bull****ting, but I am serious when I say cooties, only because it is the best way I can convey what it is I fear....the worst thing is that most of the stuff that I fear getting contaminated from, I consciously know, cannot harm me, but I will think about the contamination indefinately until I relieve it either through repeated washing (usually in patterns of five, or at least an odd number, or with liquid sanitizer (if it is a mild infraction, or where no sink is availible)....please pardon any mispelling....to better illustrate the way it works I will cite a few examples...For instance anything that is remotely related to, or could have possibly come in contact, or even indirect contact with poop,pee,or feet is strictly dirty....this includes everything from handshakes to the kitchen table, because it is impossible for me to determine weather or not someone thoroughly washed their hands after peeing,pooping,picking their toes, etc, and it isn't a real fear of germs, but the extreme fear I will be contaminated with this nasty aura of filth that others emit, which feels like a cross between contamiation, insults, and bad luck....It feels to me, like how it would feel to a normal person to shake hands with someone whose hands are covered in dog ****.....I am sorry I am being gross.....but at the same time I realize there is no logic in what I do....for instance, if I am drinking a can of soda, and I don't want to drink the last half and open a new one, I can no longer touch the old can without washing. If I touch a picture in a magazine of a barefooted person I will have to wash my hands, in fact if I even touch a newspaper page that has something about cancer printed on it, I will have to wash my hands, because if I don't I will die....I know people can't really die from stuff like this, but it would be all that I would think about until I give in and cleansed myself of the bad/dirty feeling....the best example I can give to how much uncontrollably nonsensical this can be, If I drop a potato chip on the floor of my house, I will eat it to get it off of the floor, but if in the process I accidentally touch the floor, I will have to wash my hands.....in fact as of now there is almost nothing I can touch without washing my hands....even in my own house i can touch only about 30% of the objects....I am currently taking medication, but that has only helped relly with my depression and extreme fear of death and terminal illness, not with the other stuff like contamination, checking, patterns,obtrusive thoughts, homemade superstitions,fear of blurting things out, guilt, uncontrollable need to confess etc.....I have gone off topic and i apologize.....it is late at night and I cannot remember what my point was supposed to be, so please don't be angry with me if this post is annoying and way to long.....I just related to alot of the things that have been said in this and many other strings on this site, and figure as I can relate to manyof these stories, so can others relate to mine....plus I know what it is like at the beginning of a disorder like this, when you don't know either what is happening, or the extent to which it is happening and it helps when you know you are not alone......i am a cheese ball.....oh well, I will stop before I start rambling complete nonsense.....