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Theo Panteli, pictured with his mother, Tas, left, is very concerned about germs. He is so worried that when his friends are ill, the eight-year-old from Hertfordshire orders them to stay away<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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Vivaana Doodhmal, left, pictured with her mother Jeroo, right, is also highly anxious about picking up infections while outside. Her mother said her six-year-old daughter was worried by the threat of Covid-19<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Sufferers experience intrusive, unpleasant thoughts and attempt to tackle the anxieties with repetitive behaviours.<\/p>\n
The type of behaviours are dependent on the nature of the fear. Studies show that in around 40 per cent of cases, the fear is contamination. Other common examples include worries about being burgled, resulting in obsessive checking of locks on windows and doors.<\/p>\n
The condition can often be triggered by traumatic life events. In Theo\u2019s case, this was the Covid pandemic, which began when he was just five.<\/p>\n
\u2018As a baby, he didn\u2019t have these problems,\u2019 says his mother, Tas, a 31-year-old part-time medical secretary from Hertfordshire. \u2018Then Covid turned Theo\u2019s life upside down. He would follow everything that was happening in the news about the pandemic because he wanted to know when he could see his family and go back to school.<\/p>\n
\u2018That\u2019s when he started washing his hands obsessively \u2013 I think because he thought it would help get things back to normal.<\/p>\n
\u2018He was really excited to go back to school and see his friends. However, his fear of germs hasn\u2019t gone. He is still worried there will be another lockdown.\u2019<\/p>\n
Theo has been referred to see a local mental health specialist but the family has been told to expect a long wait before an appointment.<\/p>\n
Alarmingly, Theo is not alone. Experts have told The Mail on Sunday of concerns about a recent rise in contamination-related obsessive compulsive disorder among school children. In many cases, they say, the problem was sparked by the events of 2020 and 2021. Some have warned that NHS mental health services could be dealing with this growing tide of OCD for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u2018Public safety promoting social distancing and mask-wearing had a much more pronounced effect on children than most people expected,\u2019 says Dr Zenobia Storah, a Manchester-based consultant child psychologist.<\/p>\n
\u2018I still regularly see children with red-raw hands from the amount of handwashing they do and kids who refuse to go to school because they\u2019re afraid of catching something. It\u2019s worrying because OCD can stay with them for the rest of their lives.\u2019<\/p>\n
The Mail on Sunday has heard from parents with children as young as three who use antibacterial handwash compulsively and avoid other children for fear of catching a virus.<\/p>\n
Around 750,000 people in the UK live with OCD. Of those, an estimated 35,000 are children.<\/p>\n
The condition can strike at any age, but it typically develops in childhood. Some are able to manage their compulsions with treatment, which usually involves regular sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy with a psychologist and, sometimes, antidepressants.<\/p>\n
But, in half of cases, treatment fails to keep the condition under control and patients remain unable to do everyday activities such as socialising and going to work. Some sufferers struggle to even leave the house.<\/p>\n
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Dr Emma Citron, a private clinical psychologist in London said previous infectious disease outbreaks have seen increases in ‘contamination OCD’ where people have an irrational fear of catching a disease<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It is not the first time that a global health crisis has triggered a rise in contamination-related OCD.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019ve seen increases in contamination OCD at points where infectious diseases are in the national conversation,\u2019 says Dr Emma Citron, a private clinical psychologist in London. \u2018It was documented during the AIDS epidemic, along with the swine flu outbreak in 2009.<\/p>\n
\u2018While the behaviour of someone with OCD may be irrational, the basis of their anxiety is often genuine. But this anxiety can lead to intrusive thoughts about the worst possible outcome.<\/p>\n
\u2018Eventually sufferers reach a point where they believe if they touch something dirty or don\u2019t wash their hands properly, something bad is going to happen.\u2019<\/p>\n
In the first six months of 2020, when Covid was rife, OCD referrals to mental health services rose significantly in several countries. And many of those who have already been diagnosed found that their symptoms either returned or got worse.<\/p>\n
In the UK, there was a startling rise in the condition among children. One study, carried out at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, revealed that the number of children referred to mental health services for OCD rose by more than 30 per cent on the previous year. Meanwhile, nearly 70 per cent of children with OCD became more unwell. The researchers noted that many reported fears of infection and contamination by Covid.<\/p>\n
Three years on, experts are still seeing children with these fears.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re still regularly treating children with contamination fears that originated in Covid,\u2019 says India Haylor, head therapist at the London clinic OCD Excellence. \u2018We\u2019ve found that kids under ten were susceptible to the public safety messages used during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u2018These are formative years. Now that they\u2019ve grown up a bit, these patterns of behaviour have become set in stone.\u2019<\/p>\n
Ms Haylor adds that these children have been especially difficult to treat. \u2018Usually we explain to children that their behaviour isn\u2019t good for them,\u2019 she says. \u2018But I\u2019ve had kids who say, \u201cBut the Government says I should be doing this.\u201d \u2019<\/p>\n
OCD commonly begins to develop around the age of five, with symptoms becoming pronounced by six or seven, according to studies. However, experts are concerned about an unusual focus on cleanliness in some of today\u2019s three- and four-year-olds.<\/p>\n
While it may not be full-blown OCD, these children are at higher risk of developing it in the future, they say.<\/p>\n
Ms Haylor says: \u2018You can\u2019t treat a three-year-old for OCD because they\u2019re too young to really understand what they\u2019re doing, but you can treat the mum or dad who are the source of the anxiety.<\/p>\n
\u2018Young children pick up the behaviour of their parents very quickly, so you\u2019ve got to be super scrupulous to make sure nervous behaviour isn\u2019t passed on.\u2019<\/p>\n
One child affected by the fallout from the pandemic is three-year-old Stella Jones, daughter of Sofia Jones, 30, a solicitor from London.<\/p>\n
\u2018She was born during Covid and all she has known since then is a world which is hyper-focused on cleanliness,\u2019 says Sofia.<\/p>\n
\u2018I carried antibacterial handwash everywhere with me during the pandemic, and now Stella wants to use it too. She\u2019ll point at the bottle and keep gesturing until I give it to her. It\u2019s got to the point where I\u2019ve had to buy Stella her own one to keep her calm.\u2019<\/p>\n
Sofia says that despite the fact her daughter is too young to understand what germs are, she is already showing signs of anxiety over hygiene. \u2018When I\u2019d come home from work during Covid, I\u2019d always wash my hands thoroughly before I touched Stella because I\u2019d been on the Tube.<\/p>\n
\u2018Now she always wants her hands washed too. When she is eating and gets stuff on her hands, she\u2019ll hold them out for me to clean them. She doesn\u2019t know what Covid is but she sees crumbs and dirt and gets concerned. It feels like she associates dirt with bad things.\u2019<\/p>\n
Sofia adds: \u2018She\u2019s at an age where I\u2019m beginning to worry if this is a permanent thing. I worry that she\u2019ll miss out on fun childhood things like finger painting and playing in the playground. I don\u2019t want her to become obsessive about cleaning, like me.\u2019<\/p>\n
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Clean freak or mental health problem? Here’s how to tell\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n
An unusual interest in hygiene isn\u2019t necessarily something to worry about.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s common for some young children to take a keen interest in cleaning and making sure things are in the correct place,\u2019 says India Haylor, head therapist at London clinic OCD Excellence. \u2018Having this interest doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that the child has obsessive compulsive disorder.\u2019<\/p>\n
But how do you know when it becomes a serious mental health problem?<\/p>\n
\u2018One of the tell-tale signs is when a child becomes very distressed when they can\u2019t \u2013 for whatever reason \u2013 do their cleaning ritual,\u2019 says Ms Haylor. \u2018There will almost certainly be tears and a meltdown.<\/p>\n
\u2018Those who don\u2019t have a mental health disorder should be able to cope without the behaviours.\u2019<\/p>\n
The NHS suggests that parents consider seeking psychological help if their children start repeating their cleaning rituals very frequently \u2013 for example, several times in an hour \u2013 or if not doing them severely affects their mood.<\/p>\n
The NHS website advises that children with obsessive compulsive disorder may often be late for school because of their cleaning rituals, or they may refuse to leave the house for fear of going anywhere if they haven\u2019t carried them out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
There is also concern that schools are still encouraging an obsessive relationship with hygiene.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019re still hearing about schools telling children they need to wash their hands before every class,\u2019 says Arabella Skinner of the parent group Us For Them. \u2018All this does is terrify children and make them believe that their bodies are dangerous and can kill others.\u2019<\/p>\n
The problem is compounded by the dearth in mental health services for young children, experts say.<\/p>\n
Recent research, carried out by the political magazine The House, suggests that a quarter of a million mentally unwell children in the UK can\u2019t access the services they need.<\/p>\n
This is largely due to the unprecedented rise in referrals since March 2020.<\/p>\n
NHS figures show that, prior to the pandemic, the number of children aged six to 16 with a mental health problem was one in nine \u2013 that figure is now one in six.<\/p>\n
\u2018This rise in OCD cases has come at a time when it is more difficult than ever to get treatment on the NHS,\u2019 says Dr Storah. \u2018It\u2019s really concerning, because most mental illnesses need to be tackled early.\u2019<\/p>\n
Dr Storah adds that half of all life-long mental health conditions develop by the age of 14.<\/p>\n
But some children can overcome their contamination fears.<\/p>\n
Six-year-old Vivaana Doodhmal became highly anxious about infection control during the pandemic. Her mum, Jeroo, 39, an author from London, says: \u2018There was a lot of uncertainty about how you could be catch Covid at the beginning, and I think I passed on my anxieties and paranoia.<\/p>\n
\u2018Eventually Vivaana became fearful of other people and would ask to cross the street if anyone was walking towards us. She wouldn\u2019t want to play with other kids or touch mud and grass. And she would wash her hands all the time, while singing the Happy Birthday song twice, just like they were taught in nursery.\u2019<\/p>\n
Eager to calm her daughter\u2019s anxieties, Jeroo wrote a book, called Pip & Henry\u2019s Bug Hunt, which tries to explain the difference between \u2018naughty bugs\u2019 \u2013 such as Covid \u2013 and \u2018good bugs\u2019 that children come into contact with every day and are harmless.<\/p>\n
\u2018It helped her realise that the world isn\u2019t a scary place filled with evil creepy crawlies,\u2019 says Jeroo. \u2018That, combined with our more relaxed attitude after vaccination, meant that Vivaana got over the anxieties.<\/p>\n
\u2018She\u2019s quite a fearless kid now and loves playing with her friends.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most eight-year-old boys have to be reminded to wash their hands. But not Theo Panteli. For the past three years, Theo has been hooked on a rigorous routine of scrubbing them at the sight of a tiny speck of dust, often several times an hour. Each time it has to be exactly 20 seconds \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1486,1487,1488,23,1489,1490,1469],"acf":{"source_article":"","image_credit":""},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latestnews.top\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Theo](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/05\/06\/15\/70663691-12054321-image-m-7_1683383946269.jpg\")
<\/div>\n![\"Vivaana](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/05\/06\/15\/70663641-12054321-image-a-5_1683383643529.jpg\")
![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/05\/06\/15\/70663639-12054321-image-a-6_1683383647016.jpg\")