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hoskoteinos hoskoteinos
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8 years ago Edited: 8 years ago, hoskoteinos
Hello Folks, I am here hoping to get some help with my severe OCD.  My biology knowledge is not anymore than high school bio classes and some readings on that basic knowledge. I am suffering from severe OCD and its mainly on skin cells and DNAs of people. I feel extreme disgust about skin cells (other people not my own) and sadly i dont really know the science behind it. Now i know it sounds stupid but hey brain is a mystery isnt it. Could you possibly answer these questions:

1.How long  skin cells hang around after they fall from someone? what type of matter do they decay to? (lets say someone stayed on your sofa, the skin cells left on the sofa, how long would they be there?)
2. Matter doesnt go extinct but change form right? Do our cells carry matter from people and animals once existed?

I am very sorry about these weird questions but im trying to make an equation in my mind to overcome its never my skin cells, they are only skin cells and they are the same material in everyone sort of thing. Mind gonna explode. from biology to philosophy, its all intertwined.

thanks you Flushed Face  
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Valued Member
Educator
8 years ago
1.How long  skin cells hang around after they fall from someone? what type of matter do they decay to? (lets say someone stayed on your sofa, the skin cells left on the sofa, how long would they be there?)
2. Matter doesnt go extinct but change form right? Do our cells carry matter from people and animals once existed?

1. Skin cells don't fall on people. If a single skin cell were to hypothetically fall on you, it would be keratinized and probably behave no differently than dust.

2. You cannot create nor destroy matter, that's true. Energy is converted from one form to another. Given that our bodies are recycled, the answer to the second part is yes.
hoskoteinos Author
wrote...
8 years ago
thank you very much bio-man. I am slightly confused (as expected haha) so as soon as the skin cells leave our body are they keratinized? Lets put it this way, someone slept on your sofa and you sat there, wouldnt some of these skin cells stick to your body? I guess our gravity (not sure how this works as oppose to earths gravity) might pull some to us.  my mind is floating with these type of questions.
when someone touches us, dont they leave some skin cells hence dnas on us?

i am having extreme ocd atm, someone with HIV slept on my sofa a year ago and i only found out this and now i cant go back to the house becaue i feel like there are skin cells everywhere. i know this sounds horrible and i know i wont catch the disease but my mind doesnt stop feeling extreme disgust, after long sessions of psychoanalysis in england we came to the conclusion that its caused by my middle eastern upbringing as a woman. sad really. if you could explain me the science behind a little more, i believe it could be of help to get over this.
wrote...
Valued Member
Educator
8 years ago
thank you very much bio-man. I am slightly confused (as expected haha) so as soon as the skin cells leave our body are they keratinized? Lets put it this way, someone slept on your sofa and you sat there, wouldnt some of these skin cells stick to your body? I guess our gravity (not sure how this works as oppose to earths gravity) might pull some to us.  my mind is floating with these type of questions.
when someone touches us, dont they leave some skin cells hence dnas on us?

Most of our skin cells get shed when we exfoliate our bodies in the shower, towel, or the clothes we wear. Sure, rubbing your hands on a pillow while watching television might accomplish this too, but it's very minimal. Any skin you see - on your face, underarms, etc. - is keratinized. This means that the skin itself is filled with protein, and is non-living. It is as life-threatening as dust - don't mean to freak you out.

You're middle-eastern? I know a lot of middle-easterners that are clean freaks lol (no offense). I think your condition goes beyond that though. I don't think you have ANYTHING to fear; if you've ever slept in a hotel, or motel, you could argue the same thing. HIV doesn't get shed by the skin; it's mainly found in extracellular fluid, like fluids released by one's genitalia. A skin-cell wouldn't be infected with anything!
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