“ No problem! Tell in detail”

She keeps on washing the plates, bathrooms and every half an hour keeps cleaning her hands. Now the problem is that she commands every body to clean their hands every now and then.

When the problems started? I asked a leading question

“Three years back!” he replied.

She was sitting very quietly and observing the things! She was very anxious, fearful, shy and restless.

I talked to her smoothly and the inference was” Three years back she happened to see a leprosy patient in a bus. The circumstances made her to sit besides the nearby row! She started brooding into leprosy and she exaggerated her thoughts, as every person coming to her house will harbour infection to her and her family. Then only she started on cleaning furniture, dinning chairs, bedspreads and vessels. The registry of her thought made every thing worse by cleaning often with frequent repetitions. This is obsessive-compulsive disorder.

I had a brief conversation on leprosy and the realistic features. I explained how doctors, nurses are free from infection even though they are exposed to many infections. I instructed her husband to take her to a nearby leprosy hospital and to study the nature and circumstance. I prescribed a remedy in a most suitable way. And asked her to come back after fifteen days.

No remarkable change was noticed in second consultation. After one month it was fantastic to observe her. Her husband told she has stopped everything gradually. After three months I also stopped the medicines.