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Paranoia

Ross

Warren Scout
Hey all!!

Over time I'm getting more and more paranoid over making sure my house is clean enough for our rabbits, and its really starting to get out of hand.. so just wanting abit of advise on what parts I'm going to far on and what parts I am not...

im worried about hygiene like if I go out side my house, I want to wash anti bac my phone in case its dirty because i've touched money or something in a shop, and then touched my phone or my trousers, or even my car seat because I don't know how clean other things are... even long grass touching my leg if i'm wearing shorts.. so ive ended up having indoor cloths and outdoor cloths just incase because I don't know how clean things are or if something dirty has touched the thing I have/my cloths have touched
also ive someone walks through my house with shoes on or have walked over some where where shoes have been I (like someone elses house that isn't a shoes off house) feel the need to hoover every room they might of been in...

im also worried about if im eating food and I spill crumbs on the floor or on myself I worry what if they eat the crumbs or a bit of rice...
even I spill a couple of drops of drink, green tea or a vitamin drink (the water with a couple of dissolvable tablets in), or even if I have the drink on my top lip after drinking I worry about kissing them...

I know this sounds silly and a bit OCD, and im abit embarrassed.. but if anybody has and real advise or help I would be very appreciative
 
I really don't think that your questions are silly. I'll give you my opinion on the examples you have given. I would not be concerned about any of the 'cleanliness' issues and do not think it is necessary to change your clothes from outdoor to indoor. However, I would worry about dropped food and drink if it's likely that the rabbits could consume it, in case it is something that is not safe for them to eat. I would not worry about kissing them if you have been drinking.

If you think about the cleanliness issues, very many rabbits thrive quite happily outside (mine do) and their environment outside can never be as clean as the inside of someone's house, so please don't worry about this.

The most important thing you can do to protect your rabbits is to vaccinate them. This will protect them against disease. There are two vaccinations, which between them will cover RHD1, RHD2 and Myxomatosis.
 
hey omi! thanks for the reply :)

so you don't think its necessary to worry about potential dirt from shops and places?? and thanks that's a very good point about outside rabbits and wild ones two I guess!! :)

yeah that's my worry that they might eat my crumbs... even tho it would be very tiny amounts it just worries me!

are rabbits are all vaccinated up, my partner is very good at being on top of vaccines! :D
 
hey omi! thanks for the reply :)

so you don't think its necessary to worry about potential dirt from shops and places?? and thanks that's a very good point about outside rabbits and wild ones two I guess!! :)

yeah that's my worry that they might eat my crumbs... even tho it would be very tiny amounts it just worries me!

are rabbits are all vaccinated up, my partner is very good at being on top of vaccines! :D

No, I would not worry at all. And as your rabbits are vaccinated, there is also no need to be concerned about disease.
 
I live in filth compared to most of the grown up population - if you can’t write your name it in, it doesn’t need dusting!
I make sure that my rabbits are all fully vaccinated and unless I was going to visit a friend who had infected bunnies I wouldn’t bother to take any care about transferring infection from the world outside my door.
My outdoor bunnies scrabble about on the floor to investigate and pick up food to eat, so I don’t see that any germs could come in on my feet. Equally, I don’t wash my hands every time before I touch them and they’ve not been ill yet. Obviously, if I have a virus or dodgy stomach I take care to wash my hands and limit contact with them.
My indoor bunnies seem to be thriving on a similar principle. I do take care to pick up anything I drop in the kitchen if I’m not sure it’s bunnysafe. I’ve had bunnies for almost 20 years now and they’ve all lived happy and generally healthy lives (touch wood). It’s not a foolproof belief but personally my evidence is good enough for me to know that I don’t need to take extra precautions. I used to work in a hospital and the community and would come home in my work uniform (straight from visits) and see to the buns before getting changed. As long as my buns are fully vaccinated I don’t worry. I hope that helps ease your worries a little. I’m glad you were brave enough to ask *hugs*
 
No, I would not worry at all. And as your rabbits are vaccinated, there is also no need to be concerned about disease.

+1.
tbh, i would worry more about all the anti-bac stuff! (although i'm sure that's not an issue either).
re: crumbs of food, as long as not stuff with sugar in, & even if it has, i wouldn't be worried about small crumbs.
if they're vaccinated (which they are) & spayed if a female (cancer), i think you've covered the big risks.

your house must be massively clean tho! do you want to come live at my place? :lol:
 
I live in filth compared to most of the grown up population - if you can’t write your name it in, it doesn’t need dusting!
I make sure that my rabbits are all fully vaccinated and unless I was going to visit a friend who had infected bunnies I wouldn’t bother to take any care about transferring infection from the world outside my door.
My outdoor bunnies scrabble about on the floor to investigate and pick up food to eat, so I don’t see that any germs could come in on my feet. Equally, I don’t wash my hands every time before I touch them and they’ve not been ill yet. Obviously, if I have a virus or dodgy stomach I take care to wash my hands and limit contact with them.
My indoor bunnies seem to be thriving on a similar principle. I do take care to pick up anything I drop in the kitchen if I’m not sure it’s bunnysafe. I’ve had bunnies for almost 20 years now and they’ve all lived happy and generally healthy lives (touch wood). It’s not a foolproof belief but personally my evidence is good enough for me to know that I don’t need to take extra precautions. I used to work in a hospital and the community and would come home in my work uniform (straight from visits) and see to the buns before getting changed. As long as my buns are fully vaccinated I don’t worry. I hope that helps ease your worries a little. I’m glad you were brave enough to ask *hugs*

this has always worried me. i see loads of hospital staff wearing their work clothes in the street going to & from work. imo this should be a big no-no. if it was a food factory or even a cosmetics factory they worked in it wouldn't be allowed.
 
thank you so much to all 3 of you! you have MASSIVLEY calmed my worries!! I kinda knew it was getting a bit to far but its really reassuring to hear it from other Bunny lovers!!

and mikek that's such a good point about the anti bac I never thought of!! :D

i'm really glad I mentioned it :D
 
this has always worried me. i see loads of hospital staff wearing their work clothes in the street going to & from work. imo this should be a big no-no. if it was a food factory or even a cosmetics factory they worked in it wouldn't be allowed.
I worked in the community too, so there was no way I could change clothes between going in and out if patient’s homes. We were supposed to cover our uniform with a coat, but that doesn’t happen on a boiling hot summers day! I was doing low risk stuff. If I helped a patient wash or dress I’d always wear gloves and an apron, but usually I had no contact with anyone who was infectious (as an occupational therapist it was usually working with people who were frail or recovering from a fracture) rather than people who were “ill”.
I totally agree though if you are working on wards and dealing with ill people then you shouldn’t wear a uniform out of work. As a student all my ward based placements required me to change into uniform on site and reverse the process when leaving. It was a disciplinary offence to wear uniform in public.
 
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I can very much relate to your feelings and think I know where you're coming from ...
I do similar things.
I endlessly wash their food, I endlessly read up about every single food item (is parsley not safe? Should they have less herbs? Do I need to find other varieties? Have I given too much celery and so on and on and on ..), spend endless time that I don't really have, observing if they have eaten enough, been to the toilet enough and so on.
In the evening, when I sit with my family and friends I run several times upstairs to the rabbit room to check on them. I clean their huts and toilets out as soon as I see something in it. I have become hysterical about any insect entering our house.
When my children were small I was seriously fearing that I would develop a paranoia. I took them to the hospital several times because they had become "floppy" - when all they did was sleeping! In the end they wanted to keep me in, not my youngest son ... They explained to me that I had an anxiety disorder and I had a year of therapy, which didn't help much. But it became much better when my children were old enough to tell me that they have something wrong with them.
Now I have two new "children". And they will never learn to tell me that.
And the anxiety is back.

It is the fear of losing them.
It is realising that they are small and vulnerable and totally depending on me.
It is love.

I fear I have to live with it.
 
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