New application to improve the lives of people with OCD: study

Excessive washing may be harmful because some OCD patients sometimes use alcohol, cleaners for surfaces or even bleach to wash their hands. (Source: File Photo)

Researchers have developed a new "brain training" app that could help people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) manage their symptoms, including excessive washing of hands and eyes. fears of contamination that can affect up to 46% people. Overwashing can be harmful because sometimes OCD patients use brandy, surface cleaners or even bleach to wash their hands. This behavior can have serious consequences for people's lives, their mental health, their relationships and their ability to keep a job.

The new intervention, which can be performed via a smartphone app, is for patients to watch videos where they wash their hands or touch each other. contaminated surfaces. "This technology will allow people to get help at any time in the environment where they live or work, rather than waiting for their appointments. Using smartphone videos makes it possible to personalize the treatment according to the individual, "said Barbara Sahakian, a professor at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

For the a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, the team examined nearly 100 participants The participants were divided into three groups: the first group watched videos on their smartphone, washing their hands, the second group viewed similar videos, but affected contaminated surfaces itself, and the third control group observed neutral movements of the hand.

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Participants in the first group watched videos for one week – two groups – those who had watched the handwashing video and those who had watched the video on exposure and exposure prevention – improved in term Reduced symptoms of OCD and showed greater cognitive flexibility compared to the neutral control group.

On average, participants in the first two groups saw their scores at the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) – used to badess the severity of OCD – to improve on approximately 21%. The smartphone app is currently not available for public use. Further research is needed before researchers can conclusively demonstrate its effectiveness in helping patients with OCD.

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