Asbestos worries

Hi, I moved to a housing association flat about 15 years ago. Before I moved in I decided to paint two of the rooms. The flat had no carpet, just chipboarding. I decorated for about a week, sitting/neeling on the dusty floor, jeans covered in dust etc. 

Recently I was thinking about this because I now know that the ceilings are confirmed asbestos artex. I was thinking that when the flat was first built/decorated in the late 70s the ceilings would have been created directly above the floors I'd been sitting on. Now I know it sounds silly but I'm really frightened. I can't stop thinking that the original artex powder may have been slightly spilled and never properly cleaned up and perhaps splodges of artex fell to the floor too. I imagine that the flat has had a fair few tenants since the late 70s and carpets have been and gone. I don't know if that's helpful at all. If anything that just makes me feel worse for some reason. 
 

I hope someone on here understands what I mean by all this 
 

  • Hello Bbexi22 and thanks for posting,

    I expect a lot of people have had the odd isolated or occasional exposure to asbestos fibres without coming to any harm, risk is more commonly linked to occupational exposure day in day out over years, but even then, by no means everyone develops an asbestos related cancer so I really don't think you need to worry.

    Dwelling on something that can cause you to worry probably isn't helpful, so if you can, try to focus on other things. I think it can be easy for worries to escalate sometimes and get the better of us - if you think this is happening it might be worth looking into ways of managing anxiety about your health. The NHS Every Mind Matters website might be worth investigating. 

    Please give us a ring if you want to talk anything over. The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Best wishes, 

    Julia