diff --git a/ringbuffer/ringbuffer.go b/ringbuffer/ringbuffer.go
index b363395..68d8d8a 100644
--- a/ringbuffer/ringbuffer.go
+++ b/ringbuffer/ringbuffer.go
@@ -77,6 +77,10 @@ func (rb *RingBuffer) ContainsItem(item string) bool {
 	rb.mu.Lock()
 	defer rb.mu.Unlock()
 
+	if rb.head == -1 {
+		return false
+	}
+
 	for i := 0; i < rb.size; i++ {
 		index := (rb.head + i) % rb.size
 		if rb.buffer[index] == item {
@@ -86,3 +90,4 @@ func (rb *RingBuffer) ContainsItem(item string) bool {
 
 	return false
 }
+