From the time we are children, getting muddy is something that is almost a pass time. Our parents try to keep us and our clothes spotless to no avail, and after washing our hands a number of times, we gather ourselves and go right back to our filth piles. As we grow older, the obsession for playing with dirt is often left behind and we live our lives with a renewed common sense of cleanliness. For some people, however, a germ phobia prevents average life from happening. This germ phobia is also called mysophobia and can be directly associated with a fear of filth.



A germ phobia is further more than merely being scared of microbes. Mysophobia is the horror of any substance that might contain microbes or cause a contamination. The person who suffers from mysophobia can often be noticed washing their hands over and over again, in order to remove any microbes they have come into contact with.

When the mysophobia was first noticed, it was incorrectly associated with the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder need to wash the hands repeatedly. OCD and germ phobia do exhibit some of the same characteristics but are different in many senses, as well. People who suffer from OCD feel a compulsion to wash their hands for the simple act of washing their hands. They can often be seen washing the hands for a a small period of time or a few times per day. The mysophobia sufferer, on the other hand, will be washing their hands to remove the microbes, both visible and not visible.

A germ phobia can be more harboring to every day life than many other forms of phobia due to the invisible nature of microbes. The perceived germ in germ phobia can be picked up from everywhere and anywhere and thus the feared microbe is all around the mysophobe. With the arrival of germicidal gels, the germ phobia sufferer can often be sopted using one of the many anti-bacterial gels on a regular basis. People who suffer from mysophobia will often carry bottles in their purses, pockets, cars and all over their homes.

A person with mysophobia may keep himself away from public bathrooms, public restaurants and even the homes of people they know for fear that they will come in contact with microbes in the air. They will clean their homes from top to bottom every day and will sterilize every part of the home devotedly due to this germ phobia.

The irrational nature of germ phobia will cause the person with the germ phobia to change their normal cycle of life around the need to remove the microbes from their environment at all times. The treatment for germ phobia includes medications and therapy sessions. With the right treatment, mysophobia can be wiped out and the person can go about living life free from the intense fear of bacterias.