From since we are children, getting muddy is something that is almost a pass time. Our parents try to keep us and our clothes spotless in vain, because after washing our hands a number of times, we gather ourselves and go right back to our dust piles. As we grow older, the fascination of playing with dirt is often left behind and we live our lives with a renewed common sense of sanitation. For some people, however, a germ phobia prevents normal life from occurring. This germ phobia is also identified as mysophobia and can be directly associated with a fear of dirt.

Mysophobia is more than merely being scared of microbes. Mysophobia is the fear of dirt that might contain microbes or infect the person in some way with a contamination. The person who suffers from mysophobia can often be noticed washing their hands over and over again, in order to get rid of any microbes they have come into contact with.

When the mysophobia was first recognized, it was falsely linked with the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder need to wash the hands repeatedly. OCD and germ phobia do demonstrate some of the same characteristics nevertheless they are diverse in many ways, as well. People who suffer from OCD feel a compulsion to wash their hands for the simple action of washing their hands. They can frequently be observed washing the hands for a certain amount of seconds or a certain amount of times per day. A person who suffers from mysophobia, on the other hand, will be cleaning their hands to remove the germs, both noticeable and not noticeable.

A germ phobia can be more harboring to every day life than many other forms of phobia due to the invisibility of germs. The perceived germ in germ phobia can be picked up from everywhere and anywhere and therefore the feared germ is all around the person who suffers from this anxiety. With the introduction of germicidal gels, the germ phobia sufferer can often be seen utilizing one of the many sterilization gels on a regular basis. The germ phobia sufferers will often carry bottles in their purses, pockets, cars and all over their homes.

A person with a germ phobia may avoid public bathrooms, public restaurants and even the homes of acquaintances for fear that they will come in contact with germs in the room. They will wash their homes from top to bottom every day and will disinfect every part of the home dutifully 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 germs from their surroundings at all times. The treatment for germ phobia includes medications and therapy sessions. With the right treatment, germ phobia can be wiped out and the person can go about living life free from the fear of bacterias.