Mysophobia

Mysophobia is a pathological, persistent fear of contamination, dirt and germs, also known by the more colloquial terms germophobia and germaphobia. The term was introduced into medical literature in 1879 by the American neurologist William A. Hammond, who used it to describe a patient exhibiting obsessive hand-washing and related compulsive behavior. Clinically it is treated as a specific phobia, a recognized category of anxiety disorder, though it is also closely associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder, with which it frequently co-occurs; researchers regard both genetic predisposition and environmental experience as contributing factors. People affected by mysophobia often engage in excessive cleaning, hand-washing or avoidance of situations perceived as unsanitary, and the resulting behavior can significantly disrupt daily functioning and relationships. As with other specific phobias, treatment commonly draws on exposure-based psychotherapy and, in cases overlapping with obsessive-compulsive disorder, on the same therapeutic approaches used for that condition.