![]() Excessive and time-consuming cleaning, ritualised showering and bathing to remove perceived dirt and germs, extreme tooth brushing, grooming or toilet routines, as well constantly focusing attention on assessing the threat of infection all take their toll on sufferers’ quality of life. Decontamination compulsions can consume the life of affected individuals. Germaphobes will typically have washing and cleaning compulsions, and will avoid potential contaminants. Hence, prevalence rates for germaphobia specifically may be lower than those for contaminations fears and decontamination compulsions in OCD. While germaphobia is specifically related to fear of germs and infection, many people with OCD have concerns about a broader range of triggers, such as bodily fluids (sweat, saliva, mucus or tears), sticky or greasy substances, chemicals, radioactivity, broken glass, asbestos, newsprint and even moral impurity. Studies from the Middle East reveal a higher prevalence of washing and cleaning rituals in OCD samples (between 50 per cent and 80 per cent), with females twice as likely to present with such difficulties. ![]() From studies in the US and other Western countries we known around one-quarter to one-third of people with OCD have contamination fears and associated decontamination rituals such as compulsive handwashing, washing and cleaning compulsions, and avoidance of potential contaminants. The problems associated with germaphobia are closely related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Is there any relationship to obsessive-compulsive disorder? ![]() Other terms which relate to an abnormal fear of dirt and filth include molysmophobia or molysomophobia, rhypophobia, and rupophobia. It is known by a range of other terms including mysophobia (fear of uncleanliness), verminophobia, bacillophobia, bacteriophobia. Germaphobia (sometimes spelt germophobia) is a term used by psychologists to describe a pathological fear of germs, bacteria, microbes, contamination and infection.
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