Mysophobia

Mysophobia is the fear of germs or being contaminated by dirt and disease. The symptoms of this phobia include anxiety around outdoor activities, frequent hand washing, frequent showering or an obsession with disinfectants and sanitizers.

Since playing outdoors and being involved in sports is common for children, this issue can potentially cause daily anxiety and aversion to those activities. Contacting dirt or even makeup when being kissed by someone, can potentially lead to a panic attack in serious cases.

In the modern day, we have been taught that germs can lead to sickness and that washing ourselves regularly is the answer to this. However, obsessions can develop if the this is misunderstood or taken too seriously.