# Mysophobia(germophobia)



## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Anyone else have mysophobia(germophobia)?

It embarasses me to share this, but I have had it bad for many years. I'm always washing my hands. I don't use public restrooms for anything besides peeing. This causes trouble when I travel. I share my restroom with my parents and almost always steralize the toilet before using it. I'm always rejecting pieces of food if I see a bad spot on them. I have a hard time picking out apples and other fruits/vegs when I shop. I reject a lot of dishes and silverware, if I is not perfectly clean. Sometimes I wish I had bad eyesight, so I wouldn't notice so much. Not germs, but chemicals also bother be. I'm always worried about splashing chemicals or dirty water in my eyes. I could go on and on.

The funny thing is i have a lot of hobbies that don't go well with this kind of phobia(fishing, hiking, kayaking, keeping pets). I think they help, because it quickly gets to the point where it is impossible to avoid dirt. Honestly the outdoor stuff doesn't seem to bother me at all, unless I need to eat and have nothing to wash my hands. I'm not obsessed with cleaning. My car is a mess and my room usually looks like a war zone.

Anyone know any good fourms related to germophobia? So far I have only found general phobia forums.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

It sounds like gradual exposure to me. There really aren't as many germs as we think - yes, they are out there, but they are not out to to target us specifically.

I kept getting pink eye and thought I was getting it from the bathroom counters at work, or something I touched. I even brought hand sanitizer to work.

I ended up getting pink eye after an allergy attack and that blew it all away. Since then, I am just cautious about catching something and do the normal things to prevent it, but not to the level of obsession.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

its part of my OCD but I manage to numb it down to a manageable level. Stuckinadoorway.org is a good support site for OCD just like SAS is for anxiety.


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## shyvr6 (Feb 18, 2008)

I'm a little germaphobe when it comes to things that obviously look like they would have some kind of thing on them, but most of the time I just figure that everything and everyone including yourselves have germs on us right now. You'll never get rid of them completely no matter how much you wash.


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Thanks Noca

Shaking hands doesn't bother me too much anymore. I sometimes hesitate, but that might be more SA related. I wasn't like this when I was younger(before junior high). I think health classes, watching the news, and documentaries have caused a lot of it. Combine that with untreated ocd and it has gotten out of hand.


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## shelovescliche (Dec 17, 2006)

slylikeafox said:


> I'm always rejecting pieces of food if I see a bad spot on them. I have a hard time picking out apples and other fruits/vegs when I shop.


I definitely do this. I have germaphobia to an extent, but mostly it's related to my emetophobia (phobia of getting sick/throwing up). I won't share food with anyone, and if anyone takes a sip out of my drink I won't have any more. I do wash my hands a lot, but if I'm around someone who's sick, I go insane and wash my hands every 15 minutes or so (as well as sanitizing every surface they may have touched). My friends think it's kind of weird, but it's not an intentional thing.


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## eynon (Aug 22, 2008)

yes, I have mysophobia. I am afraid to shake hands with strangers especially if I feel they are dirty and has been working outside. I am afraid that they have blood on their hands and i will catch hepatitis or AIDS by touching. I am afraid to use public bathroom fro the same reason.


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## danielleS (Jan 6, 2010)

*HELP for my daughter*

Hi i came accross this thread while looking for answers for my 12 year old daughter. Shes always had anxiety issues but for the last 5years has had increasingly bad mysophobia. Although she has tried various therapists and medications it continues to affect her life. Lately its getting worse and worse and is causing severe depression and stands in the way of her interacting with her family and friends. I am lost, I have idea where to turn. I feel like I should be able to help her as her mother, but I cant. We live in Michigan, if anyone has any idea of where to turn for help and answers please let me know. Any help will be appreciated.


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## momoftwingles (Dec 14, 2013)

*Feeling For You...*

Hi, I can totally relate to your frustration as I am a mom of twin daughters (13 yrs.) who have suffered from anxiety since young and some forms of OCD -getting stuck on things, the last 2 years since middle school -one has been battling germophobia which started with alot of handwashing, then just this January her twin started with handwashing & she has gotten severe faster. Both battle this daily and one has had to be in hospital twice this fall & winter. She is just home on a weekend pass. Today was rough & I almost had to take her back to hospital. They don't know what to do & have been trying them on medication to help the anxiety & sleep. So far we have tried many with not good results in a short time. We tried a naturopath for a bit and by the time we got the B12 nasal spray she recommended with other things, the one girl was getting worse again. So we had to revisit the Dr. & medication. One is on Seraquel 25mg and the other was on Risperidone 50mg. We are not really wanting them on such strong medication as I have been advised that these are not very safe drugs and the girls are only 13 yrs. old. They are not recommended for anyone under 25. Hmm...We were told to use strategies of journalling tonight & distraction. We have tried them both before with some success and not so helpful in past. Anyone have any things that work? Vivian


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## dswift (Jun 25, 2014)

*Germssss*

I have the same promlem... everytime i go get food or somthing that i need a fork or spoon for i go crazy trying to find a clean fork or spoon. When I was in highschool, i would wash my hands so often and so much that my bathroom floor would always be soaking wet, my parnets used to scream at me. Also, I always have to take at least 3 showers everyday, if I come in contact with ANYONE, i go and wash my hands or take a shoewr... it suckssss


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## MzDisney (Jun 23, 2014)

I'm pretty sure I fall into this same category. I won't touch the handle of a door to open it unless i can pull my sleeve down over my hand, or open it with an elbow. I don't go anywhere without a bottle of antibacterial gel. In fact, I have them in several rooms of my house, as well as in my car. If people come to my house to visit, as soon as they leave I spray the house with Lysol and wipe down all surfaces with antibacterial wipes, including door knobs and light switches. I hate public bathrooms so much that I often have nightmares about them. I won't eat at buffets and I won't take cruises because, to me, it's a floating germfest. It really does suck to be like this. My sister tells me that, because I use the antibacterial get so much, that I'm killing the good bacteria. Thanks, but I'll take my chances!


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## spawithlisab (Aug 7, 2014)

Do you find that your phobia is selective? like it happens sometimes , not all the time?


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## Alexandra Marie (Nov 27, 2013)

Yes my germ phobia is getting out of control lately. It's starting to be in the house now that I'm scared of them. Sometimes I'll wear these gloves that my mom brings from work. She works at the hospital and I always ask her to bring those purple gloves and disinfectant wipes. It's powerful stuff so it eases my mind a little knowing I've killed a lot of germs lol.


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## cherylm (Sep 1, 2014)

Omg this sounds like me the germs, sick people, not eating out etc ok what can be done about it if anything


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## woafy (Jul 9, 2014)

I do. It drives me craaaaazy. Cant leave the house without hand sanitizer, cant touch anything thats out side my bedroom with my hands, sometimes I have a hard time eating with other people because they do this that gross me out when they eat...it makes just about everything 100x more difficult.


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## cherylm (Sep 1, 2014)

Are there any groups for people with this phobia


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Didn't realize this topic have been revived multiple times over the years. Things are still the same for me. 

What's interesting is I now have a girlfriend with pretty bad germaphobia. It's weird because there will be things she will think I'm not germaphobic enough at and there will be others that I'll be surprised she isn't germaphobic much about. Being around me has caused her to take up disinfecting public restrooms when she used to mostly only worry about food things. I couldn't make it as a woman, because I just plain won't sit on public toilets or even get close to sitting on them.

I've been going to a psychiatrist for over a year. A lot of times he seems surprised that my bathroom problems aren't going away. It's like he thinks just giving me medicine is going to make it go away.


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## cherylm (Sep 1, 2014)

Slyfox are you seeing a dr just for the germophobia my dr tells me that meds will help but not 100 percent do you work outside 
The home


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## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

cherylm said:


> Slyfox are you seeing a dr just for the germophobia my dr tells me that meds will help but not 100 percent do you work outside
> The home


No, also for my anxiety and depression. Sounds like your Dr is smarter than mine. I still need to find a therapist, but I don't see myself ever overcoming this.

I used to have a job but left it because my problems were making me too miserable. My back pain is what eventually drove me to leave, but my germaphobia was a huge problem. I'd refuse to use the restroom at work even though it caused me extreme pain. I brought disinfecting wipes with me but usually still refused unless I had no choice. I delivered auto parts and there were times I'd sneak home to use the restroom even when it wasn't near my deliveries. Also many times just called in sick or left while at work claiming to be sick. I think I was close to being fired anyway.


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