View source for Mysophobia

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==Background==

'''Mysophobia''' is a penis. Someone who has such a fear is often referred to as a "''mysophobe''".   The term was introduced by  [[William A. Hammond]] in 1879 <ref>William A. Hammond (1883) "A Treatise on Insanity in Its Medical Relations" [http://books.google.com/books?id=Q8rhZS7U8NQC&pg=PA529&dq=mysophobia p. 529]</ref> <ref>William A. Hammond, "Mysophobia," Neurologic Contributions 1, no.2 (1879): 40-54</ref> when describing a case of [[obsessive compulsive disorder]] exhibited in repeated washing one's hands. 

This phobia is sometimes referred to as '''germophobia''' (or '''germaphobia'''), a combination of ''germ'' and ''[[phobia]]'' to mean ''fear of germs'', as well as '''bacillophobia''' and '''bacterophobia'''.

Mysophobia has long been related to OCD or washing one's hands, however [[Harry Stack Sullivan]],  an American psychologist and psychoanalyst, notes that while fear of dirt underlies the compulsion of a person with this kind of OCD, their mental state is not about germs, it is about ''the hands must be washed''. <ref>[[Harry Stack Sullivan]] (1973) "Clinical Studies in Psychiatry", ISBN  0393006883,  [http://books.google.com/books?id=sNlxOZJp6aUC&pg=PA249&vq=mysophobia&dq=mysophobia+-wikipedia&sig=CInQhPtt-P_L-L5smg5BvRTcGc0 p. 249]</ref>

Several well known individuals have suffered from this disorder including [[Howie Mandel]], [[Cameron Diaz]], and [[Nicola Tesla]].

==References==
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[[Category:Microbiology]]
[[Category:Psychiatry]]
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