Bacterophobia

ANNIE
S O L O R ZA N O
FA B I Á N LÓ P EZ
 General characteristics
• The bacteriophobia is the pathological fear o dirt, contamination, germs or virus.
• Also, is an irrational and inhealthy fear of bacteria.
• Fear concentrates on biological matter, body odors and visible dirt.
• Also, bacteriophobia is known as misophobia.
 Causes
• There is no single cause why people develop this phobia.
• The origin of this usually goes back to childhood, with toilet training.
• Bacteriophobia is a posible fear of the consequences of the bacteria such as long-
term permanente illness or death.
• Bacteriophobia often hurts people who suffer from it and can cause suffering and
also interferes with people’s daily activities.
• They are usually included in obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and can end up
greatly affecting the lives or sufferers and their interpersonal relationships.
• Also, there are two causes that occur with bacteriophobia which are:
Biological cause
Environmental cause
 Effects
• People suffering from bacteriophobia often worry too much about cleanliness
and, despite this, are not able to handle it.
• Bacteriophobia can make a person feel lonly, depressed, anxious and stressed.
• When a person completely avoids germs, he or she may in turn develop health
problems.
• Using too many cleaning solutions and hand sanitizers makes a person more
vulnerable to catching germs, as their body is not used to fighting them
naturally.
 Statistics
Percentage Bacteriophobia
45%

40%

35% • Five percent are not misophobic.

30% • Forty percent are misophobic.
25%
• Twenty-six percent are quite misophobic.
20%
• Thirty percent are a bit misophobic.
15%

10%

5%

0%
Not misophobic Misophobic Quite misophobic Bit misophobic
 Treatments or cures
• There are many ways in wich germ phobia, bacteriophobia can be treated that Will alter
the way you live in a positive way.
• Treatment of germ phobia or bacteriophobia includes medications such as antidepressants
such as SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) and therapies such as CBT or
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. They are considered quite effective in treating this OCD.
• Cognitive Behavioral Theray (CBT) basically consists of three steps:
Exposure therapy, cognitive restraint, and relaxation training.
A combination of these steps helps the person get out of germ phobia.
These steps are done in the doctor’s office or even at home.