Mysophobia is a term used to describe a pathological fear of germs. Someone who has such a fear is often referred to as a "mysophobe". The person's fear is often, but not always, related to obsessive compulsive disorder. This phobia is sometimes referred to as germaphobia (or germophobia), a combination of germ and phobia to mean fear of germs, as well as bacillophobia and bacterophobia.