Are you afraid of bathing, cleaning or washing? Think again! You can be ‘Ablutophobic’. Most of you must have never heard of this word. So get ready to add another word to your vocabulary.

You must be thinking that is it possible that someone could be afraid of bathing, cleaning or washing? Well, it is there. Psychology has many nasty plays on human beings and this is one of those. If someone has ever told you that he/she is afraid of bathing, you must have laughed out hearing it, and that is one of the reasons that phobic people do not share about their fears easily, which with time becomes incurable.

Ablutophobia, originated from a Latin word ‘Ablutere’ which means ‘to wash off’, is the persistent, abnormal and unwarranted fear of bathing, washing or cleaning. This phobia is a situational specific phobia. Ablutophobia tends to be more common in children and females than in males. However, the fear generally dissipates in children as they learn that bathing is not something to be feared. But for the grown-ups, it is not that easy and sometimes it never really dissipates from them.

So the next time when someone tell you about his/her fear of bathing, please try to take it seriously instead of laughing and if you feel that it is acute, then try to bring him/her under some medication.