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10 STRANGE medical phobias you should know about

Find out whether you have any of these weird phobias.

Written by Sandhya Raghavan | Updated : July 13, 2017 6:01 PM IST

Fear

Nobody looks forward to visiting the doctor or ruining a perfect afternoon at the clinic discussing ailments. But has the thought of hospital beds ever made you sweat copious buckets of sweat? Would you rather bear the throbbing migraine than let a pill slip between your lips? It seems like you don't have a mild aversion, but a full-blow fear of hospitals, doctors and medicines. Here are some interesting medical phobias that can turn people into a blob of frightened mess!

Hospital

Pic for representative purpose @Shutterstock

Fears-that-keep-women-in-abusive-relationships-THS

Nosophobia: Tired of hearing about how plastics could cause hormonal imbalance and how cell phone usage could cause tumours inside your head? This could lead to the fear of contracting a scary disease, otherwise known as nosophobia. There's no escaping it these days! Constant hysteria about health from different media outlets is making us more and more nosophobic. Also Read - Mother’s Day 2023: Benefits Of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) For Maternal Health

Germs

Mysophobia: Do you know someone who disinfects his hands, door knobs, cups, table tops, spectacles, spoons, plates or everything he comes in physical contact with? If the hand sanitiser his best friend, the person may have a pathological fear of germs and contamination, otherwise known as mysophobia.

Blood Drop

Heamatophobia: We have may have all heard someone fainting at the sight of their own or other's blood. Those unfortunate souls suffer from something known as heamatophobia or irrational fear of blood. The sight of blood serves as a reminder of their vulnerability or mortality, which makes them go pale with fear. Also Read - Beauty Tech: How Industry 4.0 Is Impacting The Beauty Industry

Needle

Trypanophobia: Even the bravest among us will flinch if the doctor were to brandish a sinister-looking syringe. That's the effect needles have on us. But for some people, the fear is too much to handle. Just the mere mention of needles can cause them to develop dizziness, breathlessness or palpitations.

Headache

Cephalgiaphobia: Ask anyone who's had a migraine how it feels like and you'd know why cephalgiaphobia is justified. Some people are so traumatised by painful episodes of headaches that the fear the return of the ache during a pain-free period. This irrational fear is called as cephalgiaphobia.  Also Read - Concussions: Why You Need To Take Them Seriously?

Surgery

Tomophobia: Tomophobia is the fear or surgical procedures of impending surgeries. While it is natural to be worried about surgical procedures, those suffering from tomophobia take this fear to a bizarre level. People suffering from this phobia sometimes refuse going through major life-saving operations just because they can't handle the anxiety and dread associated with them.

Pills

Pharmacophobia: Hate taking pills? We don't blame you. But does the sight of medicines cause panic attacks and anxiety? You have pharmacophobia, the fear of pills and medicines.  Also Read - Diet For Pregnant Women: 8 Myths Busted!

Death

Thanatophobia: Is there anyone among us who can claim that he doesn't fear death? There's probably nothing irrational about the fear of death. It is a natural response that aids self preservation. However, when the fear hinders your day-to-day activities, limiting your from living your life and preventing contact with people, then we have a problem. This exaggerated fear of dying and death is known as thanatophobia.