History Main / TerrifiedOfGerms

* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the ''[[UpToEleven whole world]]'', due to the UsefulNotes/CoronavirusPandemic.

* In ''Videogame/GodOfWarPS4'', Sindri is a dwarven blacksmith with a deep fear of germs and anything he deems filthy, such as Kratos' blood-covered axe. He states that he used to be just as unhygienic as the next dwarf until a witch taught him about the concept of germs and viral infections, which led to him becoming a severe germophobe.

* ''WebComic/StandStillStaySilent'': When the Rash, the disease that caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ninety years ago is still around and a threat to anyone who isn't TheImmune, one can't blame Iceland for putting the personnel of returning merchant ships in quarantine and the capital of Sweden for putting new arrivals through a DecontaminationChamber. Reynir is still this by that world's standards, as his parents greatly exaggerated the circumstances in which he could get sick. This came to light when he became a stowaway to a crew exploring a ForbiddenZone ridden with potential disease vectors and TheMedic had to use a variant of "no Reynir, that will not make you catch the Rash" on two separate occasions (granted that the second time, a PlagueZombie had bruised Reynir's arm and an actual scratch would have been a problem).
* Schtein in ''Webcomic/StringTheory'' is severely mysophobic and wears gloves all the time except when he's eating.

-->''You know their name is contagious,\\
Their number's outrageous,\\

And it wiggles and squirms,\\

Known to psychologists as "mysophobia" and to others as "germophobia" this trope describes characters who have a crippling fear of germs. This is one of the common symptoms of SuperOCD.

* Sid on ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' also develops this.

* In ''WesternAnima/{{Frozen|2013}}'', due to Anna having her memories of Elsa's powers erased, she comes to the assumption that Elsa always wears ConspicuousGloves because she's terrified of dirt. (The pre-germ theory version of this trope?)

* ''WebOriginal/LegacyOfAThousandSuns'': One germophobe celebrity shot another celebrity with an uzi live during his awards ceremony for touching his hand, and then spent billions on a germ-free house that shoots trespassers and friendly bystanders on sight. Joke's on him when all the paranoid combat causes two unfortunate reporters to hack into his personal android as she slices them up, and the malfunction ("Must Insert Germ Free Food" loop) causes her to suffocate her boss with his own germ-free birthday cake!

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' [[Recap/RugratsS3E20TheAlienMrClean Mr. Clean]], Chuckie becomes terrified of germs. His father lectures him about germs with his bath puppets after getting himself dirty multiple times. This is the reason ''why'' Chuckie became germaphobic. Every time he got dirty Chaz would give him a bath and bring out the bath puppets, and then would tell an increasingly terrified Chuckie about how dangerous germs are. Given how Chuckie is afraid of almost everything, it's no surprise he became neurotic. Chuckie dons a germ-proof "suit" and attempts to force the babies not to play anything to keep clean. When Chuckie gets stuck in a bush, Tommy tells him that the only way he can get out is if he takes off his germ suit, but Chuckie refuses. He eventually changes his mind when Phil and Lil tell him that the Germs got Tommy--which was Tommy's plan the whole time. Chuckie is horrified, but Tommy tells him that he went in the garbage and nothing bad happened. Seeing that he is right and since he does not want to spend the rest of his life doing nothing, Chuckie decides that he will just play like he did before and just keep an eye out for the germs. The babies then begin to play in the garbage...only for when Chas catch them and give all for a bath as the episode ends.

* Chuckie in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' becomes terrified of germs. His father lectures him about germs with his bath puppets after getting himself dirty multiple times. This is the reason ''why'' Chuckie became germaphobic. Every time he got dirty Chaz would give him a bath and bring out the bath puppets, and then would tell an increasingly terrified Chuckie about how dangerous germs are. Given how Chuckie is afraid of almost everything, it's no surprise he became neurotic.

* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the ''[[UpToEleven whole world]]'', due to the [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]].

* Meiji novelist Izumi Kyōka, known for asking people to cook even ''sashimi'', never eat fruit, and always carry disinfectant. Almost all iterations of him in fiction would portray him with this as the forefront trait.

* ''VideoGame/BungoToAlchemist'': This may as well be the defining characteristic of Izumi Kyōka. He's germophobic to the point where he always wears gloves, reheats food ''that's already cooked'' before eating, and even then refuses to eat the part his hands have touched, ''[[UpToEleven even though he wears gloves]]''.

* ''Film/TheCatInTheHat'': Joan Walden's boss, Mr. Humberfloob, takes this UpToEleven. His employees have to wash their hands constantly, and when a new employee shakes his hand, he promptly fires him on the spot before scrubbing his hands with disinfectant.

* In [=TeraBrite's=] SongParody [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vrvo6nTPM1s "Toothbrush"]], she refers to herself as a germaphobe.

* Dragon in ''The Eiger Sanction'' (1975)
-->'''[[BattleaxeNurse Miss Cerberus:]]''' I don't think Mr. Dragon's affliction is a joking matter.\\
'''[[Creator/ClintEastwood Hemlock:]]''' I thought it was rather humorous, myself. A spy network being run by a bloodless freak who can't stand light or cold.\\
'''Miss Cerberus:''' Or germs. Are you healthy?\\
'''Hemlock:''' Should I turn my head and cough?\\
'''Miss Cerberus:''' No known infections?\\
'''Hemlock:''' Nothing other than the usual; [[DeadpanSnarker syphilis, running sores, and the clap.]]

-->'''[[BattleaxeNurse Miss Cerebus]]:''' Mr Dragon does not like to be kept waiting.
-->'''Hemlock:''' The impatient albino.

-->'''Hemlock:''' Nothing other than the usual. Syphilis, running sores and clap.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1447486397022949200
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

I'm covered with ... microscopic bacteria.\\

I'm crawling with ... microscopic bacteria."''

* Akagi from ''Manga/KemonoJihen'' is so afraid of getting dirty that he carries wet wipes around with him all the time. At one point, he gets defeated by a little kid who exploited his weakness and pissed on him, causing him to get a nervous breakdown.

* Spotless [=McPartland=], in Dick Cavalli's ''ComicStrip/{{Winthrop}}''.

* In ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', due to Anna having her memories of Elsa's powers erased, she comes to the assumption that Elsa always wears ConspicuousGloves because she's terrified of dirt. (The pre-germ theory version of this trope?)

* A minor character in the film of ''Film/KPax'' was committed because of crippling mysophobia. The main character cured it by engineering a near-death experience, which caused the resident psychologist no small amount of confusion.
* Ed Begley, Jr. as the antagonist Ebner Frost in ''Film/SantaWithMuscles''.
* Bob from ''Film/WhatAboutBob'' is afraid of germs, among many other things. He stays in his apartment as much as possible, and uses tissues to avoid actually touching things. He gets better over the course of the film.
* ''Film/SuperMarioBros'': When Koopa first meets the Mario Bros., he wipes his hands off with tissues and even has them sprayed with disinfectant after he shakes their hands. It's taken UpToEleven in a DeletedScene (which was included in the junior novelization) when he has a lab technician devolved into primordial ooze simply for sneezing.
* ''Film/TheCatInTheHat'': Joan Walden's boss, Mr. Humberfloob, takes this UpToEleven. His employees have to wash their hands constantly, and when a new employee shakes his hand, he promptly fires him on the spot before scrubbing his hands with disinfectant.

-->'''[[BattleaxeNurse Miss Cerberus:]]''' I don't think Mr. Dragon's affliction is a joking matter.
-->'''[[Creator/ClintEastwood Hemlock:]]''' I thought it was rather humorous, myself. A spy network being run by a bloodless freak who can't stand light or cold.
-->'''Miss Cerberus:''' Or germs. Are you healthy?
-->'''Hemlock:''' Should I turn my head and cough?
-->'''Miss Cerberus:''' No known infections?
-->'''Hemlock:''' Nothing other than the usual; [[DeadpanSnarker syphilis, running sores, and the clap.]]

* In ''Literature/PeterPaysTribute'', Matt brings a bottle of Febreeze with him to movie theaters. He also refuses to eat fast food, sit on public benches, and generally make contact with other people.
* George Sorenson from ''Literature/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest''. He's constantly washing his hands until the skin is raw, but is such a germophobe he won't use soap. After the fishing trip and the participants are forced to take a special shower to be deloused, George has a meltdown.
* The Priest-Kings of ''Literature/{{Gor}}'' are so scared of germs that they made themselves immune to all sickness, eradicated every germ that could possibly harm them, moved to another planet, require outsiders to wash in antibacterial bleach several times a day and ''still'' won't touch anyone.

* Dr. Lisa Babitz in ''Literature/StarTrekVanguard''. At least as a doctor she can fight on the front lines against them...
* In Creator/JudyBlume's ''Literature/IggiesHouse'', Dorothy Landon is so terrified of her daughter Clarice touching, eating, or drinking anything that isn't hers, that Winnie Barringer often refers to the mother as Germs, Inc.
* In the ''Literature/JunieBJones'' books, Sheldon Potts, to the point where he puts a paper bag over his head, until Mr. Scary tells him that not only will this not help, but is actually likely to just concentrate the germs.

* In ''TheManyLivesOfStephenLeeds'' Ngozi, one of [[TheProtagonist Stephen's]] "aspects" is so afraid of germs she would prefer to go outside in a hazmat suit, if possible.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer:'' Mayor Richard Wilkins of Sunnydale. Even after he becomes ''invincible''. At first this seems to be setting up a ChekhovsGun that can be used to defeat him, but the only idea anyone can think of is to [[InsaneTrollLogic scare off the Mayor with a box marked EBOLA]].

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': Sheldon showers multiple times a day and constantly washes his hands.

[[folder:Standup Comedy]]
* Inverted with Creator/GeorgeCarlin; he famously spoke on how, since he grew up in New York City, swimming in the East River (which was filled with raw sewage) tempered his immune system so that he never got sick. He went on the say how humans can be like this, but the immune system needs targets to practice on. If one remains in a sterile environment, the immune system never gets a chance to develop properly so when something really strange comes along, people would not be able to survive it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]

* Jarlsberg the wizard in ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing''. During an Avatar of Jarlsberg run, player characters can't eat or drink anything they didn't conjure themselves (only way to be sure it's clean) and can't use basic attacks (those enemies might be ''covered'' in germs).
* ''WebOriginal/LegacyOfAThousandSuns'': One germophobe celebrity shot another celebrity with an uzi live during his awards ceremony for touching his hand, and then spent billions on a germ-free house that shoots trespassers and friendly bystanders on sight. Joke's on him when all the paranoid combat causes two unfortunate reporters to hack into his personal android as she slices them up, and the malfunction ("Must Insert Germ Free Food" loop) causes her to suffocate her boss with his own germ-free birthday cake!
* In ''Videogame/GodOfWarPS4'', Sindri is a dwarven blacksmith with a deep fear of germs and anything he deems filthy, such as Kratos' blood-covered axe. He states that he used to be just as unhygienic as the next dwarf until a witch taught him about the concept of germs and viral infections, which led to him becoming a severe germophobe.

* ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'': Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham. This seems to be the core of her OCD.

* ''WebComic/StandStillStaySilent'': When the Rash, the disease that caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ninety years ago is still around and a threat to anyone who isn't TheImmune, one can't blame Iceland for putting the personnel of returning merchant ships in quarantine and the capital of Sweden for putting new arrivals through a DecontaminationChamber. Reynir is still this by that world's standards, as his parents greatly exaggerated the circumstances in which he could get sick. This came to light when he became a stowaway to a crew exploring a ForbiddenZone ridden with potential disease vectors and TheMedic had to use a variant of "no Reynir, that will not make you catch the Rash" on two separate occasions (granted that the second time, a PlagueZombie had bruised Reynir's arm and an actual scratch would have been a problem).
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Susan is a relatively mild version of this. She is generally [[http://www.egscomics.com/comic/2017-10-06 uncomfortable touching things many others have potentially touched]] and [[HatesBeingTouched touching other people]].
** In [[https://egscomics.com/comic/2017-10-09 a later comic]], she describes it as what sounds like OCD: she may be rationally aware that there is no meaningful risk of infection, but her subconscious keeps throwing up alarms until she washes her hands or changes clothes or otherwise satisfies the compulsion.

* Mr. Fussy in ''WesternAnimation/TheMrMenShow''. Played for laughs because he lives next door to Mr. Messy.
* Dexter's Mom from ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' which is the reason why she almost always wears a pair of gloves. One episode has her freaking out after her gloves go missing. In a flashback to when she met Dad, she was grossed out at how messy and dirty he was, and constantly washed her hands after shaking hands with him. The solution to her problem with her fear of germs was the gloves.
* Worry Bear in ''WesternAnimation/JuliusJr'' demonstrates this when he finds out that his friend Clancy has the cold in one episode. He quickly provides every one near him with a box of tissue and a hand sanitizer, then proceeds to pull a ''gargantuan'' bottle of hand sanitizer out of {{hammerspace}} for himself.
* PlayedWith in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Turd Burglars," where Kyle's mysophobia is also part existential crisis--a video he watched says that your microbiome makes up half of the cells in your body, so does that mean that half of you isn't even really you? He gets over this when [[spoiler:his microbiome takes control of him and helps him save half of the town from a deadly illness]].

* Hubie and Bertie use this to their advantage when Claude Cat has an acute fear of being contaminated with germs in the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoon "The Hypochondri-cat."

** Edd; he puts on plastic gloves ''and'' a surgeon's mask when taking care of a sick Sarah. And when he catches her cold anyway, he claims that bacteria strike the instant one's guard is down. Germs are also his first complaint when forced into a bathroom vent.

* Edd from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':

** Jimmy is implied to be this, too. It normally doesn't show, but he has complained of germs every time he came in contact with saliva.

* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the ''[[UpToEleven whole world]]'', due to the Worldwide outbreak of the 2020 novel coronavirus/ COVID-19.

* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] by the ''[[UpToEleven whole world]] '', due to the outbreak of the 2020 novel coronavirus/ COVID-19.

* Dragon, the EvilAlbino in ''The Eiger Sanction'' (1975)

** PlayedWith in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Turd Burglars," where Kyle's mysophobia is also part existential crisis--a video he watched says that your microbiome makes up half of the cells in your body, so does that mean that half of you isn't even really you? He gets over this when [[spoiler:his microbiome takes control of him and helps him save half of the town from a deadly illness]].

* Zim, in the ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' episode "Germs". He eventually ends up covering himself in meat, as it's more sanitary than anything else he can find.

* Mr. Burns develops this in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "$pringfield".

* Dave from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama''