For those who have heard of rabies -- which is known clinically as hydrophobia -- the fear of rabies is very real to them. This is probably because the ways and means by which rabies afflicts those who suffer from it are truly horrible. Rabies as a virus can instill a phobia about contracting it (which is known as hydrophobophobia) that can almost paralyze some sufferers with fear.

This fear of contracting the rabies virus or disease is but one of literally hundreds of phobias that have been identified by those working in the mental health field. For certain, it is a very real and definable condition that can create conditions of extreme terror in many cases. Some of this is due to how rabies has insinuated itself into the popular culture, and also how horrible it can be.

One reason people become so fearful of possibly contracting the rabies virus is that it has been nearly 100% mortality rate, meaning that those who actually contract the disease will almost certainly die. Even though there is a 100%-effective anti-rabies medication, people still can't get the stories of foaming-at-the-mouth vicious dogs and animals out of their minds.

It doesn't really help that there have been a number of movies over the years that have taken advantage of the rabies theme, particularly one that was released in the early 1980s that featured a large St. Bernard who eventually developed rabies and became, basically, a killing machine. In people, the fear of contracting rabies, then, can become almost visceral in its intensity.

Certainly, there are a number of effective therapies that have been developed to help people deal with this phobia, but some can take years of concerted treatment. Fortunately, there have been certain recent advancements in treating this sort of phobia that can actually lead to it being eliminated or cured in a relatively shorter amount of time.

The actual fear of rabies in the clinical sense, which is known as hydrophobophobia, is very real to many people, though the odds of someone contracting rabies from a bat bite or some other animal bite are very small. What's for certain, though, is that this phobia is treatable and doesn't have to be the nearly-debilitating condition that exists in many who suffer from it.