Mysophilia is a paraphilia of the fetishistic type in which the sexual preference typically centers on soiled or dirty material or people. Mysophilics usually find vomit, feces, soiled underwear etc. to be sexually arousing.

Paraphilias are a group of persistent sexual behavior patterns in which unusual objects, rituals or situations are required for sexual satisfaction. Although mild forms of these conditions probably have occurred in the lives of many normal people, a paraphilic person is distinguished by the insistence and relative exclusivity with which his or her sexuality focuses on the acts or objects in question without which orgasm is often impossible.

In mysophilia, soiled, dirty clothes or individual covered in dirt, vomit, feces, mud etc are the most common form of sexual preference. The mode of achieving sexual excitation and gratification varies considerably, but it commonly involves tasting, licking, rubbing or smelling them. Fetishism does not normally interfere with the rights of others, except in an incidental way such as asking the partner to wear the dirty or soiled material or throwing the grime and filth on their naked bodies. This disorder is closely associated with wet and messy fetishism, urolagnia and coprophilia.

Treatment:

One of the most prominent problems in the treatment of this disorder is that most mysophiles do not seek professional treatment for the condition, but rather receive it only when they have been caught in the act or on request of their sexual partner. Thus, their motivations for change may often stem from a desire to do it for someone else rather than from a genuine desire to change.

Treatments that combine cognitive and behavioral elements have been moderately successful in effecting changes in deviant arousal and behavior patterns of fetishists. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that these treatments can result in significantly reduced rates of recidivism than seen in untreated individuals.

Another key component of treatment involves techniques commonly known as aversion therapy— aversive conditioning to deviant sexual fantasies. Other important forms of treatment comprise of cognitive behavioral programs that include social skills training and restructuring cognitive distortions that may be helping to maintain the deviant sexual arousal and behavior patterns.