Howie Mandel Opens Up About His Germophobia

Comedian, author, and television personality Howie Mandel joins The Doctors to discuss living his life with a severe germ phobia. And The Doctors conduct a test to see just how dirty the average hand is. Check out the results.

About The Doctors:

The Doctors is an Emmy award-winning daytime talk show hosted by ER physician Dr. Travis Stork, plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon, OB-GYN Dr. Jennifer Ashton, urologist Dr. Jennifer Berman and family medicine physician and sexologist Dr. Rachael Ross.

The Doctors helps you understand the latest health headlines, such as the ice bucket challenge for ALS and the Ebola outbreak; delivers exclusive interviews with celebrities dealing with health issues, such as Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham, reality stars Honey Boo Boo and Mama June and activist Chaz Bono; brings you debates about health and safety claims from agricultural company Monsanto and celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy; and shows you the latest gross viral videos and explains how you can avoid an emergency situation. The Doctors also features the News in 2:00 digest of the latest celebrity health news and The Doctors’ Prescription for simple steps to get active, combat stress, eat better and live healthier.

Now in its eighth season, The Doctors celebrity guests have included Academy Award Winners Sally Field, Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Marcia Gay Harden, Kathy Bates and Marisa Tomei; reality stars from Teen Mom and The Real Housewives, as well as Kris Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner, Melissa Rivers, Sharon Osbourne, Tim Gunn and Amber Rose; actors Jessica Alba, Christina Applegate, Julie Bowen, Patricia Heaton, Chevy Chase, Kristin Davis, Lou Ferrigno, Harrison Ford, Grace Gealey, Cedric the Entertainer, Valerie Harper, Debra Messing, Chris O’Donnell, Betty White, Linda Gray, Fran Drescher, Emmy Rossum, Roseanne Barr, Valerie Bertinelli, Suzanne Somers; athletes Magic Johnson, Apolo Ohno and Danica Patrick; musicians Tim McGraw, Justin Bieber, Clint Black, LL Cool J, Nick Carter, Kristin Chenoweth, Paula Abdul, Gloria Gaynor, La Toya Jackson, Barry Manilow, Bret Michaels, Gene Simmons and Jordin Sparks; and celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck, Guy Fieri and Curtis Stone.

[thecynic]

If that doctor knew a damn thing about OCD, he would know that the anxiety that comes with it is almost ALWAYS irrational. No lab result is going to alleviate an OCD sufferer's anxiety because the brain doesn't care about the facts, it cares about feelings.

[lifeslight]

I love Howie for being so open about his struggles. God bless him! ❤️❤️❤️

[toastkage]

I do have the same phobia as Howie, I just realised. I wash my hand so many times a day, thinking that I'm getting germs and that my hands are unclean.

[IrvinEdits]

I have a phobia of toilets. I always close the top before flushing & if I'm in a public rest room I flush and run out the stalls, since I've heard that feces & water fly out da toilet when you flush. Sometimes I even use my foot to flush it cause I don't want my hands to make contact with the toilet at all.

[everspace]

He is absolutely right. I'm in the medical field. It's scary out there

[laidblackyvy]

I Love Howie So Much Shoutout To Him to Being One Of The Few To Get The Word Out

[CinemaRescored]

The worst thing about public restrooms when you have OCD:

The door handles on the inside of the room.

[biancanery]

As a germophobe I don't think the whole "just common environmental bacteria" was of any help or assurance to Howie

[Joviboy]

I’m similar. If I’m exiting a bathroom at a restaurant or any place, I use the paper towel to open the door. That’s why I prefer to use a bathroom that is doorless which I wish was used more

[AllThingsFitnessandLifestyle]

Being and hypochondriac is hardddd it’s deeply rooted in the mental stemming from traumatic childhood. I fear everything concerning health since I was a kid.

[Ellier]

Madushan Jayawardane it's not nessecarily about germs or being clean. It's about invasive, repetitive thoughts. For instance, as I child I would obsessively think about losing a loved one and doing rituals to help save them (touching doorknobs a certain number of times, keeping everything the person touched even if it was trash). Not rituals in the religious sense, but something I have to do over and over again even though there is no logic to it. Another example- as a child I worried/thought about dying a lot (being separated from family and alone) so I thought getting more air (stocking up) would help prolong my life. I would stock up on air by sticking my head out of the car window trying to swallow more air. I would sit in front of fans breathing deeply for hours and hours on end- past the point of exhaustion. If it was a windy day I would be outside with my face to the wind, even if it was freezing. - The problem is the thoughts. They don't go away. OCD comes in many shapes and sizes. I have a friend who has a form of religious OCD and another who would get mentally stuck on a past mistake. OCD is about obsessive, unwanted thoughts and ones behaviors around these thoughts. There are many degrees of severity.

[Andrewcox-bj]

i have ocd and autism and other mental illnessess so thank u howie i have Kleptomania and others

[subscribeifyouloveyourmom]

We acctually started to shake hands to check if there is something in someone’s hand in the war for knifes guns ect and then it was taken as a sign of greeting

[LeilaniAlua]

I got a germaphobia as well. I can't stand shaking hands its soo gross.

[bryanhall]

2:42 "holy shit, this guy is making a lot of sense right now"

[JoshDisher]

Howie: "See! I fucking told you!

Everyone:

[ramachandrabhakta]

I'm sure Howie is now the happiest guy with all the social distancing and covering the face thing. 😂😂

[sarahjones]

i really relate I have ocd, autism, anxiety, and a little hypochondria! I love him for opening about his mental illnesses 👌👍 thank you howie

[sorbiestudios]

1:09 I was watching this and my sister, a medical student, was studying and she heard this and she said " send that video to me right now I need help" 😂

[hippietoes]

When my parents were divorcing when I was 8 I went through a stage where if I touched Literally anything I had to wash my hands and then you sanitizer I couldn’t touch even a wall without doing so I think it was my way of exacting control over at least one thing in my life being pristine and under my control