When Water Triggers Fear and Pain: Aquaphobia and Hydrophobia
Water, vital to life, can evoke vastly different reactions—calm for some, but fear or pain for others. Aquaphobia is a psychological fear of water, often tied to trauma or anxiety, leading to intense dread in water-related situations. In contrast, hydrophobia is a symptom of rabies, where throat spasms cause severe pain when trying to swallow liquids, making water itself seem terrifying. Though they share a connection to water, these conditions differ in causes, symptoms, and treatments.