Amychophobia (from Greek amychí, "scratch") is the fear of scratches or of being scratched, clawed or lacerated. People suffering this phobia would avoid encountering animals with claws like cats and dogs, mainly because getting clawed can be painful as well as leading to infections. Sufferers who have allergic reactions with animals (like dander in addition to getting scratched) may justify their fears. Some of the more severe sufferers would even avoid going real close to people who have long nails. The triggers for this fear include the info mentioned above as well as knowing that friends or family suffering effects from being scratched.
If sufferer gets scratched, he/she may panic in terror with symptoms like shortness of breath, heart palpitations, nausea, sweating, and intense fear when confronted by animals. Behavior therapy is the most successful method of treating amychophobia, although using it may take months or years to totally cure it.