Excessive care for personal cleanliness

People with excessive concern for personal hygiene, or "prig syndrome", view other people as dirty, and can therefore not associate with them in any way.

The incidence of prig syndrome is particularly high in Japan, and had fostered a range of products designed to minimise the perceived risks. There are antibacterial products, impregnated with antiseptics, such as pens and pencils, paper, bicycle handles, and musical instruments. Sanitary coatings are used on telephones, fax machines, dishwashers, computer floppy disks, and microphones used in karaoke bars. There is an automated teller machine that irons and sanitizes money before dispensing it.