What is "Aerophobia"? Why are patients sensitive to it?

Hey, this is a great question because the term "fear of wind" (恐风症, kǒng fēng zhèng) can be quite confusing, as it refers to two completely different things depending on the context. One is related to rabies, the other is a purely psychological issue. Let me break them down for you separately.

1. A Symptom of Rabies — "Hydrophobia" (often mistakenly called "Fear of Wind" or "Aerophobia")

This is the "fear of wind" you most often hear about in movies, TV shows, or popular science articles. It is NOT a psychological fear.

• What is it? When a person contracts rabies and reaches the late stages of the illness, the virus severely attacks their central nervous system, especially the nerves controlling swallowing and breathing. At this point, the patient's throat area becomes extremely hypersensitive, entering a state of high excitability and spasm (muscle cramping).

• Why the sensitivity to wind? Think about it: a light breeze on your face or even a slight movement of air causes little to no sensation in a healthy person. But for a rabies patient in this stage, even these extremely subtle stimuli trigger intense muscle spasms and severe pain in the throat.

  Analogy: It's like when your leg cramps—the muscle is stiff and extremely painful. Any attempt to move it slightly or someone touching it causes excruciating pain. The rabies patient's throat is essentially in a state of "extreme super cramping." Airflow from wind, the stimulus of water when drinking, even the mere sight of water or the sound of water, can all trigger excruciating throat pain, an inability to breathe, and an inability to swallow saliva.

  Therefore, the patient isn't psychologically afraid of wind; their body is having an intense, physiological pain reaction to the stimulus of wind. To avoid this excruciating pain, they instinctively avoid wind and avoid water, which looks like intense fear.

In short, the "fear of wind" in rabies is physical pain, not psychological fear.

2. "Phobia" in the Field of Mental Health (Anemophobia/Psychogenic Aerophobia)

This is the formal psychological "phobia," bearing no relation to rabies whatsoever.

• What is it? This is a specific phobia, a type of anxiety disorder. The person develops an irrational, excessive, and persistent fear of wind, air currents, or fresh air itself. This level of fear is far disproportionate to any actual danger wind might pose.

• Why the sensitivity to "wind"? The causes of psychological phobias are usually complex and vary between individuals, but can generally be categorized into a few types:

  1. Past Traumatic Experiences: This is the most common cause. For example, experiencing extremely violent typhoons or tornadoes during childhood, or having something frightening happen during very windy weather (like being hit by a falling object blown by the wind). This traumatic memory becomes strongly linked with "wind." From then on, windy conditions trigger the original feelings of fear and helplessness.
  2. Learned Fear: The fear might be "learned" from parents or others. For instance, if family elders repeatedly emphasize warnings like "Never expose yourself to wind drafts; you'll get sick or develop facial paralysis," a child may eventually develop a pathological fear of wind.
  3. Misinformation/Misassociation: The brain might incorrectly associate "wind" with dangerous or negative concepts, such as suffocation, loss of control, or illness.

  A person suffering from this psychological phobia may experience symptoms typical of a panic attack when encountering wind or even just thinking about windy weather: rapid heartbeat, sweating, trembling, difficulty breathing, urge to flee, etc. They often go to great lengths to avoid any environment where they might encounter wind—like keeping windows and doors tightly shut, or refusing to go outside—significantly impacting their normal life.

In short, the psychological "fear of wind" is psychological fear, unrelated to physical pain.

To summarize, the key differences are:

Hope this explanation clarifies the difference between the two!