We went through a germ-obsession phase when dd8 was about 7 to 7.5. She washed her hands so often that the skin on her hands cracked so we also used mild soap and hand cream. Going to the bathroom was stressful for her (and us) even at home, and much worse when we were out. She would freak out screaming if she thought any part of her body was "dirty" with germs on it.

I felt the same way as you about worrying that consulting a professional might make things seem more serious to the child and will make things worse.

We tried talking and reasoning to her in many ways and she understood some of the logic but just couldn't really control her worries.

Then one day we came upon this book: What to Do When You Worry Too Much. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/What-When-You-Worry-Much/dp/1591473144

It's a workbook written for kids. It explains several different strategies. We read it with her and tried implementing the "worry time" idea which was to ask her to put all her worries in a mental box during the day, then sometime toward the end of the day, we had a time dedicated to talking to her about her worries. After doing that for just a week or so, plus she used some other strategies on her own - like telling the "worry bully" to go away when it crept up, things had improved significantly. A part of it could also be that she was very, very unhappy about the way she was so worried and so she was ready to be done with it. All in all though, the book was a tremendous help and a sanity saver for all of us in this family.

The other thing that helped a lot with the hand washing thing was allowing dd to use baby wipes (the mild no-perfume ones) on her hands or anywhere when she felt there were germs there. I did have to explain again and again that baby wipes are enough in many situations. It was a lot of wipes in the beginning. I had a hard time seeing her use and throw away that many wipes each time. I had to remind myself it was much better than the other alternative of her hands cracking and bleeding! Once she became less worried, she needed less and less wipes. :-)

We did lots of talking and lots of patience and it seemed like it would never end, but one day it did end. Okay, it didn't end completely, but it's much much better now. We feel like she has an almost normal life again.

Hope this helps some and good luck!!