- Also called:
- skin picking disorder or excoriation
- Related Topics:
- human skin
dermatillomania
-
What is dermatillomania?
Dermatillomania is a psychiatric disorder where a person compulsively picks at their skin, causing tissue damage. It's an obsessive-compulsive disorder that can lead to infections and scarring if untreated.
People with dermatillomania may pick their skin due to anxiety, stress, or boredom, often using fingers, nails, or tools like tweezers. They may focus on specific areas or pick without realizing it.
Treatment includes therapy, like habit reversal and acceptance and commitment therapy, and sometimes medication such as anticonvulsants and SSRIs. In severe cases, surgery and skin grafting might be needed.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does dermatillomania affect a person's behavior?
Dermatillomania is a psychiatric disorder where individuals compulsively pick at their skin, leading to tissue damage. This behavior is often triggered by anxiety, stress, or boredom. Those affected may use fingers, fingernails, or objects like tweezers to pick, squeeze, or rub their skin.
This picking can be focused, with awareness, or automatic, without the person realizing it. The disorder can cause significant distress, shame, and guilt. It is classified as an obsessive-compulsive disorder and is sometimes considered a body-focused repetitive behavior. Dermatillomania often co-occurs with anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why do people develop dermatillomania?
Dermatillomania is a psychiatric disorder where people compulsively pick at their skin, leading to tissue damage. It typically emerges during adolescence or adulthood and impacts an estimated 2–5% of adults and adolescents.
People may develop dermatillomania due to a combination of factors, including a family history of the disorder, and co-occurring conditions such as stress, anxiety, or other psychological conditions. Skin conditions like eczema or acne can also increase the risk. Individuals pick their skin for various reasons, including boredom, anxiety, or stress. They may use their fingers, fingernails, or objects like tweezers.
Therapy, medication, or both can treat dermatillomania.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What are common symptoms or signs of dermatillomania?
Dermatillomania is a psychiatric disorder where individuals compulsively pick at their skin, leading to tissue damage. This condition typically emerges during adolescence or adulthood and is often linked to a family history of the disorder, as well as underlying anxiety, stress, or other skin conditions like acne or eczema.
The primary symptom is a compulsive urge to pick, scratch, squeeze, dig, or rub the skin, often resulting in distress, shame, or guilt. Individuals may use fingers, fingernails, or objects like tweezers and pins. Picking can be focused, with awareness, or automatic, without the person realizing it.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How can dermatillomania impact a person's health?
Dermatillomania is a psychiatric disorder where a person compulsively picks at their skin, resulting in tissue damage. If left untreated, this disorder can lead to infections, ulcerations, and extensive scarring.
People with dermatillomania may pick their skin due to anxiety, stress, or boredom. The picking may be focused or automatic, and those affected often experience shame, distress, or guilt as a result.
Treatment includes therapy, medication, or both. Habit reversal therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy can help. While there are no specific medications for dermatillomania, certain anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may provide relief. In severe cases, antibiotics, surgery, or skin grafting may be required to repair the skin.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What treatments or strategies can help people manage dermatillomania?
Dermatillomania is a psychiatric disorder where people compulsively pick at their skin, leading to tissue damage. Therapy, medication, or both, can help those with dermatillomania.
Habit reversal therapy (HRT), a type of cognitive behavioral therapy, is a method used to treat dermatillomania. HRT helps patients recognize when they are engaging in picking and attempts to replace those urges with less harmful activities. Acceptance and commitment therapy, in which individuals practice mindfulness to focus on the present while also changing behavior patterns to allow for the acceptance of feelings and thoughts, can also help with dermatillomania.
There are no specific medications for dermatillomania. However, anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may bring some relief. The amino acid N-acetylcysteine has also shown promise in the treatment of dermatillomania.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
dermatillomania, psychiatric disorder in which an individual compulsively picks at their skin to the extent that it leads to tissue damage. Left untreated, the disorder can result in ulcerations, infections, and extensive scarring. Estimates suggest that roughly 2 to 5 percent of adolescents and adults are affected by dermatillomania.
The word dermatillomania is derived from the Greek derma, meaning “skin,” tillo, meaning “pull” or “pluck,” and mania, meaning “madness.” Dermatillomania is classified as an obsessive-compulsive and related disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5; 2013). It frequently co-occurs with other conditions, particularly anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. Dermatillomania is sometimes also considered to be a type of body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB). BFRBs, although potentially physically damaging to the body, are driven by pathological urges, often associated with factors such as anxiety and boredom, and are not attributed to intent to inflict self-harm.
Risk factors and symptoms
Dermatillomania typically develops during adolescence or adulthood. Affected individuals are likely to have a first-degree family member with the disorder and generally suffer from anxiety, stress, or other conditions. Skin conditions, such as acne or eczema, may also increase the risk of dermatillomania. Persons with dermatillomania may pick their skin for a variety of reasons, including anxiety, boredom, and stress.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
The main symptom of dematillomania is a compulsive urge to pick, scratch, squeeze, dig, or rub at the skin. Individuals may pick at their skin with their fingers or fingernails, but they may also use objects such as tweezers, pins, or scissors. Picking may be focused, in which the individual is aware of their picking and focuses their attention on a particular area of skin, or it may be automatic, meaning that the individual may pick at their skin without noticing that they are doing so. Individuals who have dermatillomania often experience distress, shame, or guilt as a result of their picking.
Diagnosis and treatment
Many individuals with dermatillomania are hesitant to seek medical attention, owing to feelings of shame or guilt. Diagnosis of the condition is based primarily on the presence of skin lesions caused by picking, accompanied by failed attempts to stop or reduce skin picking behavior prior to seeking treatment. Diagnosis also involves ruling out other possible causes, including preexisting skin conditions (such as dry skin), other psychological conditions or symptoms, and substance use.
Individuals with dermatillomania are often treated through therapy, medication, or a combination of the two. Methods of therapy used to treat dermatillomania include a form of cognitive behavioral therapy known as habit reversal therapy (HRT). HRT helps patients recognize when they are engaging in or have the urge to engage in picking and attempts to replace those urges with less harmful activities. Acceptance and commitment therapy, in which individuals practice mindfulness to focus on the present while also changing behavior patterns to allow for the acceptance of feelings and thoughts, can also help with dermatillomania.
There are no specific medications for dermatillomania. However, anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may bring some relief. The amino acid N-acetylcysteine has also shown promise in the treatment of dermatillomania. In severe cases, where picking has caused extensive tissue injury, antibiotics or even surgery and skin grafting may be necessary to repair the skin.
The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.
SUBSCRIBE
