Compulsive skin picking: Encyclopedia - Compulsive skin picking

Compulsive skin picking

Compulsive skin picking (CSP) is a nervous disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pick at one's own skin, often to the extent that damage is caused. The disorder is known by many other names: dermatillomania, chronic skin picking, neurotic excoriation and acne excoriee.

Damage from CSP is common on the face, back, scalp, and extremities, usually caused by a mixture of rubbing, scratching, picking and tweezing. Focus may be placed on ingrown hairs, scabs, insect bites, pimples, or cuticles. Sufferers of the condition may enter a trance-like state, only to be confronted with the results afterward.

Research into the cause of the condition has been limited, but it has been linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder. Few treatment options are currently available, but some individuals have found relief through cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Compulsive skin picking", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki