What is Dermatophagia?

Dermatophagia describes the condition of an individual with a compulsion or habit, either conscious or subconscious, that results in that person biting their own skin. The researchers considered this condition analogous to other self-mutilating disorders such as hair pulling or nail biting [5].

What is dermatophagia caused by?

It is not clear why some people develop dermatophagia. According to the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, both genetic and social factors may have a role. According to the National Institute of Mental Health , people with OCD may be more likely to have family members that also have OCD.

Does dermatophagia go away?

There is no therapy known to effectively treat dermatophagia, but there have been attempts at stopping those affected from being able to chew on their skin.

How do I know if I have dermatophagia?

People with dermatophagia—literally meaning “skin eating”—regularly experience the urge to bite their own skin. This disorder falls into the body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) family and is widely accepted as being related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Do I have OCD if I have dermatophagia?

Dermatophagia or “wolf-biting”⁵ is another obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)-related disorder and is defined as the compulsion to bite one's own skin.

I Eat my Hands! Dermatophagia | Mother Naked

Why is dermatophagia called wolf biting?

People suffering from dermatophagia are sometimes called “wolf biters” because they bite off chunks of flesh. Dermatophagia benefits from treatment, but the treatment varies based on the age of the person, as well as the severity of symptoms.

What do you do if you have dermatophagia?

Although there is currently no FDA-approved medication for the treatment of dermatophagia, habit reversal training and CBT may help with alleviating and managing symptoms. Contact your doctor if you have concerns about dermatophagia. They will be able to refer you to a mental health specialist.

What medication is used for dermatophagia?

Pharmacotherapy is also a treatment option for patients with debilitating body-focused repetitive behaviors. Some of the medications that have been used include buspirone, clomipramine, lithium, risperidone, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline) [19,20].

What's the difference between dermatophagia and Dermatillomania?

Dermatillomania sufferers will just pick at their skin and will not eat it, whereas dermatophagia sufferers will bite or ingest the picked skin and are often referred to as 'wolf-biters'. Many sufferers of dermatophagia start out with compuslive skin picking.

How do I stop biting the skin around my fingers?

Why do I pick my fingers until they bleed?

Excoriation is a disorder that is related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Excoriation is a repetitive habit of picking at skin, scabs, or cuticles. People with excoriation cannot stop picking their skin even if it hurts or bleeds.

What does psychology say about nail biters?

Recently psychologists have come to a more plausible theory of nail biting: that it can provide a temporary escape, distraction, or bit of pleasure or relaxation for the biter. Penzel points out that many people get the urge to bite when they're understimulated (i.e., bored) or overstimulated (stressed out or excited).

What personality are nail biters?

While most people assume nail biting has to do with nerves or anxiety, one study is linking this bad habit to a surprising personality trait. According to a study published in the March 2015 issue of Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, nail biters are more likely to be perfectionists.

Is nail biting a trauma response?

Emotions: Our emotional make-up is integral to why we turn to nail biting. Shyness and low self-esteem can have an effect in addition to the pain caused by highly traumatic life events such as death or divorce.

What kind of person bites their nails?

It's a behavior often associated with stress or anxiety, but it's likely more complicated than that. For instance, one theory is that it helps some people regulate their emotions — or it feels like it does anyways.

Is there medication for dermatillomania?

Some psychiatric medications are occasionally used to treat skin picking disorder, but none are FDA-approved or well-established for this purpose. SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) such as Prozac are the best-studied class of medicines for skin picking.

Does anxiety cause finger picking?

Skin picking can be triggered by emotional components such as anxiety, boredom, or tension. Pain in not reported to accompany these actions. Often a sense of relief, gratification, and pleasure is achieved following the skin picking.

Does skin picking release dopamine?

Intermittent and repeated skin picking to relieve tension from itching may “sensitize” the reward system and lead to escalation in reward seeking and repeated stimulation of dopamine release, resulting in restoration of a state of dopamine deficiency as in idiopathic PD.

How do you prevent Dermatillomania?

Make it harder to pick

One simple strategy to reduce picking, called stimulus control, involves changing your environment to make it harder to pick.

Is dermatillomania a form of ADHD?

In cases of comorbidity with ADHD the question is often raised as to whether ADHD in fact causes compulsive skin picking. While there may be a correlation between ADHD and the onset of dermatillomania, there is no evidence to suggest a causal relationship.

Is dermatillomania a form of anxiety?

Skin picking may be triggered by anxiety as a way to relieve stress. When it becomes frequent and intense, however, it can become a condition called skin picking disorder or excoriation. People with skin picking disorder do it out of habit and may struggle to control the impulse.

Is BFRB a mental illness?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association, provides clinicians with official definitions for diagnosing mental health disorders. Within DSM-5, BFRBs are listed within the group of 'Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders'.

What is Echopraxia disorder?

Echopraxia (which might also be called echokinesis or echomotism) is an involuntary imitation or repetition of someone else's actions. While echolalia is the involuntary repetition of language and sounds, echopraxia is the same but with actions.

Is BFRB a symptom of ADHD?

A common (but rarely discussed) comorbid diagnosis related to ADHD is body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB), with symptoms ranging from nail biting to hair pulling to cheek biting that children and adults can't control.