What causes excoriation?

The causes of neurotic excoriations are manifold and can relate to picking as a means of resolving stress or, as noted, to some underlying psychopathology. Some believe neurotic excoriations to be a physical manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

What is excoriation?

Excoriation disorder (also referred to as chronic skin-picking or dermatillomania) is a mental illness related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is characterized by repeated picking at one’s own skin which results in skin lesions and causes significant disruption in one’s life.

What are symptoms of excoriation?

Diagnosis of Excoriation Disorder

• Cause visible skin lesions by picking (although some patients try to camouflage lesions with clothing or makeup)
• Make repeated attempts to decrease or stop the picking.
• Experience significant distress or impairment in functioning from the activity.

Can excoriation be treated?

Treatment for excoriation will most likely include psychotherapy and may include medications. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in particular can help a child become more aware of her skin picking and begin to recognize the emotions and mental states that are likely to trigger it.

How is excoriation disorder different from other disorders?

Excoriation disorder occurs as the primary disorder and not as a subset of a larger disorder. Excoriation disorder has well-defined clinical features. There is gathering data on the clinical features and diagnostic criteria for this condition. There is sufficient data to create this as a separate category for excoriation disorder.

Are there any neuroimaging studies on excoriation disorder?

There is limited knowledge regarding the neurobiology that drives excoriation disorder, and there have been no neuroimaging studies of patients with excoriation disorder. Those individuals that have excoriation disorder along with other diagnosed conditions report differing motivations for their picking.

Is the excoriation disorder the same as trichotillomania?

Excoriation disorder and trichotillomania are body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRB) under the same DSM-5 classification, and the etiologies behind both disorders might be similar (Flessner, Berman, Garcia, Freeman, & Leonard, 2009).

What are the genes associated with excoriation disorder?

In one study of 40 individuals who had excoriation disorder, 43% had a first-degree relative with the disorder (Neziroglu, Rabinowitz, Breytman, & Jacofsky, 2008). Specific genes (e.g., Hoxb8 and SAPAP3) have been identified as potential predictors of this disorder (Grant et al., 2012).