What are the symptoms of dermatillomania?

What are the symptoms of dermatillomania?

The main symptom of dermatillomania is compulsively — meaning, the impulse or urge is impossible or incredibly difficult to resist — picking at your skin. Experts also describe the act of skin-picking using the following words:

• Scratching.
• Digging.
• Squeezing.
• Rubbing.

Picking usually involves fingernails and fingertips but can also include biting with your teeth (especially when the skin surface affected is on your lips. It can also involve sharp items like tweezers or pins.

Types of picking

This activity usually happens in one of two ways, “automatic” or “focused.”

• Automatic: This kind of picking often happens without a person thinking about it. Experts sometimes call this “scanning” because it tends to involve running hands or fingertips across areas of skin to find any areas that feel different, which might then become an area for focused picking.
• Focused: This kind of picking is “focused” on a specific area, and the picking can go on for hours. This kind of picking tends to be more severe and is more likely to cause damage to your skin.