Onychotillomania is a compulsive behavior in which a person picks constantly at the nails or tries to tear them off.
It is not the same as
onychophagia, where the nails are bitten or chewed, or
dermatillomania, where skin is bitten or scratched. Onychotillomania can be categorized as a
body-focused repetitive behavior
Body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) is an umbrella name for impulse control behaviors involving compulsively damaging one's physical appearance or causing physical injury.
Body-focused repetitive behavior disorders (BFRBDs) in ICD-11 is in d ...
in the
DSM-5
The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition'' (DSM-5), is the 2013 update to the ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'', the taxonomic and diagnostic tool published by the American Psychiatric ...
and is a form of
skin picking, also known as
excorciation disorder.
It can be associated with psychiatric disorders such as depressive neurosis, delusions of infestation and
hypochondriasis
Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. An old concept, the meaning of hypochondria has repeatedly changed. It has been claimed that this debilitating cond ...
.
It was named by Jan Alkiewicz, a Polish dermatologist.
The constant destruction of the nail bed leads to
onychodystrophy
A nail is a claw-like plate found at the tip of the fingers and toes on most primates. Nails correspond to the claws found in other animals. Fingernails and toenails are made of a tough protective protein called alpha-keratin, which is a polymer. ...
,
paronychia
Paronychia is an inflammation of the skin around the nail, which can occur suddenly, when it is usually due to the bacterium '' Staphylococcus aureus'', or gradually when it is commonly caused by the fungus ''Candida albicans''. The term is fr ...
and darkening of the nail.
Some cases have been treated successfully with
antipsychotics
Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are a class of Psychiatric medication, psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally in schizophrenia but ...
.
One cheap solution suggested by researchers is to cover the proximal nail fold with a
Cyanoacrylate
Cyanoacrylates are a family of strong fast-acting adhesives with industrial, medical, and household uses. They are derived from ethyl cyanoacrylate and related esters. The cyanoacrylate group in the monomer rapidly polymerizes in the presence ...
glue. "The mechanism of action for improvement is probably related to the presence of an obstacle to picking."
See also
*
Onychophagia
References
External links
Body-focused repetitive behavior
Conditions of the skin appendages
Habit and impulse disorders
Mania
Neurocutaneous conditions
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