The relationship between skin diseases and our emotional state is obvious, an example of this is excoriation disorder or dermatilomania, which consists of an uncontrollable need to scrape, pinch or remove acne scabs to cause skin lesions.
We may never have heard of dermatilomania, on the contrary, we may have just been diagnosed or belong to that part of the population that is not yet fully aware that you may be suffering from the same problem. something very common, an effect very often associated with depression, anxiety disorders or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCA).
- If something is obvious.
- It is the need for dermatologists to develop the ability to see beyond the skin in patients with psychogenic excoriations.
It is also interesting to know that medical literature has included this type of pathology in its list for more than a century, first appeared in 1875 as “neurotic excoriation”. Subsequently, French dermatologist Brocq described the striking case of a teenager who, almost constantly, scratched the areas where he had acne to the point of leaving his face almost disfigured.
There are extreme cases and there are patients with mild symptomatology, where it is evident, once again, that much of the dermatological problems have a psychiatric basis that needs to be detected and treated, so there are those who often go through an odyssey of expensive treatments for these skin problems without having previously diagnosed the true root of the problem: an excess of stress , perhaps, high anxiety or hidden depression?
Excoriation or dermatilomania appears in the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) in the Section Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Associated Disorders What does that mean?This means that we face someone who has a constant need to hurt, pinch, bite or rip off acne without being able to control this behavior at any time.
There are specialists who see excoriation disorder as a type of addiction, an uncontrollable need to scratch the area of the body where they notice a defect; in any case, what is clear is that we are facing a psychiatric state, in the face of a behavior in which the patient does not see that it is causing damage, injuries that cause infections and that gradually disfigure their appearance.
The data are not without interest: it is estimated that excoriation disorder affects 9% of the population, it occurs in both sexes, however, it tends to prevail much more in women, however, the age at which it appears most often is between the ages of 30. and 45 years.
Dermatilomania is not yet fully understood. Is one of the hypotheses that scratching the skin provides calm or serves to channel stress, anxiety, negative thoughts, fears, frustrations? However, this custom is done automatically, to the point that it can be done while the person reads, studies, watches. television, etc.
However, it is common for excoriation disorder to be accompanied by other types of psychiatric disorders:
On the other hand, it should be noted that in 40% of cases there is a genetic component, that is, this disorder has an inherited pattern very similar to that of trichotillomania.
It may be that, at first glance, it may seem like a mania, something innocent and even innocent, it is necessary to emphasize once again that we are facing a psychiatric disorder in which the seemingly innocent behavior of the patient ends up causing serious injury. They are those who use nails or teeth, others end up using pliers or even needles. The goal (need) is always the same, remove the skin.
The therapeutic strategy in these cases, as can be inferred, is multidisciplinary.
This is just one example of how this type of psychological reality has become increasingly common, are personal complexities that are increasingly understood and have more effective strategies, treatments and therapies at your fingertips.
Out of curiosity: in recent years the trade of gloves for people with excoriation disorders has begun, a simple daily complement that can channel the will, and the person can calm down by scraping the ornaments embedded in the wool itself.