Onychotillomania is a compulsive behavior in which a person picks constantly at the nails or tries to tear them off.[1] 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 in the DSM-5 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[2] and hypochondriasis.[3]
It was named by Jan Alkiewicz, a Polish dermatologist.[4]
The constant destruction of the nail bed leads to onychodystrophy, paronychia[5] and darkening of the nail.[6]
Some cases have been treated successfully with antipsychotics.[7]
One cheap solution suggested by researchers is to cover the proximal nail fold with a Cyanoacrylate glue. "The mechanism of action for improvement is probably related to the presence of an obstacle to picking."[8]
^James WD, Berger T, Elston D (2006). Andrews' Diseases of the Skin: Clinical Dermatology (10th ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-7216-2921-6.
^Ameen Sait M, Reddy BS, Garg BR (1985). "Onychotillomania. 2 case reports". Dermatologica. 171 (3): 200–2. doi:10.1159/000249420. PMID 4076493.
^Kim MH, Park HJ, Lee JY, Cho BK (July 2006). "Two Cases of Onychotillomania". Korean J Dermatol (in Korean). 44 (7): 855–857. ISSN 0494-4739.
^Grzybowski A, Zaba R (2009). "Professor Jan Alkiewicz, MD, and his influence on 20th century dermatology and mycology". Clinics in Dermatology. 27 (3): 317–322. doi:10.1016/j.clindermatol.2008.10.009. PMID 19368061.
^Harth W, Gieler U, Kusnir D, Tausk F (2009). Clinical Management of Psychodermatology. Berlin: Springer. p. 21. ISBN 978-3-540-34718-7.
^Baran R (1990). "Nail biting and picking as a possible cause of longitudinal melanonychia. A study of 6 cases". Dermatologica. 181 (2): 126–8. doi:10.1159/000247900. PMID 2242780.
^Hamann K (1982). "Onychotillomania treated with pimozide (Orap)". Acta Derm. Venereol.62 (4): 364–366. PMID 6183881.
^Ring DS (November 2010). "Inexpensive solution for habit-tic deformity". Archives of Dermatology. 146 (11): 1222–3. doi:10.1001/archdermatol.2010.287. PMID 21079056.
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...
pigmented stripes. It is important to investigate the possibility of onychotillomania, nail-biting, frictional trauma, and even carpal tunnel syndrome if...
obsolete term for female hypersexuality Oniomania – desire to shop Onychotillomania – picking at the fingernails Plutomania – greed/obession with money...
Konstantinos; Katoulis, Alexander; Rigopoulos, Dimitrios (2019). "Onychotillomania: A Chameleon-Like Disorder: Case Report and Review of Literature"....