Compulsive skin picking (CSP) is a nervous disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pick at one's own skin, often to the extent that damage is caused. The disorder is known by many other names: dermatillomania, chronic skin picking, neurotic excoriation and acne excoriee. Diagram of the layers of human skin In zootomy and dermatology, skin is an organ of the integumentary system composed of a layer of tissues that protect underlying muscles and organs. ... An excoriation is an erosion or destruction of the skin by mechanical insult like a scratch or abrasion of the skin. ...

Damage from CSP is common on the face, back, scalp, and extremities, usually caused by a mixture of rubbing, scratching, picking and tweezing. Focus may be placed on ingrown hairs, scabs, insect bites, pimples, or cuticles. Sufferers of the condition may enter a trance-like state, only to be confronted with the results afterward. The face of Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa, one of the most recognized faces in the world The face is the front part of the human head from forehead to chin including the head, hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyes, nose, cheek, mouth, lips, teeth, skin, and chin. ... The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. ... The scalp is the skin on the head from which head hair grows. ... Acne of a 14 year old boy during puberty. ... The Eponychium or cuticle in human anatomy refers to the thickened layer of skin surrounding the fingernails and toenails. ... The phrase altered state of consciousness was coined in the 1970s and describes induced changes in ones mental state, almost always temporary. ...

Research into the cause of the condition has been limited, but it has been linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder. Few treatment options are currently available, but some individuals have found relief through cognitive-behavioral therapy. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder which involves a disturbed body image. ... Cognitive therapy or cognitive behavior therapy is a kind of psychotherapy used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, phobias, and other forms of mental disorder. ...

It has been seen in psychoses of many people the 'creation' of foreign objects to satisfy the need to pick or damage one's own skin. Many psychiatrists have studied this and found the only real cure is to immobilize the offending object (hands, etc.). The most success has been seen with protective casts to make the picking impossible. In these test cases the skin healed almost immediately, with outbreaks not recurring until the casts were removed. This article is about the mental state. ... Psychiatry is the branch of medicine that studies, diagnoses and treats mental illness and behavioral disorders. ... cast A cast is a shell, frequently made from plaster, encasing a limb (or, in some cases, large portions of the body) to hold a broken bone (or bones) in place until it has healed. ...

External links

• OCD Center of Los Angeles - Compulsive Skin Picking

How to Stop: Research-based techniques from a Harvard Med School Psychologist [1]

• Discussion/support groups:
  • Face & Skin picking support message board at ProBoards
  • Pickaderms, a Yahoo! Group
  • Self Injurious Skin Picking forum