An excoriation is an erosion or destruction of the skin by mechanical means, which appears in the form of a scratch or abrasion of the skin. It is commonly seen in other skin disorders causing itching/pruritus: dry skin, dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, scabies, etc. The condition is characteristic of a symptom of other illnesses like liver failure where pruritus is caused by increases of bilirubin. Beyond overall skin structure, refer below to: See-also. ... Abrasion on the palm of a right hand, shortly after falling Abrasions on elbow and lower arm, still healing. ... Dermatitis is a blanket term literally meaning inflammation of the skin. It is usually used to refer to eczema, which is also known as Dermatitis eczema. ... The term symptom (from the Greek meaning chance, mishap or casualty, itself derived from συμπιπτω meaning to fall upon or to happen to) has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: Strictly, a symptom is a sensation or change in health function experienced by a patient. ... Liver failure is the final stage of liver disease. ... An itch (Latin: pruritus) is a sensation felt on an area of skin that makes a person or animal want to scratch it. ... Bilirubin is a yellow breakdown product of normal heme catabolism. ...

The term can be associated with neurotic excoriations. Neurotic excoriations are considered psychiatric in etiology. A patient with neurotic excoriations should try to avoid picking and scratching their skin. Because of this, another diagnosis should be made if the lesions are found on areas where the hands do not make contact. It doesn't exclude the possibility, but makes it less likely. The disorder is typically found among females more than males. Damage is common on the face, neck, back, and extremities, and damage to the skin is generally caused by rubbing, scratching, and picking. Severe itching from other causes may mimic this disorder. Etiology (alternately aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation. ... A lesion is a non-specific term referring to abnormal tissue in the body. ... The face is the front part of the head, in humans from the forehead to chin including the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyes, nose, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, teeth, skin, and chin. ... A human neck. ... Extremities is a play by William Mastrosimone that was first performed on Broadway in 1982. ...

Diagnosis is often made by exclusion and is identified and isolated by bandaging areas affected unless any improvement to the affected area or significant change in behavior is witnessed.

Treatment may include periodic bandaging, psychiatric guidance with life adjustments, lotions with or without menthol and phenol (hopefully to take the place of scratching). Antidepressants may work in patients with neurotic excoriations. Other medications like bedtime antihistamines, antipruritic, sometimes pimozide, or topical corticosteroids are used if there is another reason for the scratching. These are reserved for other conditions and further work up should be pursued. Menthol is a covalent organic compound made synthetically or obtained from peppermint or other mint oils. ... Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colourless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ... An antidepressant is a medication used primarily in the treatment of clinical depression. ... An antihistamine is a drug which serves to reduce or eliminate effects mediated by histamine, an endogenous chemical mediator released during allergic reactions, through action at the histamine receptor. ... Antipruritic is a drug which reduces pruritis, or itching. ... Pimozide (sold as Orap®) is an antipsychotic drug. ... In physiology, corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. ...