Dermatillomania: A Case Report and Literature Review

Skin picking disorder, also termed dermatillomania is a condition that leads to repetitive picking of their skin ending up in skin and soft tissue damage. It is classified in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder Fifth edition under the "obsessive compulsive and related disorders" section. Often associated with other psychiatric conditions like autism, alcohol abuse, obsessive compulsive, body dysmorphic, mood, anxiety and borderline personality disorders, it is a disorder that is quite often underreported. The patient in this case report is a 58-year-old male with a diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who reported severe anxiety and skin picking episodes over several years. He presented to the emergency room with an extensive wound on distal left foot with exposure of the underlying muscle tissue, that resulted from the excessive picking of skin from the left foot. This compulsive behavior started off with picking the skin around his nail beds and slowly got worse. The skin picking would get worse whenever he gets nervous or anxious. The wound was treated with topical wound care and antibiotics. At the time of discharge, he was prescribed oral antibiotics to complete his course of treatment and was referred to the hospital's cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program that specializes in treatment of OCD and anxiety disorders. Treatment of dermatillomania is a multipronged approach and should include treatment of the underlying psychiatric illness, the treatment for pruritus and topical treatment of the lesions. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have proved to be the most effective in treating the psychiatric component of dermatillomania. Non-pharmacological treatments such as behavioral therapy, habit reversal exercises and support groups have also proved to be helpful and are well tolerated amongst patients suffering from dermatillomania.