Most individuals with excoriation disorder admit to skin picking; therefore, dermatopathological diagnosis is rarely required. However, the disorder may have characteristic features on histopathology.

State University of New York at Buffalo

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Excoriation disorder is an obsessive-compulsive disorder, where individuals constantly show skin picking behavior.


Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder

An online survey of more than 10,000 adults, ages 18–69 years, age- and gender-matched to the U.S. population, found that 2.1% identified as having current excoriation disorder and 3.1% reported lifetime excoriation disorder. Three-quarters or more of individuals with the disorder are women in community samples. 

Prevalence of Excoriation (Skin Picking Disorder)

Although individuals with excoriation disorder may present at various ages, the skin picking most often has onset during adolescence, commonly coinciding with or following the onset of puberty. The disorder frequently begins with a dermatological condition, such as acne. Sites of skin picking may vary over time. The usual course is chronic, with some 
waxing and waning if untreated. For some individuals, the disorder may come and go for weeks, months, or years at a time. 

Development and Course of Excoriation (Skin Picking Disorder)

- Psychotic disorder
- Other obsessive-compulsive and related disorder
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Dermatitis artefacta
- Other disorders
- Other medical conditions
- Substance/medication-induced disorders

Differential Diagnosis of Excoriation (Skin-Picking) DIsorder

Clinical case reports suggest that some of individuals with Excoriation  engage in skin picking during sleep. Picking severity, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and sleep disturbance were significantly increased in those who engaged in picking during sleep relative to those who did not endorse this behavior

Excoriation and Sleeping

Associated features of excoriation may include:
- Skin picking may be accompanied by a range of behaviors or rituals involving skin or scabs. 
- Skin picking may also be preceded or accompanied by various emotional states.
- Some individuals report picking in response to a minor skin irregularity or to relieve an uncomfortable bodily sensation. 
- Pain is not routinely reported to accompany skin picking. 
- Some individuals engage in skin picking that is more focused (i.e., with preceding tension and subsequent relief), whereas others engage in more automatic picking (i.e., when skin picking occurs without preceding tension and without full awareness), and many have a mix of both behavioral styles. 
- Skin picking does not usually occur in the presence of other individuals, except immediate family members. 
- Some individuals report picking the skin of others.

Associated Features of Excoriation (Skin Picking Disorder)

There are limited data on the prevalence and clinical characteristics of excoriation disorder across cultures. However, clinical features appear similar in studies of individuals in the United States and other countries.

Culture-Related Diagnostic Issues of Excoriation (Skin-Picking Disorder) 

There are several suggested treatment for excoriation. 
Nonpharmacological treatment: 
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy 
- Habit reversal therapy

Pharmacotherapy:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
- Lamotrigine
- Glutamatergic agents
- Augmentation strategies 

Treatment of Excoriation 

Excoriation disorder is associated with social and occupational impairment. The majority of individuals with this condition spend at least 1 hour per day picking, thinking about picking, and resisting urges to pick. Many individuals report avoiding social or entertainment events as well as going out in public. A majority of individuals with the disorder also report experiencing work interference from skin picking on at least a daily or weekly basis. A significant proportion of students with excoriation disorder report having missed school, having experienced difficulties managing responsibilities at school, or having had difficulties studying because of skin picking. Medical complications of skin picking include tissue damage, scarring, and infection and can be life-threatening. Rarely, synovitis of the wrists resulting from chronic picking has been reported. Skin picking often results in significant tissue damage and scarring. It frequently requires antibiotic treatment for infection, and on occasion it may require surgery.

Functional Consequences of Excoriation (Skin-Picking Disorder)

Diagnostic Markers of Excoriation (Skin-Picking Disorder)

Risk and prognostic factors for excoriation (skin-picking) disorder primarily involve genetic and physiological vulnerabilities, such as a genetic susceptibility linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in first-degree relatives.

Risk and Prognostic Factors of Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder

Excoriation disorder is often accompanied by other mental disorders. Such disorders include obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder), as well as major depressive disorder. Depression comorbidity seems to be more common in women. Repetitive body-focused symptoms other than skin picking and hair pulling (e.g., nail biting) occur in many individuals with excoriation disorder and may deserve an additional diagnosis of other specified obsessive-compulsive and related disorder (i.e., other body-focused repetitive behavior disorder).

Comorbid Diagnoses of Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder

A. Recurrent skin picking resulting in skin lesions. B. Repeated attempts to decrease or stop skin picking. C. The skin picking causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. D. The skin picking is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., cocaine) or another medical condition (e.g., scabies). E. The skin picking is not better explained by symptoms of another mental disorder (e.g., delusions or tactile hallucinations in a psychotic disorder, attempts to improve a perceived defect or flaw in appearance in body dysmorphic disorder, stereotypies in stereotypic movement disorder, or intention to harm oneself in nonsuicidal self-injury).

[DSM-5-TR] Criteria of Excoriation (Skin-Picking Disorder)

The essential diagnostic feature of excoriation disorder is recurrent skin-picking (Criterion A), most commonly on the face, arms, and hands. Individuals may pick at healthy skin, minor irregularities, or previous scabs, often using fingernails or tools. This behavior leads to skin lesions that the individual may try to conceal.

Additionally, individuals make repeated, unsuccessful attempts to decrease or stop the picking (Criterion B). The behavior causes clinically significant distress—such as shame or a loss of control—or impairment in social, occupational, or other important functioning areas (Criterion C), sometimes consuming several hours a day.

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