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Dermatophagia (from Ancient Greek δέρμα — lit. skin and φαγεία lit. eating) or dermatodaxia (from δήξις, lit. biting) is a compulsion disorder of gnawing or biting one's own skin, most commonly at the fingers.
The fingers have been compulsively picked and chewed in someone with excoriation disorder and dermatophagia. Compulsive picking of the face using nail pliers and tweezers. Episodes of skin picking are often preceded or accompanied by tension, anxiety, or stress. In some cases, following picking, the affected person may feel depressed.
Paronychia is an inflammation of the skin around the nail, which can occur suddenly (acute), when it is usually due to the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, or gradually (chronic) when it is commonly caused by Candida albicans.
The problem doesn't stop at nails, either. Habitual nail-biters often chomp on the skin around their fingers, too, leaving open cuts and abrasions that could easily pick up even more bacteria...
Other body-focused repetitive behaviors include onychotillomania (nail picking), excoriation disorder (skin picking), dermatophagia (skin biting), and trichotillomania (the urge to pull out hair), and all of them tend to coexist with nail biting.
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.
When both hands are affected, the rash looks different on each hand, with palmer creases appearing whitish if the infection has been present for a long time. It can be itchy and look slightly raised. Nails may also be affected. The most common cause is Trichophyton rubrum.
Melanonychia, a black, brown or grey discoloration of the nail, with numerous causes. Nail changes and conditions associated with them. Nail inspection can give hints to the internal condition of the body as well. Nail disease can be very subtle and should be evaluated by a dermatologist with a focus in this particular area of medicine.
Autophagia. Autophagia refers to the practice of biting/consuming one's body. It is a sub category of self-injurious behavior (SIB). [1] Commonly, it manifests in humans as nail biting and hair pulling. In rarer circumstances, it manifests as serious self mutilative behavior such as biting off one's fingers. [2]
A hangnail is a small, torn piece of skin next to a fingernail or toenail, related to ingrown nails. Hangnails are typically caused by having dry skin, or by trauma to the fingers.