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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 resulting behavior consists of the rats licking and then chewing their nails, and the tips of their toes. In extreme cases, the rats will chew off whole toes or even the foot. In animals, autophagia tends to be restricted to the hind limbs and the lower parts of the abdomen. Symptoms include chewing of limbs, paws and tails.
Treatment. The most common treatment, which is cheap and widely available, is to apply a clear, bitter-tasting nail polish to the nails. Normally denatonium benzoate is used, the most bitter chemical compound known. The bitter flavor discourages the nail-biting habit. Behavioral therapy is beneficial when simpler measures are not effective.
Treatment can include behavior modification therapy, medication, and family therapy. [1] [2] The evidence base criteria for BFRBs is strict and methodical. [7] Individual behavioral therapy has been shown as a "probably effective" evidence-based therapy to help with thumb sucking, and possibly nail biting. [7]
Signs and symptoms Compulsive picking of the knuckles (via mouth) illustrating potentially temporary disfiguration of the distal and proximal joints of the middle and little fingers. The fingers have been compulsively picked and chewed in someone with excoriation disorder and dermatophagia.
Biting the fingers and lips is a definitive feature of Lesch–Nyhan syndrome; in other syndromes associated with self-injury, the behaviors usually consist of head banging and nonspecific self-mutilation, but not biting of the cheeks, lips and fingers.
In more severe cases, the motions may become harmful to the individual, and may involve things such as ripping, tearing, or chewing at the skin around one's fingernails, lips, or other body parts to the point of bleeding. Psychomotor agitation is typically found in various mental disorders, especially in psychotic and mood disorders.
It is not the same as onychophagia, where the nails are bitten or chewed, or dermatillomania, where skin is bitten or scratched. Onychotillomania can be categorized as a body-focused repetitive behavior in the DSM-5 and is a form of skin picking, also known as excorciation disorder .
Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a disorder that results in involuntary repetitive body movements, which may include grimacing, sticking out the tongue or smacking the lips. Additionally, there may be chorea or slow writhing movements. In about 20% of people with TD, the disorder interferes with daily functioning.
Diagnosis Types. Paronychia aka "swollen nail" may be divided as occurring suddenly, acute, or gradually, chronic. Acute. Acute paronychia is an infection of the folds of tissue surrounding the nail of a finger or, less commonly, a toe, lasting less than six weeks.