Rhinotillexomania: When Nose Picking Becomes Compulsive

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCharacteristics of RhinotillexomaniaIdentifying RhinotillexomaniaCausesTypesTreatmentCoping

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Characteristics of Rhinotillexomania

Identifying Rhinotillexomania

Causes

Types

Treatment

Coping

Rhinotillexomania is a condition that causes a person to compulsively pick their nose till they self-harm. Picking your nose is a habit many people are familiar with. However, when it becomes an obsessive compulsion to pick your nose, it is rhinotillexomania.

While people might typically pick their noses out of boredom, nervousness, or just because they are trying to get rid of a pesky booger, a person with rhinotillexomania feels compelled to pick their noses. A person with this condition might also experience severe stress and anxiety and engage in other habits like nail-biting.

Typically picking your nose doesn’t cause any damage, but with rhinotillexomania, it could. In a 2001 study of nose-picking in 200 teenagers, almost all the participants admitted that they had a habit of picking their noses. About 17% of the participants thought they had a serious problem. Another 25% experienced occasional nose bleeds.

Rhinotillexomania has been linked to other co-occurring conditions likeobsessive-compulsive disorder,anxiety disorders, and other similar disorders likeskin picking. Nose picking in public is often not socially acceptable. This makes people with rhinotillexomania feel embarrassed whenever they feel the compulsion to pick their noses. Some research shows that the condition is more common in children and young adults.

While occasionally picking your nose might be a harmless habit, Rhinotillexomania could be damaging. Some researchers classify rhinotillexomania as anobsessive-compulsive disorder. For nose picking to become rhinotillexomania, certain criteria have to be met:

What Is Skin Picking Disorder?

A diagnosis of rhinotillexomania is typically made when a person continues picking their nose even when it causes them harm. Most people who pick their noses tend to stop as soon as they’ve scratched their itch or gotten rid of any boogers they have. Rhinotillexomania is acompulsionthat makes it hard to stop without treatment.

Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

Causes of Rhinotillexomania

As is the case with most compulsive disorders, there’s no known cause for rhinotillexomania. Research, however, offers some explanation as to why skin picking disorders like rhinotillexomania occur.

Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Eating Disorders

Rhinotillexomania can take on one of two forms. For some people with the condition, picking at their noses with their fingers is satisfying enough. These people might seek to obsessively clean out any mucus or other materials they can find within their nasal cavity.

Other people with rhinotillexomania might obsessively pull out their nasal hairs either using their fingers or other tools like a tweezer.

Treatment for Rhinotillexomania

There is typically no treatment needed for nose-picking. However, compulsive nose-picking can be harmful, and people with the condition often need to get help to stop picking their noses. A treatment plan for rhinotillexomania typically depends on the severity of a person’s condition.

How to Stop Picking Your Nose

Some of the treatment options available to people with the condition include:

Treatments for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Coping With Rhinotillexomania

While there is no specific treatment one can take to put an end to rhinotillexomania, there are certain tips and tricks that could make it easier to cope.

Summary

Rhinotillexomania can be frustrating and, in some severe cases, might even interfere with your daily functioning, but with the right treatment plan and coping mechanisms, you can get past it. If a stressor is causing it, eliminating the stressor in your life could cure your rhinotillexomania. If you are obsessively picking your nose to the point of self-harm, the first step is to speak to amental health professional.

If you or a loved one are struggling with OCD, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Andrade C, Srihari BS.A preliminary survey of Rhinotillexomania in an adolescent sample.Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2001;62(6):426-431. doi:10.4088/jcp.v62n0605Martín-Callizo C, Sacristà M, Fortuño Y, Penín RM, Tribó MJ.Rhinotillexomania.Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2018;109(4):370-371. doi; 10.1016/j.adengl.2017.04.012Gupta A, Dhingra A.Chronic rhinotillexomania leading to unilateral external nare stenosis.Cureus. 2018;10(8). doi:10.7759/cureus.3172Monzani B, Rijsdijk F, Cherkas L, Harris J, Keuthen N, Mataix-Cols D.Prevalence and heritability of skin picking in an adult community sample: A twin study.American Journal of Medical Genetics.2012;159B(5):605-610. doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.32067Grant JE, Chamberlain SR.Clinical correlates of symptom severity in skin picking disorder.Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2017;78:25-30. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.07.001Grant JE, Chamberlain SR.Salivary sex hormones in adolescent females with trichotillomania.Psychiatry Research.2018;265:221-223. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.05.012Orendain JO, Low C, Somers K, O’Brien EK.Illness anxiety disorder nose no limits: a case of rhinotillexomania. Published online 2020. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.10553.19048

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Andrade C, Srihari BS.A preliminary survey of Rhinotillexomania in an adolescent sample.Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2001;62(6):426-431. doi:10.4088/jcp.v62n0605Martín-Callizo C, Sacristà M, Fortuño Y, Penín RM, Tribó MJ.Rhinotillexomania.Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2018;109(4):370-371. doi; 10.1016/j.adengl.2017.04.012Gupta A, Dhingra A.Chronic rhinotillexomania leading to unilateral external nare stenosis.Cureus. 2018;10(8). doi:10.7759/cureus.3172Monzani B, Rijsdijk F, Cherkas L, Harris J, Keuthen N, Mataix-Cols D.Prevalence and heritability of skin picking in an adult community sample: A twin study.American Journal of Medical Genetics.2012;159B(5):605-610. doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.32067Grant JE, Chamberlain SR.Clinical correlates of symptom severity in skin picking disorder.Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2017;78:25-30. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.07.001Grant JE, Chamberlain SR.Salivary sex hormones in adolescent females with trichotillomania.Psychiatry Research.2018;265:221-223. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.05.012Orendain JO, Low C, Somers K, O’Brien EK.Illness anxiety disorder nose no limits: a case of rhinotillexomania. Published online 2020. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.10553.19048

Andrade C, Srihari BS.A preliminary survey of Rhinotillexomania in an adolescent sample.Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2001;62(6):426-431. doi:10.4088/jcp.v62n0605Martín-Callizo C, Sacristà M, Fortuño Y, Penín RM, Tribó MJ.Rhinotillexomania.Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2018;109(4):370-371. doi; 10.1016/j.adengl.2017.04.012Gupta A, Dhingra A.Chronic rhinotillexomania leading to unilateral external nare stenosis.Cureus. 2018;10(8). doi:10.7759/cureus.3172Monzani B, Rijsdijk F, Cherkas L, Harris J, Keuthen N, Mataix-Cols D.Prevalence and heritability of skin picking in an adult community sample: A twin study.American Journal of Medical Genetics.2012;159B(5):605-610. doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.32067Grant JE, Chamberlain SR.Clinical correlates of symptom severity in skin picking disorder.Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2017;78:25-30. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.07.001Grant JE, Chamberlain SR.Salivary sex hormones in adolescent females with trichotillomania.Psychiatry Research.2018;265:221-223. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.05.012Orendain JO, Low C, Somers K, O’Brien EK.Illness anxiety disorder nose no limits: a case of rhinotillexomania. Published online 2020. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.10553.19048

Andrade C, Srihari BS.A preliminary survey of Rhinotillexomania in an adolescent sample.Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2001;62(6):426-431. doi:10.4088/jcp.v62n0605

Martín-Callizo C, Sacristà M, Fortuño Y, Penín RM, Tribó MJ.Rhinotillexomania.Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2018;109(4):370-371. doi; 10.1016/j.adengl.2017.04.012

Gupta A, Dhingra A.Chronic rhinotillexomania leading to unilateral external nare stenosis.Cureus. 2018;10(8). doi:10.7759/cureus.3172

Monzani B, Rijsdijk F, Cherkas L, Harris J, Keuthen N, Mataix-Cols D.Prevalence and heritability of skin picking in an adult community sample: A twin study.American Journal of Medical Genetics.2012;159B(5):605-610. doi:10.1002/ajmg.b.32067

Grant JE, Chamberlain SR.Clinical correlates of symptom severity in skin picking disorder.Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2017;78:25-30. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.07.001

Grant JE, Chamberlain SR.Salivary sex hormones in adolescent females with trichotillomania.Psychiatry Research.2018;265:221-223. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.05.012

Orendain JO, Low C, Somers K, O’Brien EK.Illness anxiety disorder nose no limits: a case of rhinotillexomania. Published online 2020. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.10553.19048

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Causes of Rhinotillexomania#

Treatment for Rhinotillexomania#

How to Stop Picking Your Nose#

Coping With Rhinotillexomania#

Summary#

Causes of Rhinotillexomania

Treatment for Rhinotillexomania

How to Stop Picking Your Nose

Coping With Rhinotillexomania

Summary