Rhinotillexomania

Compulsive nose picking.

Among the more obscure and exotic terms in medicine, rhinotillexomania has drawn attention because of the habit to which it refers.

Rhinotillexomania is 'a recent term coined to describe compulsive nose picking' according to Chittaranjan Andrade and BS Srihari who studied nose-picking behavior in a sample of 200 adolescents and discovered that 'almost the entire sample admitted to nose picking, with a median frequency of 4 times per day...' (J Clin Psychiatry 2001;62:426-431).

The authors conclude that 'Nose picking is common in adolescents.

It is often associated with other habitual behaviors.' The authors propose that: 'Nose picking may merit closer epidemiologic and nosologic scrutiny.'