chapter 14 Behavioral or Self-Injurious Dermatoses......................
DEFINITION/OVERVIEW
Self-injurious behavior or compulsion refers to any voluntary action resulting in
self-damage.
Compulsive disorders are characterized by repetitive, persistent, or sustained behav-
iors in excess of what is required for normal function, especially if severe enough to
interfere with normal function.The term obsessive-compulsive disorder may not be appropriate; the cognitive pro-
cess producing the behavior is unknown in animals.
Cutaneous compulsions (psychodermatoses) often have an underlying organic dis-
ease or trigger.
Diagnosis and treatment include identifying the underlying trigger, treating secondary
dermatoses, and modifying behavior to prevent recurrence; medications are a helpful
adjunct if anxiety interferes with normal activities or learning.ETIOLOGY/PATHPHYSIOLOGY
Dermatoses may be initiated by a pathology (e.g., an allergy, an injury, arthritis, or a
cutaneous growth), with subsequent self-injury causing persistence or worsening of
lesions; habituation may result.Secondary behavioral dermatoses: effects of skin disease on a patient’s wellbeing (e.g.,
lethargy/exhaustion from scratching); treatment of the primary cause should resolve
symptoms.Cutaneous sensory dermatoses: self-injury produced due to abnormal sensations in
the skin but in the absence of identifiable pathology or disease.
Psychodermatoses: self-injury produced in the absence of underlying sensory, skin or
other pathology; often a diagnosis of exclusion; stressful situations, however, can act
as flares for pruritus and self-injurious behaviors.Compulsive disorders have been linked with conditions that produce frustration, fear,
conflict, and anxiety.
Skin is one of the channels of communication through which anxiety is modulated.
Blackwell’s Five-Minute Veterinary Consult Clinical Companion: Small Animal Dermatology, Third Edition.
Karen Helton Rhodes and Alexander H. Werner.
©2018 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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