Dermatophobia: causes, symptoms and treatments

This type of phobia is based on the fear of damage or imperfections appearing on the skin.

Within the long list of more than 200 registered phobias, there are some that are better known than others. One of the least known, but one that generates great discomfort in those who suffer from it, is dermatophobia.

In this article we will describe the characteristics of dermatophobia, as well as its symptoms, causes and which treatments have proved most effective for this phobia related to skin problems. for this phobia related to the problems or diseases of the skin.

What is dermatophobia?

Also known as dermatopathophobia or dermatosiophobia, dermatophobia is one of the many specific phobias suffered by a small percentage of the population. This anxiety disorder is characterized by the fact that, in the cases of people who suffer from it, there is a deep terror of skin diseases or any kind of damage to the skin. a profound terror of skin disease or any kind of damage to the skin..

Although it is not a very common phobia, dermatophobic people experience extremely high levels of discomfort and anxiety, to the point of living obsessed, hyperprotecting their skin so that it does not suffer any type of damage, and and constantly checking and verifying the state of their skin..

Another of the main characteristics of dermatophobia is the great variety of manifestations it provokes in different people. Given that any stimulus that could represent or be a precursor of a skin disease is susceptible to being perceived as a threat, it is complex to determine exactly what is provoking it, it is complex to determine exactly what is provoking the anxiety response in the person..

For example, a person with dermatophobia may experience an anxious response when noticing that his skin is a little dry, while another may react to an itch or believe that the use of cosmetics or soaps may damage his skin. Therefore, in dermatophobia, the interpretation of the stimulus depends entirely on the person's criteria.

Fears associated with this disorder.

Unlike other phobias, in dermatophobia the person may fear both the fact of suffering from a skin disease and those other objects or external agents that may provoke it.

Also, this phobia is not caused by a series of concrete or fixed stimuli, but these can vary from time to time.These can vary according to the person's beliefs or subjectivity.

Therefore, other stimuli associated with dermatophobia that can generate an anxious response in the person are:

1. Insects

The mere possibility of an insect causing any type of injury or damage to the skin through a bite, causes in the person an anxiety response typical of an anxiety disorder. anxiety disorder.

2. Temperature changes

Sudden changes in temperature, as well as situations of extreme heat or cold, can cause itching or irritation. can cause itching or irritation of the skin, as well as dryness of the skin.. Therefore, a person with dermatophobia will tend to avoid any context in which these changes may occur.

3. Burns

A person with dermatophobia will tend to avoid spaces where there is fire such as fireplaces or places where there are people smoking since the possibility of being burned is perceived as very high..

4. Needles

Although they have a specific phobia, it is not the needle itself that causes fear but the possible damage it may cause to the skin.

5. Piercings and tattoos

As much the idea of making a tattoo or piercing as the fact of observing them in the skin of the other ones causes a feeling of aversion or repulsion in dermatophobic people..

Symptoms

Since dermatophobia falls under the category of specific anxiety disorders, it shares its symptoms with most other anxiety disorders, it shares its symptoms with most phobias..

This wide range of symptoms is the result of an increase in the activity of the nervous system, which is accelerated in the presence of the nervous stimulus. This activity causes three types of symptoms in the person: physical symptoms, cognitive symptoms and behavioral symptoms.

1. Physical symptoms

In the moments in which the dermatophobic person perceives some change in his skin or finds himself before a possible threatening stimulus, a series of changes in his organism, typical of the anxiety response, begin to urinate. These changes include.

• Increased Heart rate.
• Accelerated breathing..
• Palpitations.
• Excessive sweating.
• Muscle tension..
• Headaches.
• Dilated pupils.
• Nausea.
• shivering or trembling
• Feeling of unreality.

2. Cognitive Symptomatology

Like the rest of phobias, the appearance of physical symptoms is triggered by a cognitive symptomatology. That is to say, by a series of beliefs and fears that the person has in relation to the phobic stimulus..

In this case, the person has a series of distorted thoughts or erroneous beliefs about skin diseases, their symptoms and the agents that cause them.

3. Behavioral symptomatology

As a consequence of the cognitive symptoms named above, the person will also experience a number of behavioral symptoms, which manifested by avoidance or escape behaviors..

Therefore, in dermatophobia people will perform all kinds of behaviors to avoid changes in the state of their skin, such as constant checks, excessive hygiene or fear of using cosmetics or avoiding areas where they may encounter possible threats.

Causes

As with many other anxiety disorders the causes or origins of dermatophobia have not been specifically established..

However, it is hypothesized that a genetic predisposition combined with the experience of some type of highly stressful or traumatic situation in which the person, or someone very close to him or her, had suffered some damage to the skin could cause the appearance of this type of phobia.

Treatment

In the treatment of dermatophobia, the use of psychotherapy to eliminate distorted thoughts and beliefs is essential. the use of psychotherapy to eliminate the distorted thoughts and beliefs that generate the rest of the symptoms. that generate the rest of the symptoms. In addition, intervention through systematic desensitization together with relaxation training is usually the most effective option.