The Science of Nose Picking

I just finished reading this article, and I thought I'd give you its highlights:

“A Preliminary Survey of Rhinotillexomania in an Adolescent Sample”
by Chittaranjan Andrade and B. S. Srihari.

Background: Rhinotillexomania is a recent term coined to describe compulsive nose picking.
Method: We studied nose-picking behavior in a sample of 200 adolescents from four urban schools.
Results: Almost the entire sample admitted to nose picking, with a median frequency of 4 times per day... Nearly 17% of subjects considered that they had a serious nose-picking problem…Occasional nose bleeds complicating nose picking occurred in 25% of subjects.
Conclusion: Nose picking is common in adolescents [and] may merit closer… nosologic scrutiny.

Did you see that? Nose-picking requires more “nosologic scrutiny.” I’ve been saying this for years!