People who pick and eat their own scabs have a skin picking problem or compulsion, according to SkinPick.com. In the same category as other self-harming activities, it is considered a psychological condition.
According to Wikipedia, picking and eating scabs is a disease classified as excoriation or dermatillomania. Those with this disorder pick excessively and ritualistically at their skin, typically at blemishes or sores. This action is accompanied by anxiety or stress, and engaging in it provides the individual with some respite. One individual with this disorder told ABC News that there is joy in selecting.
According to the Trichotillomania Learning Center, skin picking can be a symptom of a variety of health conditions, including autoimmune illnesses, psychosis, and obsessive-compulsive, developmental, and substance addiction disorders. Although the specific cause of this disorder is unknown, it is frequently caused by a disease or accident that results in a healing wound that causes the individual to pick at it. Extreme stress is another factor that might prompt picking and eating of scabs. Although eating scabs is harmless, picking at the skin compulsively can result in lasting discolouration and scarring.
