DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i08.014

Pages: 2795-2798

Psychodermatology is a sub speciality in dermatology which deals with the interactions between the mind and the skin. Psychocutaneous diseases can be either primary psychiatric or primary cutaneous, with various degrees of associations between the psyche and the skin. The aim is to study the psychodermatology liaison clinic established at GGS Medical College, Faridkot, Punjab and study briefly the type of cases attended to Hospital. A total of 50 patients with primary psychocutaneous diseases recruited by the dermatologists were referred to liaison clinic consisting of psychiatrist and psychologist. In our study, neurotic excoriations were seen in 20 (40%) patients, trichotillomania in 13 (26%) patients, followed by delusional parasitosis in 12 (24%) patients, body dysmorphobia in 1(2%) patients ,obscessive compulsory disease in 3(6%) patients and dermatitis artefacta in 1(2%) patients. Unless the dermatologist cultivates a special interest in this field, many an invisible mental disorder may be missed leading to sub optimal treatment of the visible skin condition.