Rhinotelexomania

Think about it. Rhino, like rhinoplasty, or nose surgery, means nose. Tele, like telekinesis, means operating over a distance. Mania obviously means you’re crazy about it. Put them all together and you get a chronic nose picker. I’m not making this up. It’s not in every dictionary, but it’s real. For bonus points, can you guess what a rhinolith is?

anonymous

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February 14th, 2008 | February 14th, 2008 | % | (26 votes, average: 3.85 out of 10)
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3 comments to Rhinotelexomania

• morgantheplant

  March 4, 2008 at 11:47 pm

  Just letting you know you misspelled this word according to reference.com:

  Nose-picking, or rhinotillexis (Greek, rhino “nose” + tillexis “habit of picking”), is the act of extracting mucus and/or foreign bodies from the nose with a finger or other object. This is an extremely common habit, with some surveys indicating that it is almost universal, with people picking their nose an average of about four times a day.

  The mucus membranes constantly produce wet mucus that is exposed to the air. Once dried, the mucus typically causes a sensation of irritation that leads to the compulsion to dislodge the itch via rhinotillexis. However, extreme nose picking resulting in severe nasal trauma is termed rhinotillexomania (etymology: Greek, rhino “nose” + tillexis “habit of picking” + mania), it may be caused by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

• sentharia

  December 11, 2008 at 12:40 pm

  Weird. I would have guessed that rhinolith means large nose. Instead it means an obstruction in the nose. Also, I looked up your word also and I agree with the last commenter that you’ve gotten the spelling wrong.

• Alexa Stewart

  June 20, 2010 at 4:02 am

  my cousin broke her nose on a bad bike accident and he got a nose job.,”.

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