Nose-picking and burping. Mucophagy, which is eating the extracted mucus, may be considered more taboo, and is sometimes portrayed in comedies. To be caught nose-picking may be considered humiliating. When nose picking becomes a body-focused repetitive behavior or obsessive–compulsive disorder it is known as rhinotillexomania. Most cases do not meet this pathological threshold. When it does, however, treatments similar to other BFRBs can be employed. The environment of the nose and the dried secretions removed contain many microorganisms. When a person is contagious with a cold, flu or other virus, it is important that hands or other objects used to remove
Animal psychopathology than would normally be expected. It is unknown whether animals are able to 'obsess' in the same way as humans, and because the motivation for compulsive acts in non-human animals is unknown, the term "abnormal repetitive behaviour" is less misleading. A wide variety of animals exhibit behaviors that can be considered abnormally repetitive. Though obsessive-compulsive behaviors are often considered to be pathological or maladaptive, some ritualized and stereotyped behaviors are beneficial. These are usually known as fixed action patterns. These behaviors sometimes share characteristics with obsessive-compulsive behavior, including a high degree of similarity in form and use among many individuals