Carphologia

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Carphologia is a picking or grasping behavior seen in delirium or extreme sleepiness. People may reach for imaginary objects or pick at their own clothes or bed linens. It is a serious sign in someone who is very exhausted, in a stupor, or running a high fever, and can indicate a life-threatening state.

The term comes from Greek: karphos means “straw” and legein means “to collect,” so it literally means “to gather straw.” A Latin equivalent is floccillation, from floccus, meaning a tuft of wool or straw. Another term used in European psychiatry is crocydismus, from krokýs meaning “dust” or “fluff.”