finger and cuticle picking

[OboeThumb]

Welcome, GH! I hope you find strength and healing here.

Some things that have helped me somewhat, that may or may not help you but worth a try:

-gloves at night (especially if you pick in your sleep, but if not, still helps the healing)

-being busy with your hands so you don't have time to pick (hobbies are good for this)

-exercise, like walking, running, swimming, yoga - to get rid of nervous energy

-meditation

-cuticle clippers (I got this idea from reformedpicker) - but quit these if they do more damage. I've found that getting rid of those little hangnails before they can become a handle for your nails can help.

-staying away from caffeine if you can.

-art (see hobbies)

-gardening (plenty of stuff to dig at and even pick!)

-cleaning

-emery board (especially good for rough callused areas)

-a really good salve for the cuticles - there's one from Avon that comes in a stick and smells like lavender.

-for restless fingers - play little imaginary tunes (if you can play piano) when you're bored instead of exploring where you can pick.

I know all of these are hard, and I know that feeling of relief/release. I get it too. Currently I'm trying ZT (Zero Tolerance) which I interpret to mean stopping yourself as soon as you realize you're even touching your fingers to find hangnails.
Best of luck! If you fall down, just pick yourself up and try again!
OT

[MynX]

I have been doing this since I was about ... 15 or so. All of my fingers are red and well.. tough at the tips down to my first finger joint from 17 years of picking. I am CONSTANTLY at it. while reading, driving, working. My thumbs look like ... well UGH. scarred, rough raw and bleeding. I do the same to one toe and the back of my right ankle/heel. I just pick pull and prod til its bleeding. Then i wait til it doesnt hurt so bad and pick more. I used to be a BAD nail biter, then suddenly I switched to picking all the skin from my cuticle on down to the first knuckle. My nails are actually really nice. I dont touch em. Ive tried soooooooooooooooooo many things to stop doing it. Gloves, medicated cremes, bandaids etc etc etc.. the only thing that seems to allow healing is acrylic nails. Theyre too thick to grab onto anything. But I work at a computer and after while I cant stand typing with them and eventually I gotta have em off.By then my fingers are healing well but then i see a little pokey bit and BLAMMO pick pick pick.
If theres any pokey thing I WILL find it and pick. Im always rubbing my fingers over eachother feeling for something. Its almost reflexive. If I catch myself picking Ill stop, then start again a moment later without realizing. For awhile I was really terrorizing my face, I had blackheads .. a couple... so id dig em out. I eventually got a nice astringent and some moisturizer and managed to fix THAT issue..but every so often i see one and its gotta go. I became nearly obsessive about face washing and applying so much astringent that my skin cracked and peeled on my face. so i got good moisturizer and astringent for sensitive skin and only use it once in the morning and once before bed.
My thumbs are really gross looking and I get embarrassed whenever I have to hand anyone something. And I really hate when people ask "OH MY! what happened to your hands?"
I usually say 'oh... bad habit ive had since i was in school... *cringe**blush*' while stuffing them in my pocket or behind my back. I wish I could stop. My nails grow nicely but they are ridged from the damage to my nail beds and cuticles.

[OboeThumb]

Hi MynX!
Wow. This is the direction I was heading in before I got onto this board. ::hugs::

I am sometimes really vicious to my right heel too. Last summer it was such a mess I could hardly walk. I wonder what it is about the right heel, not the left one. Are you left-handed?

It used to be that I even picked at bandaids. Maybe a "behavioral" approach would help you? I've heard about this method, where you carry an index card or little notepad (maybe even a number-clicker-thingy) and every time you notice you are picking, you mark it down. Then you keep a tally of how many times a day. This is supposed to make you aware of when and why you pick, and the awareness is supposed to gradually reduce the picking. I'm too disorganized to try this myself long-term (heh), but it popped into my head because, like you, I often don't even realize I've started picking.

A couple of friends on here have suggested emery boards to get rid of the little poky things that start off the picking. Maybe that is a simpler way to help. I love the really rough emery boards, they're nice and quick and effective. Also a good rough pumice for heels.

Well, I hope all these suggestions are helpful, not annoying. Take care of yourself - and good job on the astringent and lotion (what brand is it? I'd love to try)...

Peace,
OT

[MynX]

Im not sure what my right heel ever did to deserve this but I dont seem to touch the left one at all. I'm right handed. I have to wear open heeled shoes to work, anything with an ankle strap would be murder But then since I sit at a desk all day I also dig at it there.
hrm... possibly wearing tights or 'trouser socks' might help
Yes, If I put on bandaids I STILL reflexively feel around them and pick at the edges , til the bandaid itself is ripped and i just pull it off and go at it.
Ive tried the emery board.but right now Im not picking because i managed to dig a bit too much right at the thumb joint and the only pokey bit worth grabbing would REALLY hurt like a beast.. It hurts to bend... both of them
Right now the emery board would cause some bleeding
I pick when my brain isnt occupied mostly. right now im kinda looking at them but dont really feel an urge to pick. Also I'm typing. Though I do pick incessantly while reading a book, driving, sitting at work waiting for calls to come in (I work in a call center)
Ill try marking down when i pick, but i think id use a whole book in one day
It would be easier to mark when I DON'T

Lets seee... first I use one of those round rough scrubby face things with Neutrogena Pore Refining Cleanser and hot water.
Then rinse well...then Clean and Clear deep cleaning astringent for sensitive skin. THEN Got2B Spa Face Defense Moisturizer SPF 15. They stopped selling this at my local Market. But they have it at drugstore.com
I tried using the regular clean and clear astringent but my face dried right out.. i looked all peely (LOTS TO PICK AT! DONT USE IT!) and leathery. Even with the moisturizer. The sensitive skin formula is just right. Whenver i feel the urge to poke around my face I run for the astringent. The sting of it is a good deterrent.
Hope it helps

M

[Stringbean]

Hi everyone. I'm feel lucky to have found this board today. I am fed up with my constant picking of my cuticles and decided to look online to see if there was some kind of cure for it. I've been picking since my teens (I'm now 40) and for as long as I can remember the skin around my thumbs has always been red or bleeding. It's a constant thing that I find my self doing all the time. I am also a scalp picker. I know it sounds really gross, but I will start picking my scalp when it gets dry, I do it so much that it gets sore and stings when I was my hair. I'm afraid one of these days my hair is going to fall out. The only time I stopped picking my fingers was when I got acrylic nails put on, like some others have mentioned and that was because I wasn't able to grab the skin around my nails that way. Right now my fingers are looking pretty good because last week my thumbs got so bad I finally bought some "Burts Bees Lemon cuticle cream". It works pretty well and I keep applying during the day while at work and it keeps me aware when I start picking. My boyfriend has only mentioned my thumb once but I have noticed him watch me when I start to pick and I stop immediately. I wonder if any type of anti-anxiety medication would help. Has anyone tried with success?

[MynX]

Guest-Stringbean said:

Hi everyone. I'm feel lucky to have found this board today. I am fed up with my constant picking of my cuticles and decided to look online to see if there was some kind of cure for it. I've been picking since my teens (I'm now 40) and for as long as I can remember the skin around my thumbs has always been red or bleeding. It's a constant thing that I find my self doing all the time. I am also a scalp picker. I know it sounds really gross, but I will start picking my scalp when it gets dry, I do it so much that it gets sore and stings when I was my hair. I'm afraid one of these days my hair is going to fall out. The only time I stopped picking my fingers was when I got acrylic nails put on, like some others have mentioned and that was because I wasn't able to grab the skin around my nails that way. Right now my fingers are looking pretty good because last week my thumbs got so bad I finally bought some "Burts Bees Lemon cuticle cream". It works pretty well and I keep applying during the day while at work and it keeps me aware when I start picking. My boyfriend has only mentioned my thumb once but I have noticed him watch me when I start to pick and I stop immediately. I wonder if any type of anti-anxiety medication would help. Has anyone tried with success?

Hey! are you me? i do the scalp thing too :/ lol
I dont think I realized how much stuff i pick at til I started reading up about my cuticle picking. But yes Often I am feeling around the back of my head for /any/ unevenness and then pick pick pick. Good thing I have ALOT of hair.
I have heard of people taking Lexapro for these types of problems... I have NOT seen a professional about it yet. But after 17+ years of this I think I might, If I cant lick it soon on my own. Im hoping it doesnt come to that but I am now realizing that I have ALOT of compulsive pickiness happening. I never thought of it as any sort of disorder, just bad habits.

[mom]

I've had the problem too and am doing pretty well lately. I haven't picked my cuticles for several months. I bought some white cotton gloves at the pharmacy and everytime my hands were idle; i.e. before bed, watching a movie, etc. I would put on some Vaseline and the gloves. After several weeks, I went to a manicurist who only specializes in natural nails and is very, very cautious as to sterilization, etc. She gave me a couple good products and my hands and nails are looking great. I also have to try and ignore my nails and hands and don't "look" for something to pick at. Same with my face (stay away from the mirror).

The manicurist said it would take 6 months for my nails to get to a normal state since alot of the damage I had done was in the nail bed from all the picking.

If you have a problem while driving, slip on the gloves. I think there is a lot to be said about the 21 day habit break.

Good luck.

[OboeThumb]

Hi mom! Thanks for the good info and advice. I'm going to get myself an extra pair of cotton gloves, or maybe something for driving that has traction. I've even considered baseball-batting gloves for that. And I now finally know why the thumb that gets most of the picking has such a ridgy nail.

It's a comfort to know about the 21-day thing. Thank you!

OT

[Nothing to pick at]

I don't know if this is the same with others, however, since I stopped picking at my cuticles I have nothing to pick at. In otherwords if you can get to a place where there are not scabs or skin to pick at, it's alot easier to stop since there isn't anything to pick at. While driving I was just picking the lose skin since I couldn't really use clippers and go at it.

My main picking time was when I finally crawled into bed at night. I'd start looking for something to pick and then got out the tweezers and the clippers and went at it.

I bought the white cotton gloves, started using an antibacterial ointment and Aquaphor. Aquaphor is great and recommended by my derm. It's quite expensive, but will speed up healing and it won't burn or irritate the skin, which is already highly irritated. Smoothe this all over liberally, put on the gloves and don't take off.

Then during the day, while driving put some of that first aid tape (brown) in your car and place on your fingers to stop you from picking. Even band-aids, anything.

If you can go a week, most of the skin will be healed and there will be less to pick at.

I also found that the more I picked before bedtime, the more hyped up I would get and the longer it would take me to go to sleep. I'm not using the gloves anymore, and just apply a nice soothing salve like the Aquaphor or even Bag Balm and I can relax.

I try to ignore my hands as much as possible. I don't inspect my fingers and look for something to pick at.

Also, if you do go to a manicurist make sure it is someone who knows what they are doing and don't let them ever CUT your cuticles. The more you cut, the more they will grow back and the more you will want to pick, bite, cut, whatever. Make an appointment with a manicurist for a week from today. You can't go in with open wounds and sores and maybe this will give you some incentive to stop. Then try to go every two weeks or at least every month for further incentive.

It's been about 8 weeks now and my nails and hands look so much better. I still have puffiness below my cuticle and my nails will have ridges because of the damage I did, but they are 90% better and I feel great about them. You can too!

I have this cuticle thing under control, now I'm working on the face picking!!

Good luck to everyone!!

[OboeThumb]

Excellent advice! Reminds me I still need to get those gloves.
I actually own some Aquaphor - I need to start using it for myself instead of just my kid.
Anyway, thank you!

OT

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