Scalp Picking

[lucy78]

My scalp picking seems to be stress related. I'm a very anxious type of person. I used to bite my nails, but since I have stopped that about 4 months ago the scalp picking has increased dramatically. I can control it in public, but at home I do it constantly. I know I should stop especiallly before my hair gets colored because it burns but I always seem to do it anyway. I''ve never actually tried to stop but after reading all these messages I realize how I really need to.

[OUCollegeChic85]

Yea I suppose I should try proactive, never have really had the money...I guess Meijers (dont know if you have that store by you) they have a off brand of proactive and it works just as well...I usually use Biore pore perfection triple action astringent its around 5 bucks and just clean my face before bed to get all my makeup off with a cotten ball, but I hate when Im around my boyfriend with no concelear on so I wont wash my face and as soon as I dont wash it once there goes my face...Lately I have been having areas that my face is slightly more red and i really dislike that...I have several areas of scaring from when I picked and Ive been drying to use that mederma stuff but u have to put it on relgiously everyday and Ive been having a hard time remembering...I should go to the doctors I suppose, the dermatolgist can anyone tell me appox. how much it costs or if insurence may cover the charges? I have HAP...Thanxs

[Gina]

Holy wow...
I've been a picker since I was able to pick. When I was little I would just pick the scabs on my knees or arms, not compulsively, just because it was fun. Then around grade 7, I was worried all the time and so I started picking at my scalp and ears. I'd pick the scabs til they bled then I'd find more. My ears were always crusty and I'd pick at them and my scalp in class. Nobody ever said anything though, they probably thought I had lice. I stopped that though, not sure why, but I would still scan my scalp and face for bumps. I hate having bumps anywhere and I just pick them, and I've always popped pimples before they were ready. Now I'm in university and a couple months ago my legs started itching, and now they look horrendous. In the past couple months the itch moved from my legs to my arms to my back and chest and belly, and i can't stop scratching. It's a terrible mix, being a picker AND constantly itchy. Having dry skin doesn't help either. I've tried everything I can, but I even stop myself from sleeping some nights because I keep scratching at every available spot, mostly my thighs. I didn't pick at the scabs for 4 days but i gave in today. They don't look bad because they were mostly healed, the tops just fell off, but I'm afraid they'll all scar. I have one scar already from this ordeal and I don't want more. :S *sigh* I'm just glad there are other people who are as "picky" as me. I'll see how many days I can go without now that I've read this. Thanks everyone.

[Dee13]

FYI when I eat too much wheat or citrus I itch more. So food allergies can be a trigger.

Dee

[kizzate]

Seborrheic dermatitis is a common skin condition affecting millions of Americans. It shows up as flaking skin, or reddish patches. Unlike people with dry skin, the skin in people with seborrheic dermatitis is usually oily. It can be unsightly, itchy and, since it is often on the face, may cause embarrassment. It is not contagious. Scales form on reddened skin.

if you would like to read more I'm providing the link..this is almost exactly what my doctor told me and i think this is the best website...
www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/seborrheic_dermati.html

good luck with your future endeavors

[glow=red,2,300]<3[/glow] Kate

[Atleastitsnotmynose]

I cant even believe that there is a site dedicated to scalp picking. I have been picking my scalp since--wow like ten years now...I can remember my mom picking at hers, and it seems that it is now my problem. Its really bad...I pick when I watch TV and constantly have dandruff on my shirt, on the couch, in my bed on my pillow. I will lie in bed as I fall asleep and pick. I will pick at work, and then worry about it. I pick and pick so there are tons of flakes in my hair and then I stand in the washroom so long getting all the chunks out that it hurts my back and my feet. I cant stop. My boyfriend is always telling me to stop, but I cant. Just sitting here thinking about it makes me want to pick. I dont have huge scabs or anything, but it is gross just the same. I used to just pick at the back, so nobody could tell, but now its all along the sides of my ears, and even in the top front of my head. its so bad. I had no idea it could be an OCD kind of thing. I need help so bad.

[barefoot]

I'm wondering if my problem is a little different. I pick at me scalp, face, neck, back, arms, and now my legs....but not because they're itchy. My thing is that I can't STAND to feel any bumps on my skin. I am constantly running my fingers over my skin to make sure everything is completely smooth. If I feel something, anything, that is "out of place", I need to get rid of it. One of the most uncomfortable feelings is to find something, and to know that there is something on my scalp, and not be able to pick it off and make it smooth again. I hardly ever pick in public because I know how repulsive it is. But when I'm alone, ***especially when I'm writing long papers for school, I will pick until my finger tips are raw. My hair is falling out at an alarming rate and I'm so disgusted with myself. I've read that this is a form of self-mutilation, but I often completely zone out, sometimes losing hours of time, and I don't think I do it to hurt myself. I just want everything to be smooth and flawless. I do this with clothes, the carpet, any object I can find that has flaws--- and I just have to make it smooth. Can't stop. I've noticed that none of us have any solutions for this problem. I wish this was more of a priority with doctors and psychiatrists. We need help, or we're all going to be bald and bloody!

[famofpickrs]

Can't believe I'm not alone - my sisters and I just thought it was bad family genes all of these years ( I guess it still could be!) I pick the tiny bumps on the back of my arms - these are actually a genetic skin condition and my doctor recommended LACLOTION. I pick at any imperfection I can find on my face - dry skin flakes, pimples, blackheads and tweeze (sometimes for HOURS) at hair on my chin. VANIQUA helped reduce the frequency of the growth and, thus, my plucking/digging. My scalp sores have nearly vanished using SCALPICIN. I hate the shampoos, but this doesn't stink and is easy to apply directly to each sore area. It has erased the itch so well that I don't go there. Good - more time to pluck each and every hair off of other unmentionable areas of my body...what the heck is my problem??!! Anyway, these products have at least reduced my various body concious problems - SCALPICIN nearly eradicating the scalp itching adn picking.

[KATHY]

I PICK MY SCALP TOO. I HATE DOING IT BUT I GET A SORT OF GRATIFICATION FROM THE ACTION. I BEGAN YEARS AGO ON AND OFF. I NOTICED I HAD DRY SCALP AND SCRATHCED THE HECK OUT OF MY HEAD UNTIL IT BLED LEAVING SMALL SCABS IN SEVERAL PLACES. I PICKED THEM OUT AND ACTUALLY LIKED SEEING THE SCABS. I COLLECTED THEM ON A DARK PILLOW CASE OR BLANKET TO SEE HOW MUCH I'D GET WHEN I WAS DONE. REALLY WEIRD! WHEN I SCRATCH MY SCALP I LIKE TO SEE THE FLAKES FALL ON SOMETHING DARK. IT'S SO MESSED UP! I HAVE HAD ONLY ONE SMALL SCAB IN THE SAME PLACE FOR 2 YEARS. I WISH IT WOULD DISAPPEAR.

[KathyBgood]

hi I also pick on my scalp to relieve anxiety & even "collected" them for a while as one post said.
Try stoppickingonme.com, I've found it helpful to be with so many others (thousands!) of people dealing with this. We are not alone, nor are we unusual! KathyB

[Landy]

:'(The earliest I remember picking was 3rd grade, and I am 30 now. I used to scratch at my scalp till I got enough dry skin and oil and whatever under my nails that I could clean it out with a pencil. I would zone out on class while I did it. As acne came along I added picking it to my list. I can't stand to feel a single bump on my skin. Scalp, face, shoulders or arms, chest or back. I ALWAYS have scabs somewhere on my body. Before I shower I examine my face for anything to "get rid of" and do a "feel over" for any spots on my arms, shoulders and back. Then when I get out, I do it all over again. Because, of course, the hot shower opens up those pores and I can really get stuff out. Gross, I know. My scalp I work on all the time. I find a scab and scrath it off, then I pull the scab out of my hair and look at it and throw it out. Within hours I am feeling to see if there's a new scab yet and I feel really happy when there is and it's big. I lose large amounts of hair from this and always ALWAYS always have terrible red, dry scabs on my face and hairline that are visible. The worst part of all this?? I am a nurse and work for two dermatologists!! I have access to everything on the market for psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, eczema and so on. Over the counter AND prescription. The doctors I work for have had me try everything and my compliance is great. When my scalp does not itch and the scabs heal, then my compliance is terrible. It's like I miss them or something! The doctors have finally said "it's your decision, we just give advice." So, as I sit here tonight I have fresh sores sans scabs and my face is painful and red with flat, dry, raw areas where I have peeled off the skiin with a butterknife.
I want to stop, I really do. I feel ugly and gross and ashamed. My self esteem is crap. All day long I see patients who I know are looking at my skin and thinking "my God if she works for these doctors and they can't get her skin looking good then maybe they are not good doctors!" I picked my son up from school yesterday and he stared at me thru the windshield as he walked up to the car. He got in and said "Gosh mom, you've got a lot of pimples!" He had noticed them from far away. They were not pimples though. They were freshly peeled areas of skin, still bright red from bleeding and in the process of forming new scabs. The only escape I have found from scratching up my face and scalp is to bite my cuticles. And I do this all day long, day after day, till they are swollen, sore and bleeding. I have visions of just running a thin blade down my inner thighs and pulling out all the fat that makes me dimply and gross and then just sewing them back again. Or pinching all the fat into a roll on my side and cutting it off. When I realize the extent to what I am thinking, I can allow myself to tear up my face and scalp and validate it by thinking how I could be doing something much worse.

[lll]

Been a picker for many years and starting to get paranoid cancer could form from these scab, scabs that have not been able to heal for years!!! I have been using neosporin, carry it with me, instead of picking (from stress, boredom) I put it on with the tube. I need to stop touching them physically. If it is hard you will want to pick it off. I will try the shampoo,
Good luck to all

[Minty]

How many of you are seeking professional help?I've been picking at my face n scalp for years now.It all started when I was prescribed Retin-A for my acne as a teen.it made the acne go away but made my skin all flaky and i'd pick at the flakes until they peeled off just because I hated the dry scaly feel.now I am not on the treatment and still i can't stop picking Im so sick of myself, sometimes i look at myself and break down sobbing because I look horrible.i've had to cancel plans to go out with friends because of the way i look due to my incessant picking.I've started sertraline(zoloft, serta) for this condition as its an OCD.I hope it goes away.. p.s I don't pick when Im h appy, relaxed and/or in public.so i consciously try to stay around people, avoid stress and stimulants like caffiene

[mara]

hey ive been picking my head for almost two years now i had a friend that told me a girl at my school had lice so that night at home i was furiously fealing over my head and found some scabs and bumps and just started picking and scraatching now i do it so much it hurts to wash my hair i think it is so gross but i rarely even know im doing it. ill be watching tv and suddenly remember omg ive made myself bleed.but for some sick and twisted underlying reason i like to do it.my mom always picks on me and calls me a picker and when school started i had to fill out one of those things were you write down your hobbies and she said "oh i sit and pick my head" she dosent relize how hurtful those statments are and how they make everything worse thay pretty much just remind me to pick. but i have found a safty if i have acrilic nails on i cant pick i really dont even think about it but as soon as there off i pick enough to make up i hat it i want to stop.

[girl3]

Hi I pick at my scalp almost continuously. I also like to pull out what I refer to as gross and weird hairs. I will feel through individual hairs on my head, particularly on the crown until I feel a hair that seems coarser or different and I will pluck it. Sometimes I'll feel a whole group of them and pull out several at a time. I pull at the hairs for hours but may actually only pull out six or seven in a sitting. I collect those hairs and then put them together to feel them as a bunch. I even like to run them through my lips to confirm their coarsesness and justify my pulling them out. My scalp is raw all the time and usually has small scabs in various places. I go to a different hair dresser all the time because I am embarrassed to about the condidtion of my scalp. I also have this overwhelming feeling that my dandruff on my head is a helmet that I must get off, so I scratch until I pull up the skin and then watch it fall onto a surface. It mesemerizes me and disgusts me at the same time. Noone has ever seen me do this because I usually shut myself in the bathroom to do it. It feels so gulity when I am done and my scalp throbs. The thing is,m my skin doesn't even itch and I do not have excessive dandruff. I wish I could quit on my own. I am 27 years old and I have been doing this since I was 5.