Picking skin until it's sore

mattfell53

Hi I'm having trouble I can't stop picking my skin on my fingers and even putting in my mouth start first thing when I wake up and during the day I pick my skin on my fingers til it's sore or feel pain thanks Matt

Morgan_Scope

Hello @mattfell53 and we're pleased you've reached out.

It's a good step that you've noticed the habit and that it is causing you pain. Have you spoken to your doctor about it at all?

There are a number of resources online and they mostly seem to recommend finding other ways to keep your hands busy, and talking therapies.

Morgan_Scope

I've copied a few resources below that might help you:

The NHS recommends speaking to your doctor and has these ideas of things that might help (and some suggestions of things not to do):

Do

• keep your hands busy – try squeezing a soft ball or putting on gloves
• identify when and where you most commonly pick your skin and try to avoid these triggers
• try to resist for longer and longer each time you feel the urge to pick
• care for your skin when you get the urge to pick it – for example, by applying moisturiser
• tell other people – they can help you recognise when you're picking
• keep your skin clean to avoid infection

Don’t

• do not let your nails grow long – keep them trimmed
• do not keep things like tweezers and pins where you can easily get at them

This article from Harvard Medical School is American based, but has some good advice too.

Boots also have an article on skin picking and ways to stop which you may not have seen.

They also talk about some of the reasons some people pick their skin, do any of these feel relatable to you?

1. Underlying skin conditions: acne or eczema, among others, can promote picking in response to a lesion (eg, a spot or scab), or symptom (eg, an itch). Treatment of the underlying condition coupled with appropriate psychological interventions can lead to reduction or cessation of picking.
2. Emotional picking: people tend to pick their skin in response to psychological states, such as stress and anxiety, or anger. Recognising these triggers is important when trying to break the skin picking cycle.
3. Habitual picking: some people engage in skin picking out of habit. This occurs in a state of boredom, or when idle or feeling tired.
4. OCD: skin picking is related to other obsessive compulsive behaviours. If you have other associated behaviours, such as frequent handwashing, hair pulling or plucking, ritualistic behaviours or excessive tidying, skin picking can be a sign of further undiagnosed problems that could benefit from treatment.