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Noscubs , 18 Aug 2009

Anyone picking near genital area?

Hi! Does anyone of you pick near your genitals? I know it sounds disgusting, and that's why it's so profoundly embarrassing so I can't speak to anyone about it. Do I need to say that my sexual relationship is threatened? All lust is gone when I come to think of the skin underneath my panties... Oh my god, and this has been going on for my whole "sexual" life, ten years now... Ridiculous!
68 Answers
sls
March 27, 2010

In reply to by Alameda

Well, its been quite a while since I've been on the site... I've been trying to get my life in order but things are still not great. I have been to quite a few doctors and had lots of testing but still don't know whats wrong (as far as the weight loss and lymph nodes among other symptoms goes). I now have a new PCP and a gastroenterologist but I failed to tell them about the picking. But the good news is that I have selected a gyno from my insurance companies website and I will be calling to make an appointment with them at the beginning of next week. I figure once I have the appointment there is no turning back (since I told myself I was going to tell both the PCP and gastroenterologist (especially him since he was going to be performing a colonoscopy) but I didnt say anything...) because it will be inevitable, they will see the damage no matter what. I need to do this otherwise I will just keep putting it off (and my lymph nodes all over my body are continually getting larger...). I've also looked for a therapist to start behavioral therapy because I have realised that I cannot do this on my own!! so wish me luck as I take this next step!
wildflower
March 27, 2010

In reply to by sls

omg ... i wish you luck ... i wish you strength ... i wish you determination ... i wish you compassionate doctors ... i wish you effective therapy ... i wish you a speedy recovery ... all the best to you! <3 <3 <3
heavymetalfan
July 21, 2010

In reply to by sls

Hi sls, I'm new to the site but I have a lot of the same symptoms as you (generalized swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, stomach problems, PLUS fatigue, night sweats- all signs pointing to C) and am afraid about cancer too. Many blood tests, CT scans later and I'm still having no luck finding out what's wrong! I stopped picking the day I felt my lymph nodes swell up-the hardest thing I've had to do after picking in my ear on and off for years-but of course it did not stop the swelling. I hope you're doing better, and I was wondering if you could update us on your condition?
sls
December 13, 2010

In reply to by heavymetalfan

Hey heavymetalfan, Sorry I didn't respond sooner, I haven't been on the site for quite some time. I admire your strength to stop picking once you felt your lymph nodes, no matter what I try I always find myself picking. If I have a good day then I find myself waking up the next morning having ripped my skin apart during the night. I still don't have many answers about my health (and I think that some of that stems from still not being truthful about my picking with the doctors) but I did determine that some of the GI issues were due to lactose intolerance. The last time I've had any testing done was in March and at that point my white count was high. Anyway, my lymph nodes are still enlarged (and I find more lumps quite often... recently I discovered that I have 7 along my jawline) but when I asked the doctor about them she basically told me to stop being a hypochondriac (and this is why I haven't been back...) So I still have no answers about the lymph nodes or tiredness, am still picking at every inch of my body, and have no solutions to share :(
Delta
January 28, 2010

In reply to by sls

I don't pick at my genitals however i do have scars all over my bum checks from picking, I have had to show these in a gynocologist appointment and the doctor merely asked if they itched, how long and i simply said there were from spots and he didn't ask any more. He wasn't judgemental at all and acted in a very cool and professional manner. I suggest you go see one as soon as possible, it's probably a really bad infection from picking but please go as soon as possible.
Troglobite
March 14, 2010

In reply to by Delta

Hi Delta...Yeah I also had sores appearing on my bum cheeks too that I couldn't stop picking at the end of last year 2009.....luckily they've healed now but not 100%....for some reason no sores on my body ever go away 100%.....always leave just a tiny little bit behind just incase 6 months later we decide to start picking it again AHHH......go away sores 100% please and leave us alone.....
Tanisham
March 14, 2010
I've picked my inner vagina as long as I can remember. It's so embarassing I've never talked about it. My skin is a mess down there some is white and raw that's usually what I pick off. My doctor has never said anything about it when getting a pap or anything but now i am 5 months pregnant And am sure someone will end up seeing soon :( I do it alot when my fiancée is sleeping. It makes it so intercourse often hurts :( I also make sure we are always in the dark. I also pick my lips constantly they look horrible. How can I stop this?
carolina
May 03, 2010
hey all i have started pickin at my face for more then 8 years just a year back i started thinking this had to be more serious the i thought well thats not all! ive been picking arrounr my genitals for quite a while also, not inside of my vagina but in the outer lips and around the anus too and i have developed this zits that just dont go away, does this happen to any of you? hey get better en then they come back! i had surgery in 2 of them where they opened them and extracted what ever was in there, bu this 3 new ones habe been active for more then 8 months now and in going vrizzy because this doctors an ginecologist keep prescribing the same pill for infections and nothing happens!!!! i fell that i have to extract the infection because they itch at night and i just have to extract whats inside. i dont know what to do any more because the last time i went to the gino he told me no more surgery ( of course i at like i dont know waht going on i i never admit is an ocd) you have a hormonal disbalance and prescribed me nore medicine again.... i dont know if this has happened to any one or what kind of advise i can get ANYTHING HELPS. o my sexual life is ruined too by the way..... but im sure this has a cure and in the dark wont be such a big deal. till he whants to go down grrrrr!!!
wildflower
May 03, 2010

In reply to by carolina

there is no magic bullet to stop someone from self harming behaviours ... it takes a lot of determination and maybe some antidepressant medication and maybe some therapy, but there needs to be the deep desire to stop it ... try to see how long you can go without doing any picking ... try again if you have a setback and see if you can go longer ... if you manage to go longer than a month, then go back to your doctor ... his approach might be different if he realizes that you aren't self harming any longer ... imagine a doctor's frustration with patients that keep harming what he tries to heal ......
brandywyne_13
July 21, 2010
Hi all, This is my first time in this forum so be gentle with me. I have a problem and its bad. I have anxiety issues. I used to be a upscale escort for 13 years. 4 years ago I stopped I had met a great man who later became my husband. just luck I soppose. I had scratched big holes in my left foot I mean the top of my foot looked mangled, the scratching and picking was and is so painfull yet when im doing it I feel relaxed untill it hurts. That had been going on for about 8 years. well 4 years ago I uped the anti and went after my vaginal area. Look I don't have any stds or yeast infections I checked alot. I scratch and scratch I pull out the hairs on the inside of the lips. I have had abcesses down there and had 3 lancings. but I can't help doing it I scratch when I go pee or when I shower, before I masterbate and after. The dr said that escorting was my release from stress. and now that i don't do it I have all this pent up anxeity. Look I think theres something really wrong with me becuase I do this and I see im not alone. is there any dr's out there that have real answers . I mean I cut my nails off I wear gloves and socks. but still do it I have had the same wound on my foot for 5 months now. errr. Thanks for reading and letting me vent .
x
July 21, 2012

In reply to by brandywyne_13

Oh my gosh. I am so sorry! Thanks for posting your testimony. What an interesting concept that the escorting was your stress relieving outlet. I'm going to ponder that for a while. I need to get better at wearing the gloves; plus someone posted above about putting band-aids on the parts of your skin you've destroyed so that you can't see it or get at it. In order for me to do this, I would need to buy, basically, a whole body compression sleeve. I ordered some sleeves for my arms, but it didn't fit right. I should probably try and order another pair / custom pair next time so I can't get so easily to my frequent picking spots.
srtreat83
July 25, 2010
Yep I do. I have genital psoriasis... which makes it worse!
Popcorn47
August 28, 2010
Yes. I don't do it any more but I used to do it constantly. Something like an ingrown hair or razor bump could start the avalanche. But I loved the sensation of plucking the hairs out, especially around the lips. My husband couldn't understand it especially since most women hate this part after a wax, those random pluckings. He always asked me why I don't just shave if I'm so bothered by it. But again he didn't understand it wasn't that I didn't want hair there as much as it was the sensation of pulling the individual hairs out. I'd be especially excited if I nabbed a hair with a particularly bulbous tip on the end. Those really thick ones were like striking gold. I found it much easier to pluck here than my upper thighs, which were also a source of contention. I'd go after all and everything, my pubic region, inner and upper thighs and groin....but nothing was as satisfying as the hairs from my labia. It's strange, it felt like an accomplishment. I started out just doing a little and found myself going farther and farther back, in terms of proximity, especially the more anxious I got. Have to admit it, this was/is by far another one of those things I would swear no one else in their right mind does. If my husband has even one ingrown hair he turns it into this huge traumatic deal of getting the one out (because to him he wants to preserve his skin and you know, be healthy and all that stuff that many of us don't think about when we go on our missions). To me I'd be like, "oooh, let me help you with that! We just need a needle and a pair of tweezers!" Sheesh, he's been shot twice so I'd think this whole "pain" thing would be put in perspective. One pubic ingrown hair was like the Gulf War. He'd rather face an armed assailant.
x
July 21, 2012

In reply to by Popcorn47

Thanks for the humor in your post. I loved reading it. Have you ever wondered whether it's not the repetitive hair pulling and picking that we love, as much as it is the repetition of such painstakingly tedious and small-scale work? Sometimes I wonder if I would have as much passion and find as much joy in, say, carving kernels of rice under a microscope.
bellas_mom_09
September 07, 2010
i do... when i get bumps/ingrown hairs from shaving i pick at them. there usually isn't more than 1 or 2 and my bf knows about my problem and thankfully is understanding and doesn't judge me for it. still hate it though :(
nobody21
October 21, 2010
always in the morning I wake up with stuff in my fingernails from itching my vagina and bum while I am sleeping. I really think its digusting and dirty and would like to know if there is a way to stop it.
j david
November 05, 2010
i pop black heads and whiteheads downthere around shaft and on shaft
PrincesMarie123
November 29, 2010
Wow!!! I thought was the only person who picked down there... Iv been picking for as long as I can remember and I got scares all over my legs and my inner thighs and butt and arms.. And I'm tired of being embarrassed and coving up my body.... I can't even go to the beach In A bathing suit I wear shorts and a t-shirts during the summer I wear jeans always.. I wanna feel pretty... Is there any advice I can get for stopping...
REH5057
December 19, 2010
My name is Rachel, I'm 21, and I've picked all my life. Starting in middle school, I began to over-pluck my eyebrows. Eventually I stopped but then I began to tweeze my pubic hairs. It doesn't hurt as bad as you think it might. This behavior went on for years. I had my tweezers and my needle. I would teeze and tweeze and tweeze for hours at a time. I dug deep holes into my skin and would take a needle and dig it into the holes as well, convinced there was an ingrown hair. Sometimes I would hit a nerve with the needle and the pain would be terrible. I had a bloody cloth under my sink that I used to wipe the blood away only so I could still see what i was doing. In high school, I had sex for the first time and I didn't even allow the guy to take off my underwear. I just had him move it to the side. This habit continued until last year. I really can't explain why I stopped. It just happened. I no longer had an urge to dig out the hairs or to go at any bumps with a needle. The behavior just stopped all together. Now, I shave and will occasionally get ingrown hairs bit I can just take a pair of tweezers, pluck them, and move on. No big deal. No blood. The skin no longer has any scabbing or discoloration. I look like a normal girl now. I pick at my back as well. I've been picking at it since middle school. Last week, I decided, like so many times before, that I wanted to finally stop. And guess what? It's working. My back is healing. The scabs are going away and it doesn't hurt to scrub my back in the shower anymore. I can't explain what happens to make a person just stop one day what they've been doing for years. It's not like I had hit a significant breaking point or anything. I just didn't care to do it a anymore. Someday, all my scabs and scars will fade and I'll have confidence I've never had before. I already feel more confident than I did two weeks ago. I'm going to heal completely. I don't need therapy and I don't need medication. It's in my power to stop and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

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