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Scabs that don't heal? Possible?
Hi guys!
I've been picking my lips for 8 years. The resulting scabs are absolutely disgusting - super thick, hard, and discolored. They even prevent me from eating, smiling, talking properly. I am now underweight and depressed because I cannot smile or laugh without cracking my lips!
Anyway, no matter how long I leave them alone (record: one month), the scabs do not heal. I read somewhere that if you pick a scab continuously, it will cease to heal. Is this true?? Can skin "forget" how to heal?
I would love to hear your thoughts! Good luck to everyone battling this!
August 20, 2008
Oh and maybe you should see a doctor, they might give you some medicine to help the healing process? I don't know. >_<
August 20, 2008
I never heard of that happening, but I guess if you never leave them alone they never really have a chance to heal. Any maybe because you pick at them so much, a month just wasn't enough time to heal. Your body needs to create new skin and all that stuff. It takes time. I'm a scab picker but sometimes I pick and bite my lip skin. I always bleed and get scabs. I know your pain to some extent, but my lips aren't my main focus. I hope this helped a little!
August 20, 2008
I'm definitely not a doctor, however, your scabs on your lips may not be healing quickly due to the amount of bacteria located inside human mouths, not to mention food getting in contact with the sores.
I used to pick my lips and developed sever infantigo. Infantigo is a rash like infection that occurs when chapped or irritated skin gets really bad and spreads. I had to get prescribed a medicated cream to heal it. It spread so badly that it scared me from picking my lips, that experience however, did not stop my picking but more transfered it to another area of my body.
Hope this helps,
dandilyon20
August 21, 2008
Wow, thank you guys for your input! It takes a tremendous amount of effort to keep my hands away from my mouth, but bad habits must be broken.
I'm going to keep your thoughts in mind and start applying tea tree oil to my lips to minimize the bacterial growth. I'm also going to try to stay patient about the whole process and not pick the scabs again. We will see how that goes. I will keep you updated!