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admin , 30 Nov 2007

Cuticle picking problem

Hello I guess I'm the first one to post around here. I hope new folks will join soon... Anyhow I found this website by mistake while looking around the net for information about cuticle picking. I have been doing it since I'm a child, and never seized doing it. It's actually become a problem, since my fingers sometimes get to the point when it looks grotesque and ugly. I always thought that this problem I am having is just a bad habbit, but after I read stuff about it I begin to understand that it might be some inner turmoil inside me that has to do with it, and brings me to self distruciton will again and again. I notice that the picking picks in times of stress. Anyone has similar problem?
71 Answers
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picker_rn
October 06, 2010
ME!!! I pick and bite at my cuticles something awful. It is so embarassing, but I just can't stop. I HATE the way my hands look. I have a very ugly raised red callus on my right index finger which takes up most of my first knuckle. There is also a callus on my left thumb, but it is not as bad as the right finger. It is horrible to feel like I have no control over it even though I really don't want to do it. I showed my mom my hands and she said I always would chew or pick my fingers. Maybe I will look into getting some cotton gloves I can wear all the time I am not at work. I do pick a lot at work though, so I would have to come up with something there. I also suffer from depression and more than occasional anxiety, and I am a lip and zit picker. Luckily my boyfriend doesn't harrass me about it, or even seem to notice, and I am sure he would help me if I asked for help.
showrootslove
October 08, 2010
I am SO GLAD I FOUND THIS SITE!! I thought it was just me. My husband will put his hands on my hands when I am just sitting there reading, studying, watching TV, whatever, to try to get me to stop pulling and picking the skin on my cuticles. And I CANNOT STOP!!! Solar nails DID help me, but they present other problems. I suppose I need to have those put back on because they did reduce the picking. The nails prevented me from picking the skin on my feet, also. I have picked for as long as I can remember. I think my face was first. I had MILD acne, but it was persistent. I thought it would go away if I just squeezed it (even though I really did know better), and it made it worse. After four different antibiotics, the dermatologist put me on Accutane to get rid of it once and for all. It worked. Next was the skin on my lips (and I have been doing that again some lately). I bite it and pull it off with my teeth. I really don't know I am doing it. Lipstick makes it worse, and aquaphor helps a LOT! This summer when we were on vacation, I pulled all of the skin off the bottom of my right foot. I think it was helping me relax. Weird, huh? On vacation...you would think I would be able to relax. But my cuticles are the worst. Aquaphor does help them, too. I keep Neosporin on them as much as possible. I do wash my hands about 40-50 times per day, so that probably makes my cuticles dry, too. I have some things going on....more about that later. But I want to know what makes me pick and how to stop once and for all. It is gross and I really do hate doing it. I apparently love doing it, too, because it must provide some sort of relief. I read in another post where someone did not like scabs, etc. I am the exact same. I have an awful chicken pox scar in my head because I picked at the place for about two years when I was seven years old. I don't want anything rough on any part of my body or it just has to go! I don't want scabs (although I don't pull them off, but I used to). I need to be able to just feel smooth, blemish free skin. Maybe someone on here can correspond with me so we can help each other deal?
LONLEYSOUL
October 23, 2010
Omg...I thought my brother and I had to be the only people in the world who pick..he also bites, and peel. Me on the other hand..I have a serious problem!! I cant stop stabbing and digging in three main cuticles... My inner thumb, pointer, and middle fingers...not to mention, I love digging the inner corners of my big toes...I feel sooo bad but it seems like it feels so amazing. The sensation I get is unbelievable, mesmerizing, and hypnotizing...I really need help. I'm so ashamed of my hands! They look terrible...I always find ways to dig and stab.. I even let my pets nibble on those fingers...and i always have to stab them with sharp objects.. and the worst part of it all is when I try to stop..I fell this incredible urge and tingle in those areas to dig..smh!!!!!!!!
Clu
October 24, 2010
I used to be fixed on tearing away at my big toes, I'd clip the nail away real deep on one side and it'd end up growing back out wrong and cause it to bleed and scab up then I'd pick at that until the scab was gone. I'd do this about everytime I clip the nail down, I stopped doing it and I'm careful not to clip the nail too short now. I hope you learn to stop soon. :)
bloodyfingers
October 24, 2010
Hi, i'm new here. I do this to an extreme where my fingers gush blood, I give myself infections, and have caused nerve damage to the point where I feel like i've broken bones in my fingers. I'm trying therapy but in the meantime I thought i'd share some things that somewhat help. Clear tape around cuticles at all times Moisturize hands to prevent hangnails Also - I wear latex gloves a lot for work so being sure to wash really well afterwards because the powder can be irritating and make me want to pick. Keeping busy in general. Have a pad and paper to doodle on while watching tv.etc and just try to always be doing something with your hands. I also pick my lips so if it's something two handed that helps for that too. I'll admit, these things are hit and miss and I have to be strict with them because when i'm not, I end up like I am now with freshly peeled lips and blood soaked bandages on all but three fingers and 5 toes. :/
expicker
November 04, 2010
Hello, I just wanted to let you know I have possibly found a cure for the skin-picking problem. Or at least, a solution to control it. I have been picking at my thumbs for about 15 years (I am 30 now) with very nasty results- scars, fingers always bleeding and injured- and the whole aspect of my thumbs was just entirely horrific and disgusting. Because I now work in a environment where my hands are seen and I get in contact with a lot of people, I started to feel very embarassed when some people just made faces while looking at my fingers :( or even turned their eyes away I decided I had to do something to stop or control the problem at least in some way. So, after reflecting for a while I realized that if I had sometinhg on all my nails or around my nails, something like a foreign-object-feeling on my fingers, I would not concentrate on the skin-picking but on the strange feeling around the fingers and I would probably stop pulling the skin off. So I decided I had to try some acrylic false nails, some sturdy ones, that would turn my attention away from the skin that tempted to be ripped. And, fortunately for me, it worked perfectly. I could no longer pick because the false nails have no sensitivity of are not fine enough to detect the small pieces of skin that you use when you start to pick and....I stopped. Officially, no picking for about 16 days now and still no sign of the embarassing habit going back. I hope it stays that way. I now see that false nails have worked for others too, although those were mostly nail-bitting people....but I believe the two are in some way connected. Anway, it is worth trying, as means of limiting the picking. It seems you simply cannot pick with false nails..... Of course, the solution is, unfortunately, only applicable to the female pickers :( , but I hope it helps at least one other person than me. And one more thing: first get the nails longer, at least a few days, until the urge to pick settles a bit. Than you can also use the shorter nails.
needtostop
November 06, 2010
I'm so glad I'm not alone in this. I've picked, bit, and torn my cuticles raw for as long as I can remember. I can remember leaving the movie theater on several occasions having blood streaming down my hands and not even realizing that I had been doing it. I hate that I do this and have tried so hard to stop. There comes to a point where the cuticles start to heal and become dry when I can not resist the urge to pick. There's a method to my madness and I find myself using tools (cuticle cutter, tack, pin) to help execute this filthy habit to my satisfaction; I'm repulsed by myself when I'm like this. It is both physically and emotionally painful yet relieving at the same time and I have not been able to shake it although I've tried. I have tried bandaging them which leaves me with one unbandaged finger which ends up being more embarrassing than the cuticle picking itself. I have tried hand wax treatments and medicated lotion but nothing stops me. It seems out of my hands which is so frustrating and makes me feel as though my ability to control my actions is completely out of whack. I'm not a nail biter really, it's just my cuticles that seem to suffer. My family and friends recoil at the sight of my swollen, red, and scabbed fingers and it's humiliating attempting to explain this bizarre and completely irrational habit. Working in a customer service position where I am constantly shaking hands and helping clients fill out paper work has made this so much harder to deal with it. I always thought it was a coping mechanism but it's become clear that it's so much more than that and I have lost complete control. I'm uncomfortable holding hands with my boyfriend, getting my nails done, and partaking in everyday tasks that others would consider trivial. Counting my money to give to a waiting cashier makes me not only anxious but judged and embarrassed. I can't keep living like this, I've tried everything. I need some advice that can stop this once and for all, I'm tired of failing time and time again.
mamabear
November 09, 2010
I have been biting my nails and picking and biting at the skin around them for as long as I can remember (I'm in my late 30's now). I guess I'm really lucky that I don't have terrible scars, though the skin is now rather pink around a few of my nails. I could probably still grow my nails out and have "normal" looking hands if I really wanted to. I almost always have one or two fingers that have scabs on them, though. I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time, though I will often chew and pick at them until they bleed. I never even thought much about it being a "disorder", other than possibly a nervous habit, until recently. I remember picking at the bottom of my feet as a child, but I stopped doing that many years ago.
bloodyfingers
November 09, 2010
Does anyone pick their cuticles to the point they're picking around to the pads of their fingers? Hope I don't need to be finger printed any time soon.
lucy_burnett
April 19, 2011
I've done that and had to be fingerprinted a week later. When the woman saw my finger prints, she looked at my fingers with clear disgust and said I had to come back once they were healed to do it again. It was highly embarrassing. And of course, to cope, I picked more.
coffeeboxers
April 25, 2011
I do that on my thumb and index fingers. The worst part is that i will pick all the way up to my knuckles on most of my fingers. Having neosporin and bandaids are a must... People ask me why i have bandaids on my fingers, and its hard to explain this type of convulsion. :( A few times this semester i picked my thumb until it bled. Thankfully i had tissues in my backpack, and just wrapped it around my thumb thinking no one would really care/ask. I've tried wearing gloves. My boyfriend gives me a glare when he sees me picking, and he will sometimes ask me "whats wrong" or grab my hands for me to stop. And i almost have a slight panic attack because I could not finish picking that last little strip of skin. Its so intrusive in daily life. ._.
embarassedhands
November 18, 2010
As many before me have said-thankful to know I'm not alone. I was reading comments just to see if anyone had a cure for it and I saw someone's post about therapy. I did see a therapist because of this one problem, nervous that I was possibly suffering OCD or that maybe she could help-according to the therapist I saw, she said it was just a nasty habit. I'd be curious if anyone else had seen anyone for help and if they had said anything. She said she blamed anxiety, but that it was a habit that had just been learned over the years and relied on. Unfortunately no cure for me yet. There are times when I can go up to a week without touching my cuticles, but it's nothing permanent. I've been reading up on ways to quit bad habits. A big thing they said was rewarding yourself. I tell myself all the time that if I can stop i'll reward myself with a really pretty manicure where my nails will look beautiful, because I have nice nails and ugly cuticles-and I can't bring myself to get a manicure because of the pure embarrassment. So nothing for me yet :(. Best of luck to you all..
Stony
November 19, 2010
I never had much of a nail biting or cuticle picking problem until this summer. I'm 54 so strange that it should start so late in life. My wife used to do it a lot but has not for some time. I believe the problem began while working on a huge lawn recovery project all summer. Wearing work gloves almost every day for weeks irritated my cuticles in some way. I began to pick at them to "fix" them and got caried away. Now it's a constant issue for me several months later. To prevent infection I rub in some triple anitbiotic ointment in the morning and at night. I also rub in Burt's Bees cuticle balm most days. These actions help keep the cuticle healthy but they are still targets of frequent "attack" by tooth and finger nail weapons. Reading all your comments is somewhat helpful and I will use my will power in the future to reduce the attacks. Sounds a little weird maybe but if I think of my cuticles as helpless children who need someone to fight off constant attacks from bullies then I might feel I am being protective of them. Maybe my natural instincts to protect the helpless will defeat the sinister cuticle attacker inside me. I'll keep you posted...
learnedtoquit
November 22, 2010
I MAY HAVE HELP FOR YOU! I used to do this for years and made myself quit with the help from a few products. I always kept Aveeno hand cream with me and applied it every time i washed my hands. I used a Revlon metal nail file to file smooth my cuticles whenever i got the urge to pick. They are a little more expensive, but worth your money!! For the nails I picked at most, I kept bandaids on them 24/7 and before long, I got perfectly smooth skin! Some of my hands are a little pink around the nails still which will take alot longer to go away. if it helps, you may want to clip your nails short so its almost impossible to pick at anything, but i found this too frustrating. Good luck!!!
jennygirltherat
November 22, 2010
Just found this website, looking for tips to help control the picking compulsion. In my case it's a recent development, a side effect of one of my medications, either vyvanse or lamictal. I pick my cuticles and more recently started on my knuckles. I noticed a few posts from people who suddenly developed the problem, and thought the information about side effects might be useful. My daughter developed a hair pIucking compulsion when taking Vyvanse, her doctor found another med, but so far nothing works or me as well as Vyvanse. I know other people on various mood and ADD meds who've developed tics and compulsions, so look into side effects (ask your pharmacist, the doctors don't know as much about drug side effects).
jme
December 09, 2010
WOW, this just explained a lot to me. I cant stop w my fingers even after it is absolutely painful... Has never made sense but oh well... When I was a kid my mom always had to keep my hair SUPER SHORT bc I would pull it out. Until age 8 my hair was long enough to look like a girl, short enough that I couldnt get enough space to twirl and pull... I guess the compulsion had always been there I just fixated on y fingers after the hair... I work at a plant, where bandaids HAVE to be the SHINNY BLUE Metal detectable type... so it is hard to hide them... I DID do the "medical tape" around ALL fingers while in school during finals week. I looked crazy but it kept me from my fingers... id mess w the tape and whenever it would fall from picking at it... id wrap it again and start over. It helped a lot... but I cant show up to work w taped fingers =S I loved finding this site.. i didnt even know there was a name for this.
louiselizabeth
December 01, 2010
Hi, I'm 19 and I'm a student living away from home for the first time. I've been biting my fingers around my nails for years, since primary school. I used to bite my knuckles as well but stopped that when i was about 15. My fingers however, I feel like I'm going to be doing it forever. I find it so embarrassing and I've tried so many things to stop. My family obviously notice it and my mum always has a go at me about it, but no one else has ever said anything even though i know they must have noticed. Even my bf hasn't said anything to me. now that I'm living alone i've noticed it getting so much worse. i really hate it :( I feel so stressed out all the time and I know that's why it's getting worse, the urge is just too strong to stop. My mum just tells me its a bad habit I need to get out of but i know that it's more than that cos I feel like my teeth need to bite my fingers and my fingers feel weird when I try to stop myself. It's definitely getting out of hand.
kris181
December 17, 2010
I can completely relate. Its weird how people so close to you are able to watch you doing something so destructive to yourself but not take it seriously enough to help you properly. You know, I have read through everyone's comments on this site and I have tried every single idea that has been given. I lived by my acrylics for years because they make your nails too thick to be able to pick and they look so good that you feel too great about your hands to pick, although, I soon discovered that I could use my teeth instead, as well as tweezers. The other downfall was that I got a fungal problem as a result of my hands being constantly in water ( I am a mother of two and work in a bar) so my real nails (the very things I was trying to preserve!) were starting to lift so I had no choice but to take the false nails off to save my real ones. Once my acrylics were off I was back to square one, constantly stressing myself out over how ridiculous and disgusting I was to be picking, biting and tearing the skin around my nails for reasons that still somehow escaped me. The "moisturising cream" thing - definately helps. So does the "keeping nail clippers handy" idea - helps also. As does the "false nail" idea - although, you cant keep those things on forever, and believe me, I am living proof that old habits never die...which leads me to my idea. I'm thinking that if you have a habit like this, or something else that you know is way beyond your control then perhaps it makes more sense to find what is triggering such a behaviour rather than just trying to fix the "surface".I Iust think that if I am lucky enough for one of the above suggested ideas to work for me, I know that the underlying cause of my aweful finger picking problem is still there, and may possibly show itself in yet another way that I will yet again have to spend my time and energy having to deal with. I don't know why I pick. I know that it makes me feel aweful, embarressed and unattractive which is something I don't want want to feel. I must be angry at myself for something. Ill look inside for a solution instead of concentrating on the surface and let you all know if I have any luck....my goodness I can talk! I hope I haven't been completely useless to you all....I desperately want this to end!!

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