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jacksmome08 , 24 Dec 2008

im 20 and ive been eating my finger skin all my life.

i'm 20 and i'm happily married and i have a 6 1/2 month old and i'm pregnant again. but all my life, i mean...since i can remember. i have always bitten and eatin the skin off my fingers, i used to bite my nails too but i stopped that. and i eat the skin on my lips sometimes and even scabs when i get them, i used to cut myself just to get scabs so i could pick them. my husband helped me stop that. the biggest thing i do now is just bite my fingers. and i like doing it, its weird, and my fingers look horrible but it makes me feel better. but i'm afraid of future problems with the skin on my fingers, cuz i've been doing it for years. and i haven't found a way to stop. even strong will doesn't help.
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monakeer
July 19, 2012
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caraboo21
July 19, 2012
Hi, I went on this site about 6 months ago and was stunned to see how many people did the exact same thing as myself. I went to a psychologist to try and stop and she told me I'd probably never stop biting my fingers. I couldn't accept that and I didn't go back. I found a CURE!!!! It's been over 2 moths and I haven't biten. My fingers are healed and my compulsion dissolved within 2 days. Have you ever heard of energy medicine or energy psychology? Emotional Freedom Technique or E.F.T. is what dissolved my compulsion. All in all it took 15 minutes and I haven't had the urge to do it since. I read on this site a tip that some girl gave about using a nail file and filing the skin on your fingers in the direction it grows. I started doing that. It made it much easier but really it wasn't hard at all. I want everyone to try this. I also healed an old knee injury, have been losing weight AND have been treating my husbands fibromyalgia so he is free of pain. This is no joke. This works. I am now studying to become an Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner and hope to spread these techniques as far as I can. So, I can't explain it in writing but if you go to youtube and search EFT for compulsive behaviors you will find a wealth of information. The idea is that you tap on certain accupuncture points on the body while saying out loud phrases to reset your subconscious. The way I describe it is that my conscious brain and subconscious brain finally had the same intention and the electromagnetic pulse from the tapping is what made that connection. PLEASE go and help yourself. It will be the best thing you could ever do. I suffered from this disorder for 34 years and in two days it was GONE! POOF! I had so much guilt and shame attached to this compulsion and it rippled into the rest of my life. A weight has been lifted. I never thought I would see my hands like this. I am a new person. It seems very silly at first but keep an open mind and do it anyway. It's not the type of thing you have to believe in for it to work. If you do it it will work. Peace and Love Cara
Dgrak
December 12, 2012
I wouldn't take that comment too seriously if I were you, it looks like spam to me. The fact that the same exact comment is posted at least 3 times on this page is a dead giveaway
lauri61762
May 01, 2014
My advice from a finger picker/biter/eater most of my life, get some therapy for this particular issue. No gimmicks, just therapy to see where this is coming from. I am 51 and I've done it for about 40 years. I have no insurance so I've never had the opportunity to get therapy for this issue. I've tried to stop, and have managed to for small periods of time, but it doesn't last. Get help. No shame, just deal with it and keep seeking until you find someone who will listen. You are not a freak, this becomes an addiction to coping with pain. I catch myself going to town when I'm feeling stressed! It's not pretty, and it's embarrassing, but there has to be hope. Get help while you're young!
Chitown27
August 05, 2012
So I've read through a lot of these comments. I used to be super embarrassed about my cuticle biting as well. It wasn't just that, however, I would literally eat my cuticles and the skin on my fingers and the skin on the crease of my thumb. Gross, I know. Not sure when it started because it used to be only my nails but once I started eating the skin it was something I couldn't quit and it was going on for probably ten years? I had the same issues, my skin was very noticeable when i went swimming or showered for awhile. People would be like "what's wrong with your finger? Why is it red?" which I always lied about. Finally one day I decided I'd had enough. Here is what you can do to stop: First, go out and buy yourself a set of nail clippers and also a cuticle cutter. Next, clip every loose bit of skin off of each finger. Any skin that you would be tempted to want to chew off. Make sure there aren't any hanging cuticles or "tough skin" that you would be able to pick at. Once you have that done, cut all your cuticles with the cuticle cutter. Along the top of your nails closest to your fingers. Then retrim any skin that it might've made tempting to bite. Once that's done, it's all mental. Anytime you look at a piece of skin you are tempted to bite, pull out your clippers and cut it off. If you happen to bite it off (try not to) then immediately take it out of your mouth and discard it. This for me was key. After becoming conscious of the fact that I wasn't getting the reward of eating that little bit of skin, every time it would end up on my tongue I'd discard it. Seriously, this is what fixed me. Now anytime I accidentally chew skin off I immediately spit it out just out of habit. My fingers are perfect now and it's been since January or so that I've been doing this. I feel so much better about myself and I'm no longer embarassed for people to see my fingers if I'm on a bus or train or something. Try it, it works!
yuli22107
December 13, 2012
I suffer from the same problem. Ive been doing it since high school. I absolutely hate it. I want to stop but i cant. Its not that i do it when im nervous or bored because i find myself doing it all the time. I probably do it less when im around people but i know i still do. I think its so unattractive and i would do anything to stop. i tried so many times but i always go back to it. some type of satisfaction. I dont know what it is and why. I hope that i can find a way to stop. People dont realize how hard it is and that i actually suffer!!! Anyway i find some kind of comfort that there are people that have the same problem. I wish there wasnt though :/
Rabia
February 08, 2013
somehow im a little glad im not the only one having this problem, but i feel sorry tho. for everyone else who has this. ive been starting ever since i was born by just putting my fingers around my mouth as i got older like around 3/4 i started putting my fingers in my mouth and chewing on them. now ill be 18 in march. and my fingers are very smooth and very pink like till the bottom of my fingers, they are very tight and i think ive lost lotta skin layers. cause its very smooth and very pink almost red. when i relax my hand and fingers they almost make a fist of theirselves, because my fingers have gotten so tight and it scares me sometimes. sometimes i eat it without even knowing that im doing it. even in my sleep im doing it. my parents have brought me to any docter in holland cause i live here in holland. but i am turkish. they said they cant help me and that i just have to keep telling myself to stop. my mom has put stuff like vaseline and all that kinda stuff but it didnt stop me then i pull them off and eat it afterall, and i cant stop it. when im eating it i know i shouldnt be doing it i tell myself in my head to stop and i even be like shit but its like my fingers and mouth has its own mind i just cant stop it and i wanna get rid of this im really done with it. ive been wondering if theres something like a clinic? id do anything to stop this habbit addiction or what ever this may be. i hope atleast all of u will succeed.
Jaybird
May 28, 2013
I am responding to your story because my wife is Turkish and I have been married to her for 18 years . I actually lived in Istanbul for over 5 years and speak the language. My wife is a school teacher and I was an English instructor at a English school there. This is my story as I just found this blog and I have been bitting my nails and picking at my skin since I was a small child. As I got older it progressed to my cuticles,feet,etc. I am now 48 yrs old and I have gone through almost all of those years with bitten up disgusting lookiing nails and cuticles, but its not just the fingers, I sometimes pick at my feet and anything else that can be picked, I have full blown Dermatophagia and I can tell you there is no cure. Take it from someone who has been suffering from this compulsive disorder for almost a half a century now. Furthemore its hereditary because my Mom suffered from it, but she's 78 now and was able to stop. My brother still does it,my brothers son, my nephew has it bad. Okay now here's the scoop. I have litterally tried everything possible over the years to stop and nothing ever worked for long term. Those nasty tasting nail polishes did nothing. Keeping my hands lotioned up only worked temporarily. I tried the mouth guard thing and that was an uncomfortable waste. I went to all kinds of therapy for compulsive disorders and wasted a lot of my time and money doing that. I go through band-aids like water wrapping the butchered fingers up when they become so disfigured and causing me terrible pain. Its just amazing how the human body and mind build up such a tolerance for pain. What I found that worked a little bit,but always temporarily and was only possible in the confines of my home was lotioning up my hands really good and wearing very thin tight fitting cotton gloves, which by the way are very hard to find . This prevented me from picking and healed them up quicker so I can unmasked them and leave my home to destroy them again. Its a terrible decease and its embarrassing as I always find myself hiding my fingers because I don't want people wondering and thinking what is wrong with this persons hands. About 3 years ago I broke my wrist and had to see a doctor and he immediately asked me whats going on with your fingers so I had no choice but to tell him my problem and he says to me as most people have said in the past ' YOU NEED TO JUST STOP DOING THAT" oh how I wish it was that easy, but then he tells me how he hs seen people have their fingers amputated because they did what I do . Infections occure from bacteria in the mouth. So I ask him how bout I use sterilized tools to pick would that be better, by the way I was dead serious. He told me I need a behavior therapist that specialzes in compulsive disorders such as mine. I told him i'v been there and done that so the bottom line is this is something I have to live with and if they amputate a finger or two al least i'll still have some fingers left to work on.If anyone knows a sure cure or something I really wish I can stop this madness, but I am defeated as this disorder controls my life.
lealew
February 12, 2013
I've been doing this for a long time, too. I've been able to tackle a few other addictions, so now it's time to tackle this one. I've been pretty successful so far and have discovered that the person who told you to buy cuticle or trimming scissors is right. I use those when there is loose tempting skin, but I've also found that using a rough nail file to file around all of my fingers as they gradually heal is also very helpful because they are so calloused and rough. Filing the skin not only keeps each fingertip (and sides) smooth, it also gives me something to do to keep me from picking and then biting. I did it as badly as you are describing, so you might try both of these approaches. As your fingers gradually heal, keep them filed and smooth and trim any excess with scissors. It will help, I promise. Good luck to both of us. I haven't bitten my fingers in three months and I seem to have finally hit on a helpful approach.
tdouglas26340
March 18, 2013
I am relieved to know that I am not the only one that eat their skin off their fingers. I started picking and eatting the skin off my fingers when I was 12. I am now 34 years old married with 3 kids and I still do it. My husband, kids and friends always fuss at me to stop. It is a long and bad habit of mine. The way I started was by a cut on my thumb and pointer finger. After the cuts healed, skin was left around the area. I didn't like the way it looked or felt so I started pulling it off then biting it off. The skin kept growing back and everythime I felt it or saw it, I just had to bite it off. I know it is mental. When I feel the hard skin or see it, I can't help it. I bite it off to get rid of the skin and it grows back and I keep doing it. It is a cycle. My thumb and pointer finger is hard and discolored. I tried filing it and covering it with a band aid. When I have the band aid on, I don't bite my skin. I notcied that it is set in my mind to bite automatically because I put my finger to my mouth even with a band aid on...the great thing is I don't bite it. I notice keeping my hands busy keeps me from biting as well. I have eatten off layers and layers of skin...it look like I have a disorder and this may very well be a disorder that has not been diagnosed as one. I will call it Ictus Distal Phalanx disorder. Ictus is the latin word for bite and the other 2 words mean the upper part of your fingers. there are other names for the different section of the fingers but the ones I bite are the upper parts on all my fingers. Added to lighten the sadness of the situation. I will read other comments to see if there is some things i can do to completly do to stop. I am ashamed of people seeing my fingers and I hide them, I don't even like to hold people hands because they will feel my fingers. It's so bad I can scratch with those chewed skin fingers not my nails but the skin I can scratch with and it relieves the itch...saaaaddddd. I know.
Nikaxplante
March 20, 2013
Hi. My name's Veronica and I'm 15. I chew the skin around my fingers and I have been for a long time now. My parents always yell at me when I do it but I can't help it at all. I feel so embarrassed about my hands. I hate passing back papers in class because my hands look disgusting. I wear long sleeves all of the time so I can hide them. Seeing this forum makes me feel so much better that I'm not alone.
eleanor
March 27, 2013
Hi I'm Ele and I'm 12. I am a biter too, it used to just be my fingernails and then I stopped. But then I got into the habit of biting the skin around all of my fingernails, its only the loose skin that irritates me, and then I started back on my fingernails as well. At school I don't want all my friends to see so I keep my hands hidden but it's hard when I'm writing or typing something. I also bite the inside of my mouth just behind my lips, and that gets really annoying because my mouth gets really sore. I have tried willpower but it doesn't really help because my fingers take a long time to heal. Please help me before I go out of control!
Jela714
April 11, 2013
OMG !!!! i cant believe i have stumbled upon this site, im 28 yrs old married with 2 children and all of my life i have bittin the skin around my nail and my nails, and i chew the inside of my cheek behind my lip, i bite the skin around my nails so deep it bleeds all the time but i cant stop even when it hurts i have to fight myself not to do it, the skin grows back and its hard so im constantly picking it and biting it off so they never heel, i notice when i get my nails done with acurlyic nails it helps me not to bite ... but its just temporary, my husbands is constantly on me about it, ive tried everything but i cant he calls it a nervous habbit but i do it even when im not nervous, i would really like to stop but i cant control it, i too am embarrassed of my hands but i dont cover them up, i just dont let people stare at my hands for to long .. i wish there was somthing that could be done, but i am happy that i found other people that have exactly to the T ... what i do .. !! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE OUT THERE its hard to overcome this but not as hard as some things in life stay positive everyone....=) Bless
Nerdgirl75
April 18, 2013
I'm 37 and I've done this as long as I can remember. My husband tells me, "don't chew." I can't tell you how many times a day I hear, "don't chew." Even when he tells me, and I'm looking him in the face, I can't make myself stop. I wish I knew 1) WHY I do this? and 2) how to start healing. I read someone's comment about using cuticle scissors and a rough nail file. I have to try something because my fingers are embarrassing!
Samuel12
April 18, 2013
Yeah came across this site like most people,I'm 10 yes I'm ten but I bite around my fingers normally at school when I'm bored I've stopped biting my fingernails and my lips but now I started chewing on not just around the nail near the knuckle I have a horrid swelled split lump that I bite at it bleeds sometimes but I hate(like other people) showing it too friends they take the mick about it but about a month ago it turned yellow then turned back to the red swelling split lump on the middle of my finger I have even tried the bitter stuff you put on nails but that didnt make a difference I hate the lump and my bleeding stabbed fingers I usually start biting like I said when I'm bored and if I see some skin that's a little bit peeled it hurts like hell and I need help FAST the swelling lump is getting worse it won't heal even if I leave it plz any ideas?
Lucas3004
April 27, 2013
Hi all, had this for years! I can't believe so many other "wolf-biters" with this problem. I used to get to the point where my fingers would be so sore and bleed all the time. I took up classical guitar a few months back which I had to grow long nails to play effectively - I was so determined to do this! Eventually my nails grew and remained long enough to achieve my goal yet the skin problem still persists! My mind has now compensated my success with what I believe is an obsessive 'perfect' fingers goal by biting the skin evenly to give a perfectly smooth finish (much better than bleeding though!). I have recently started working in a laboratory and this is a major health and safety issue and I am determined to kick the habit!

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