Does anyone pick at the bottom of their feet? My story

Yes, I also pick the dry, dead skin from the bottom of my heels and I would also eat or chew on the skin as well. However, since I recieved as a gift, this new thing called the "Ped Egg" which can be bought at any drug store, it basically is like a cheese grater and gets all the dead skin off the bottom of my heels, then I put lotion on it, so my feet, heels have been a lot better. I used to get these huge deep cracks, in my heels that would be painful and then pick them would make it worse, with raw spots like you used to have. Try buying a ped egg and applying lotion to the bottoms of your heels and feet, that has helped me with the feet anyway, the rest of my body, I still pick the scabs off.

Yes, I do this too. My primary problem is my fingers, but I certainly do the bottoms of my feet, too. For me it's worse in the summer, when the skin on the bottoms of my feet starts peeling, and since I'm wearing sandals, it's so much easier to fool around with the bottoms of my feet. I haven't tried the ped egg... maybe I should get one. I've tried a pumice stone before, and it was too rough/painful for most of the bottom of my feet and felt gross.

Just this evening I started looking online about my compulsive picking. That's what led me here. And, like you, I primarily pick at the soles of my feet. I actually was able to stop doing it for a year or so, but last year I started picking at my left foot again. So far I've been able to stay away from my right foot, but I'm afraid that eventually I'll start on that one too. I also pick at the skin around my nails, but I've found that if I keep a pair of nail clippers close by and use them to cut off whatever's there keeps me from pulling or picking at it. It's not a perfect system, but it makes me feel like I have some sort of control over that part.

Yes! My feet are my obsession. I actually look forward to when i can peel the calluses from my heels. I now use a corn parer tool to scrape away at hard skin to the point that i have bleeding and open wounds on my feet. Sometimes I have uncontrollable urges to do this and cannot wait to be alone to use my parer. It is very soothing, even when I bleed. The more skin I remove, the better. I love to look at it and sometimes keep it in pockets, etc.

I can remember being three years old, picking at my feet. I did it all the way through adulthood. It was so embarrassing, bc I was on the swim team and I was always afraid someone would notice. I picked at the soles and the heels. It used to be BAD. Like you, I'd bleed so bad, and I'd have to gauze myself up...I usually wore ace bandages and pretended to have hurt my ankle or something. Showering was awful, the pain was unbearable. I did this regularly until I was about 20-21 years old. (I'm 24 now). For some reason, I just set it in my mind that I wasn't going to do it anymore. I was moving to Hawaii, and intended on going to the beach a lot. I didn't want to have to worry about hiding my feet anymore, or worry about infection. Unfortunately, this led to me picking at my fingers even more than I used to. I still pick at the skin around my toes. I rarely get to the point where I bleed anymore though. I 'relapsed' yesterday, actually...I picked the skin where my big toe meets the sole on my left foot. I was soooo disappointed in myself, but I didn't let myself move on to the right foot, so I feel good about that. I wish I could tell you exactly what I did to stop...but I really don't know. I still have the urges...I've just managed to keep them in check, for the most part. Now, my fingers are raw and I always have at least one or two band-aids. That's my next habit I need to conquer. Good luck <3

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I started picking at the bottom of my feet about a month ago. I don't know what possessed me to do this. Actually, I caught myself doing it while I was reading your post! My doctor gave me an anti-fungal ointment to put on but it did no good because it mostly wore off because I was on my feet. It hurts to walk, and sometimes I bleed and a lot of the spots on the bottom of my feet are red showing a new layer of skin. I have had no help with doctors or therapists. Apparently there is no drug to help stop the picking and the only therapy is cognitive behavioral therapy which could take years. I have had the same therapist for 20 years and I really don't want to have to start my history over again with a new therapist and a few months later after he/she knows my history start working on why I pick. I don't know why I pick I just do mostly subconsciously and it hurts to walk and I am very self-conscious about it. I was surprised to find that skin picking (even on the bottom of your feet) is a problem with someone other than myself.

Hi..I am new to this and started looking online for some help! For the heels, I just bought heeltastic ('As Seen on TV') and apply everynight before bedtime with a pair of white socks. That has helped alleviate the dry skin and kept me from picking my heels...somewhat! I seem to pick and pick until pain sets in then I stop for awhile. I have been picking at my 'barnacles' that the dematologist says most folks develop as they get older. So, here I am at 55 years of age with barnacles. They were fairly easy to pick and now I have 6 to 10 scabs that are pickable on my legs and arms and are ery embarrassing. Does anyone have problems with barnacles? Small dry raised patches on the extremeties.. HELP..Thanks!

I did this when i was about 11. What made me stop is that i couldnt play outside with my friends, because of the pain. (Although i guessing that doesn't help when your older.) Also I got caught doing it and the person interviened. Maybe it would be a good idea to keep people around you as monitors? This helps me when it comes to my fingers. I hope you find a solution.

I started picking at my feet about two years ago. I pick at my heels, mostly where the dry, crackly patches are. I believe this is because I walk barefoot a lot and my feet get very dry and I rarely use lotion because they make my feet feel greasy. But I'm in the process of healing a scab on my heel that's about two inches long that was bleeding and infected. It's better now but still very painful, but manageable. I also pick at my cuticles as well. But you are not alone. I do the same thing.

Thanks for starting this! i searched and searched until i found this I thought I was insane! For no reason at all i started picking. one little piece led to entire heal then it went farther up and today i am in intense pain! I need to get neosporan and wrap my foot in gauze. I am for the most part normal.... with no reason to do this except i was watching tv and just picked! have done this more than once after my foot heals i pick again and limp in pain for weeks! is there any help to stop the picking??? my email address is ppbgirl@hotmail.com if anyone would like to talk... thanks for letting me share... at least I know I am not alone!!!!

I started picking my left foot at the arch about 8 years ago. I had no idea until today that this was actually a disorder. I'm amazed to find so many people like me. I honestly don't know how to stop. My foot bleeds every day, and it is such a big area that everyone notices. It does not help that I prefer to be barefoot. The other thing is that I mainly just want to have some self control. I don't want to bleed all the time. I worry about getting an infection. I love to pick peeling skin more than ANYTHING else. There is something so incredibly gratifying about that. I will pick at anything really. I like to peel paint....even string cheese. My grandmother always picked her scabs. Perhaps this compulsion runs in my family. I don't have to pick scabs usually, but lately I have been picking them constantly. I have a mosquito bite on my ankle that is a month old. How pathetic of me. That I really do want to stop. But it feels so good. Glad to find others like me. I don't feel so embarrassed anymore. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes to all.

Physically our extremities are used to interact with everything we touch. We touch loved objects and people and hated objects and people. But what happens when an event in our life has shocked us so much that it has caused tremors or ripples to reverberate through our memories? It causes our most happiest moments to be sliced with some pain or fear of that shocking event, an event we feel we can't tell the people who most need to hear it. An event that has us feeling guilty and anxious and fearful and has us chastising ourselves in everything we do in order to overcome the intense turmoil inside us. When we touch triggers to our bad memories we pick at ourselves in fear and chastisement in a silent plea for help because we can't vocalize our feelings. Then it spreads and becomes a habit and a need, an addiction. Some of us don't consciously realize how deeply we were hurt by an event until we subconsciously carry out our punishments so all the world can know our shame too. When people ask us, "What have you done to your skin?" We are both fearful and thrilled because it's the question we avoid and lust after at the same time unconsciously. The thing for us to do is to submerge in our memories and find the place that's all blocked up and repressed because that's where the event lies. Then we need to break down the wall and peek inside and finally deal with the consequences. Because I think we are all runners and jumpers and holders and slappers and dancers but it's all contained and we just need to release it. It needs to get out and stay out. That's what I think dermatillomania is and how we need to treat it and it wont just go away with skin creams. You're not the only one who picks her feet because I do to and I for one am tired of not facing facts and keeping my real self inside, a reflection of my thoughts. Because I can speak and act too, we can all speak and act and as soon as we start speaking and acting the faster this is all going to be solved.

i am in very much pain, i dont know what to do! i pick it allllll the time when im trying to relax, i dont like wearing socks to bed. sometimes i put creme on it, i hate the sticky ones,

Hi...I am new too, and I have also picked at my feet. Two years ago I found myself in your exact situation! It was summer, so I was barefoot often, and my heels would get dry and "sharp". It was SO easy to reach down when sitting and start picking at the dry, cracked skin there. I'd get a hold of a very large piece of skin and as I'd try to pull it off it would be so excrutiatingly painful! But, I'd manage to do it anyway! That would leave more areas to dig at and before long I too could NOT walk, always had to have gauze, bandages, lots and lots of neosporin (with pain reducer). How awful it feels....physically and knowing that you want to quit it, you're doing it to yourself, yet you don't know how to stop! I think I remember that I ended up "out of my element" somehow, meaning I was on a weekend trip to a relatives house or something like that where I was out of my comfort picking zone and naturally was on slightly better behavior, and had shoes and socks on for a few consecutive days. During that time, it got the ball rolling for letting my skin heal a bit. I had to just get out of my own head for a bit (probably more of that than physically blocking myself from doing it!) in order to "forget" about my feet. Have you tried soaking your feet? Soak them for a long time, and do it alot. I think epsom salts in the water is supposed to be healing. It should soften any hard edges. I think the bandages and ointment is necessary while you still have raw painful areas. You know, I didn't check your username to figure out if you were male/female so for that I apologize, but I tried cleaning up my toenails and keeping them painted too, despite how horrendous the bottoms and sides of my feet looked! I think it helped me a little by giving me something a little more hopeful to look at! I hope you are able to find ways to take a break from your feet, because I really do know what you are going through!

If you are looking at your feet the part thats under you last small toes on the padding part where I guess corns are...yeah I can tear that up in less that an hour...it will be so sore that walking is unbareable but we all have to walk. Also, I used to play computer games on MSN and would get into a trance and pick at the built up skin on the big toes.

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The best way to stop picking your nails is to get a manicure and then put lotion on your cuticles frequently for days. I now put a thick lotion on just my cuticles when I'm about to drive (and I'm only using the palms of my hands to drive). I let the lotion settle in and do not rub it in immediately. I rub in after 5 - 10 minutes and then repeat once or twice daily. I also use a good soaking lotion before bed time. I got a manicure over 1 month ago, and have been able to regrow my cuticles for the first time in a long long time. All 10 nails were in very poor shape and now they look very nice. I have picked since I was a little, little girl. I believe it is due to nerves and stress. I recently reduced my stress level and got the manicure (as a reward for a new job), and I felt very good about myself. I now keep my cuticles moistened with lotion and keep my life managed (as best I can) to reduce the stress levels. Regarding the foot picking, I too pick my feet, the dry crackly skin due to dry weather. Keep the foot pad moistened with lotion. I recently purchased a product at Walmart that specifically targets the dry skin on the feet. It smelled exactly like the lotion used at the salon during a pedicure (same job-rewarding visit). Sometimes I pick and peel so much skin off that my feet hurt to walk. It's embarrassing, but the more I keep my heels in soft, self-manicured shape, the better they are. Lotion, Lotion, Lotion. I'm glad someone else wrote about their picking problem. I thought I was all alone.

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I PICK AT THE BOTTOMS OF MY FEET TOO. i am so overwhelmed to have finally found this! i just got brave enough to look this up on google and was shocked to find this website, let alone someone who does this too. i know exactly what you mean about when your feet bleed and you limp around your apartment. i can relate! for so long i thought i was crazy but haven't really accepted it as an issue. i'm younger than you, so my picking hasn't developed as much. i do it about once every week, but when my life is going good i can forget about picking for up to a few moths. never long enough for the scars to disappear though. i can't get over how happy i am to have read this and found someone with the same affliction as me. i think we're a small group, but we do exist and can support each other. i also chew at my fingernails and skin and cuticle. this is where it gets weird... i also eat my skin and scabs. mostly just the skin from my fingers and feet, but scabs too. i think this is just another part of this... syndrome or whatever it is. please write back if you can, i would like to talk with you if you want.

I recently had high blood pressure and the soles of my feet burnt like they were on fire! And then the skin started peeling big time, I shed pounds just from my feet. I discovered PedEgg and it has helped enormously. One foot is good as silk now, though the other one is still pretty bad. I have also tried making a paste of Apple cider and bi carb soda and applying, this to helped.

Hannah Hi jadiegirl! I do the EXACT same thing you do! I use the neosporin, bandaids, ect.... I used to bite my nails and pull the skin around my fingers. I once took a shaving razor to my feet to cut the dry bits of skin sticking up all over. I ended up getting a small but deep and painful cut. It was bleeding like crazy. I'm still struggling with this, so unfortunately I don't have a solution for you. Maybe it would help keeping it bandaged until it grows back. Wear socks a lot. I wear socks though and just take them off to pick. Maybe you could try a stress ball or something to squeeze to keep your hands busy. I feel for you. Good luck!

omg is Jadegirl still there? I am new to this site. and humiliatingly I shred my feet. This is sort of a new area for me. It's getting VERY severe. Im a hairpuller too. I am with you girl. Not sure how to stop. Catch 22. I'm a neosporin addict as a result!

I don't honestly know if this qualifies or not but I do cut off the very thick callouses that form on the ball of my foot. I also have one bunion and on that foot, the callouses get extra this. I dn't dig at the skin itself to bleed, because then I can't walk. I do chop at my toe nails which have always been icky. Icky as in just not feminine, and I've got ugly feet. I envy those normal pretty women who can get mani/pedis. God I've been too embarassed to show me feet, like when I was a kid. I hid them constantly. Then after my 20's I didn't give a rat's ass. That's sort of where I am now, I accept that they are godzilla feet (my husband calls my feet talons of death, when I cut them with clippers I can sometimes get a spark! Isn't that weird, the nails are so hard) and they fly all over the room. I keep my toenails short, mostly because they hurt otherwise. But I don't do much in terms of giving my feet any attention, positive or negative. I don't know if I think if I ignore them, I don't have to be reminded how goofy they look.

Still here, still picking at my feet. <sigh> It's worse in the summer b/c my feet are often bare. But at least I'm lucky that my area has a support group for people like us who suffer from body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) -- like skin-picking and trichotillomania. Being a part of this group hasn't improved my picking, but it makes me feel better knowing that I'm not alone, and I'm not the worst either.

I'm new here, been a bad picker for as long as I can remember, first my fingers and then a few years ago my feet. Mostly my heels or wherever there is any hard skin. Also my lips and inside of my mouth. I wish I could stop but it kills me not to do it, my fingers and feet bleed. My poor heels are just painful to walk on. I just started a new relationship and am always trying to make sure he never see the bottom of my feet. I tried keeping my nails short and getting blunt false nails to stop me picking but then I just resort to using a blade , knife or anything sharp. It's so bad, wish there was some magic way of making it stop. Anyway that's me and thank goodness I found this site and am not on my own!

Foot picker here. Started as a young child with nail-biting and nose -picking. As I got older I added acne and scalp picking. Now I focus mostly on my cuticles and feet. But my biggest problem is that I consume the products of my picking. I don't ever eat all of the pickings, but always eat some of it. I have a weird question about it though - I am sick a lot less frequently than most people I know. Does anyone think it's possible that consuming all those germs, (because I suspect I get a lot of germs in my mouth), might work as an inoculation for some viruses and bacteria? That it actually makes a person less susceptible to cold and flu and similar things. Has anyone else noticed this or do I just have a naturally strong constitution? Thanks for being here and being honest.

im 19 years old, i just graduated from nursing school. I have no stress in my life at ALL. but i do suffer from social anxiety and take medication for it which really helps..but i have heard that picking your skin is a form of anxiety. i pick the sides of my thumbs, i bite the skin on my lips and also my toes and ball of my foot. its really gross to admit but i do eat it. and its VERY hard to stop! i could be sitting in front of the tv and have socks on and not realize it and take off a sock and pick until it gets very painful. i really wish i could stop but i honestly cant. according to my parents ive picked my skin since i was younger. i guess its just a weird thing i do but i would LOVE to stop! I know that skin has sooooooo many germs and bacteria but that really has no effect on my picking. I want to be able to live a normal teenage life, but i cant go get pedicures because of my feet, and with a new guy in my life i dont ever want to take off my shoes...i feel so weird about it...yet i cant stop! ughhh!

Used to pick at the bottoms of my feet, heels mostly. I also pick around my cuticle area, sometimes getting both areas totally raw. Also used to eat the pickings. Gross to admit, but at least we aren't alone. I can trace the beginnings of my picking to a short time in 7th grade when I was bullied. I am now 54 and only recently am finding relief from this condition. I was so glad to find this site and some of the ideas I read have helped. The first thing I did, about a year ago, was start using a PedEgg foot file. It has been wonderful! I always moisturize afterward and use it virtually everyday. One reason I think it works well is it suplies the 'scratching' mechanism we look for when picking. I think it really helps to 'scratch' the skin in a more productive and healthier way, using a foot file. The second thing I did was to buy several smaller foot files to use on my fingers, along with moisturizing. This has been extremely helpful! Doing the 'scratching' with the file again provides the feeling of picking but in a better way. I also moistuize frequently, I like St Ives Intensive Healing lotion. The third thing that has helped my fingers is having acrylic nails. Sounds weird, I know, but the nails add thickness to the nail edge and it is actually very difficult to pick when you don't have a thin edge on your nails. I hope these comments can help some others who have suffered and to know that we can get better and overcome this weird affliction.

When I started reading all of your comments, I started to tear up. I thought I was a freak and alone in picking at my feet. I do it all the time. Especially since I spend a lot of time in my room. If I can't get the skin off with my nails, I use the little file that comes with my nail clippers. I eat the skin sometimes, but not all the time. My boyfriend caught me one day when I was mindlessly doing it and I was mortified. He was just so surprised and bewildered by it. He started laughing, which hurt my feelings, but he said that was his way of trying to make it okay that he knew. I told him that I've stopped eating the skin but that I still pick and when he's around he tries to help or whatever by telling me to stop when he catching me picking at my feet, but I do it anyway. I also pick at acne that I have. I don't get too much, but when I do and it's on my face for longer than a day or so I endlessly pick at it and sometimes I've resorted to cutting it out which has led to some scarring. Mostly, I use a coarse face wash once a day, that helps make me feel like I've gotten as much of the extra skin off as possible. I've tried foot scrubs for my feet as well as lotion, but if I put lotion on and then socks on over it to try to keep the lotion in, my feet are back to dry within a day anyway. And with the foot scrubbers, it takes so long and I just can't sit making a dusty mess (the mess really bothers me) for hours while I try to get all the dead skin off. Anyway, I'm so glad I decided to google this. It made me feel a lot better just reading everyone's posts :)

i felt compelled to comment on the site, as i sat reading and picking at my foot which is in a terrible state at the moment. I only really started picking about 6months ago but it has become an obssession and is getting worse to the point that it is on my mind all the time that the skin isn't perfect and its like an itch that i can never satisfy, i don't know if that makes sense. It all started when the heels got hard and dirty and i just found it comforting to pick at them. My new boyfriend is constantly having a go at me to try and get me to stop doing it, i'm very embarrassed coz i do it anywhere and everywhere and am very aware of the little bits of skin that i am leaving behind. If i can't pick then i plan to have a shower so that the skin becomes softer and i can rub at it. They don't become infected anymore coz i think they have become so used to being red raw, also can ignore the pain of walking. I'm not really sure what to do, i have other problems such as depression, anxiety and an eating disorder which are taking over my life again but i'm keeping quiet from my support networks because they just tell me off and tell me that they're disappointed and that i'll need to go into supported living which I DO NOT WANT!!!!!! I've rambled on too long! Good luck to everyone and anyone reading!

Up until a few months ago, I didn't know how many people picked their feet too. Then I found this web site and realized that there are more foot-pickers than I thought. I've been picking my feet for at least 15 or so years. My problem started out as just picking at the callous on on my heels. Then slowly, I'd pull at the skin instead of clipping it off. That eventually lead to the rest of my feet. I pick at my toenails. Both of my pinky toenails have been picked off many times. I've dealt with them bleeding so much. When I was going to a foot reflexologist for quite awhile, I pretty much stopped. Then after I stopped going to her, I slowly got back into picking my feet off & on. I share a house with my older sister. We always got fingernail clippers on the end table. I do plastic canvas needlepoint and I've got my clippers. Between the fingernail clippers or my craft clippers, I'd use them on my feet. It helps for me to have stuff in my hands to keep me busy but after awhile, I stop and I end up picking my feet. I even pick at my feet while at the computer desk. I use the big scissors to trim off the dead skin. I use a foot pumus and the pedi egg on my feet. Heck, I leave all sorts of dead skin & toenail clippings on the couch and on the floor. My bedroom/craftroom chair also has the stuff on it & the floor. My mom & sister has gotten mad at me many times. My mom's diabetic and knows how to take care of feet. I've been diabetic within the past 5 yrs. I've also got high cholesterol & b/p which I'm taking meds for all. I know that foot picking is bad for my health but it's hard to stop. My mom told me to tell my doctor about my problem by showing him my feet. Well, last month, I did tell him I've got a problem and lightly shrugged it off. I didn't say that at that time, I didn't tell him what my feet looked like...not too bad then. He just kinda gave me a strange look and that was it. LOL My mom keeps telling me to go see him about my problem so that I can get the right meds for my feet. I do not plan to see him about my problem 'cause I know he'd probably send me to a specialist. I don't have the money to see a specialist but I also don't want to ask my sister for help 'cause she already helps me with my medical bills anyway. She'll just tell me that she warned me about stopping many times. So, this problem is mine to take care of however way I can. Why I do it? It's because I was bored at first and there wasn't anything in my hands to keep them busy. Then slowly, the problem got out of hand at times. I have good days and bad days. Part of my problem is that whenever I walk bare-footed, I don't always pick up my feet and so, I scrape them. Then that causes the skin to scrape up and then I start picking at the dead skin that scraped up. My problem now has gotten worse and it's been that way for about the past 3 or so months now. If I don't keep socks & shoes on my feet, they start to harden and feel stiff. Then when I bend them, they start to hurt. I've got a few sores on my feet and I keep clipping at the loose skin. Both feet itch terribly on the bottom at least once or more a day and sometimes on the top of my feet. I take one shoe off and itch my foot on the sole of my other foot. Then when both shoes are off, I rub them on the floor or find other places to scratch them on. The more scratching I do, the more sore they become. Then I clip at skin around the sores. Lately, I've been putting Watkins Petro-Carbo on them at least once or more each day. I finally soaked them in baking soda water for awhile to help with the itch. I didn't put anything on my feet afterwards. I woke up with sore, hard feet.. OUCH! I've got more Petro-Carbo on them now. If I didn't have to make cookie dough today and bake some later and all day tomorrow, I'd sit more but that's not possible. I've been limping off & on lately with sore feet but I try not to limp around my sister. I've put maxi pads in my shoes for a little comfort since I don't have any other stuff to put in them. The pads have worn down and so, I've gotta put new ones in. I've wrapped my feet a few times and have used various meds & creams on them. I'm ready to sit for awhile after my oldest brother & his family comes & goes to my mom & dad's for a week over Christmas. My New Year's resolution is to get my feet well. Well, we'll see if that comes true. LOL Darlene

Up until a few months ago, I didn't know how many people picked their feet too. Then I found this web site and realized that there are more foot-pickers than I thought. I've been picking my feet for at least 15 or so years. My problem started out as just picking at the callous on on my heels. Then slowly, I'd pull at the skin instead of clipping it off. That eventually lead to the rest of my feet. I pick at my toenails. Both of my pinky toenails have been picked off many times. I've dealt with them bleeding so much. When I was going to a foot reflexologist for quite awhile, I pretty much stopped. Then after I stopped going to her, I slowly got back into picking my feet off & on. I share a house with my older sister. We always got fingernail clippers on the end table. I do plastic canvas needlepoint and I've got my clippers. Between the fingernail clippers or my craft clippers, I'd use them on my feet. It helps for me to have stuff in my hands to keep me busy but after awhile, I stop and I end up picking my feet. I even pick at my feet while at the computer desk. I use the big scissors to trim off the dead skin. I use a foot pumus and the pedi egg on my feet. Heck, I leave all sorts of dead skin & toenail clippings on the couch and on the floor. My bedroom/craftroom chair also has the stuff on it & the floor. My mom & sister has gotten mad at me many times. My mom's diabetic and knows how to take care of feet. I've been diabetic within the past 5 yrs. I've also got high cholesterol & b/p which I'm taking meds for all. I know that foot picking is bad for my health but it's hard to stop. My mom told me to tell my doctor about my problem by showing him my feet. Well, last month, I did tell him I've got a problem and lightly shrugged it off. I didn't say that at that time, I didn't tell him what my feet looked like...not too bad then. He just kinda gave me a strange look and that was it. LOL My mom keeps telling me to go see him about my problem so that I can get the right meds for my feet. I do not plan to see him about my problem 'cause I know he'd probably send me to a specialist. I don't have the money to see a specialist but I also don't want to ask my sister for help 'cause she already helps me with my medical bills anyway. She'll just tell me that she warned me about stopping many times. So, this problem is mine to take care of however way I can. Why I do it? It's because I was bored at first and there wasn't anything in my hands to keep them busy. Then slowly, the problem got out of hand at times. I have good days and bad days. Part of my problem is that whenever I walk bare-footed, I don't always pick up my feet and so, I scrape them. Then that causes the skin to scrape up and then I start picking at the dead skin that scraped up. My problem now has gotten worse and it's been that way for about the past 3 or so months now. If I don't keep socks & shoes on my feet, they start to harden and feel stiff. Then when I bend them, they start to hurt. I've got a few sores on my feet and I keep clipping at the loose skin. Both feet itch terribly on the bottom at least once or more a day and sometimes on the top of my feet. I take one shoe off and itch my foot on the sole of my other foot. Then when both shoes are off, I rub them on the floor or find other places to scratch them on. The more scratching I do, the more sore they become. Then I clip at skin around the sores. Lately, I've been putting Watkins Petro-Carbo on them at least once or more each day. I finally soaked them in baking soda water for awhile to help with the itch. I didn't put anything on my feet afterwards. I woke up with sore, hard feet.. OUCH! I've got more Petro-Carbo on them now. If I didn't have to make cookie dough today and bake some later and all day tomorrow, I'd sit more but that's not possible. I've been limping off & on lately with sore feet but I try not to limp around my sister. I've put maxi pads in my shoes for a little comfort since I don't have any other stuff to put in them. The pads have worn down and so, I've gotta put new ones in. I've wrapped my feet a few times and have used various meds & creams on them. I'm ready to sit for awhile after my oldest brother & his family comes & goes to my mom & dad's for a week over Christmas. My New Year's resolution is to get my feet well. Well, we'll see if that comes true. LOL Darlene

OMG I am so glad I asked jeeves. I have been picking and chewing as long as I can remember. I started with my nails, then progressed to the skin around my nail, and for the past I would say 14 years I have been picking the bottoms of my feet. I also hate to admit that I do eat the skin. I feel so sick and disgusted with my behavior. I am afraid to tell someone like a dr,I am afraid of what they will say about me and think about me. I am glad to see that I am not alone. I even take my shoes off (when weather permits me to wear shoes without socks) and pick at work. I am 42 now, and I have like I said been doing this most of my life. I am so use to having bleeding feet, sore feet. and they are always so raw and red. Even now, I also eat the skin around my nails. Well thank you for letting me get this off my chest.