Dermatillomania

[McGiver]

I wish I could change my attitude about my cuticles. 

you should
humans, moles and cuticles could all live in peace if we could only give peace a chance.

[Randy]

I wish I could change my attitude about my cuticles. 

you should
humans, moles and cuticles could all live in peace if we could only give peace a chance.

and Walmarts?

[El]

I wish I could change my attitude about my cuticles. 

you should
humans, moles and cuticles could all live in peace if we could only give peace a chance.

+

[purposefulinsanity]

I have been too lazy, but i would be interested in elective surgery to remove all of my nails permenantly.

 

Wouldn't that put a bit of a dampener on your skin picking fun though? 

[Nomaken]

I like skin picking, but I kind of wish I didn't.  I wish I was forced to find more constructive stimming outlets.

[renaeden]

Article on Dermatillomania a.k.a. compulsive skin-picking.  I should have known there would be a wikipedia entry on it.

Who else has it?  I'm a cuticle attacker.  It's gotten worse lately due to a combination of my being more nervous all the time and the weather being dry, so the skin is more delicate.  Lotion-ing the hll out of my hands doesn't seem to help much (either nice, pretty-smelling lotion or that eucarin shit).

I know this is a very old thread and all, but am wondering if this has gotten any better for you?

Found out the name for my problem - onychotillomania. When I came off the haloperidol it got so bad that I was actually tearing my fingernails right off and it didn't even hurt. So I have been seeing my psychologist about it and she has been giving me ideas on how to distract myself from it. Like picking at threads on my shirt instead of at my hands, keeping my hands in my pockets if I feel like picking, rubbing something called Papaw Gel on my fingers (though this hasn't really worked as I don't like the feeling much). And it has been a good idea to cut excess cuticle off with small scissors so I don't get the bits to pull at.

My psych found this website and we are going to talk about the stuff on it this Thursday:
http://www.ocdla.com/blog/abcs-dermatillomania-compulsive-skin-picking-1373

[Lestat]

I sometimes get ingrowing hairs, which can be painful. Those I remove for that reason.

No eyebrows at the moment, but blame flammable solvent vapors/pyrophoric raney nickel for that
Growing back though I'm glad to say.

[El]

Article on Dermatillomania a.k.a. compulsive skin-picking.  I should have known there would be a wikipedia entry on it.

Who else has it?  I'm a cuticle attacker.  It's gotten worse lately due to a combination of my being more nervous all the time and the weather being dry, so the skin is more delicate.  Lotion-ing the hll out of my hands doesn't seem to help much (either nice, pretty-smelling lotion or that eucarin shit).

I know this is a very old thread and all, but am wondering if this has gotten any better for you?

Found out the name for my problem - onychotillomania. When I came off the haloperidol it got so bad that I was actually tearing my fingernails right off and it didn't even hurt. So I have been seeing my psychologist about it and she has been giving me ideas on how to distract myself from it. Like picking at threads on my shirt instead of at my hands, keeping my hands in my pockets if I feel like picking, rubbing something called Papaw Gel on my fingers (though this hasn't really worked as I don't like the feeling much). And it has been a good idea to cut excess cuticle off with small scissors so I don't get the bits to pull at.

My psych found this website and we are going to talk about the stuff on it this Thursday:
http://www.ocdla.com/blog/abcs-dermatillomania-compulsive-skin-picking-1373

Keeping my fingernails trimmed and trying to avoid severely dry skin helps, but no, it hasn't totally gone away.

[luciaelizabeth]

ingrowing hairs,

I love a good ingrown hair. I like taking them out w/ a safety pin and tweezers.

As for the cuticle thing, I hate pushing them back! It really huuurts So i could never pick them. I do pick the skin around my fingers though. And I bite my nails.

I also love to 'pick' any split ends in my hair and just peeeeeeeeeeeeel  them all the way up. 

[renaeden]

I don't think I have ever had an ingrown hair. Nor have I ever bitten my nails. I sometimes wish I did because then I could just paint that awful-tasting stuff on my nails and that would stop me from doing it. Instead I am trying to stop a habit that has been going for 30 years. Wikipedia says that it can be helped with the use of antipsychotics and that is one reason why I am taking Zeldox, but it doesn't completely fix the problem. It has gotten a lot better though.

Biting your nails is called onychophagia. There is quite a lot of information about it on the internet.

['andersom']

picking my skin while I am typing.

Better put on some cream.

[Hannah]

I am a picker of skin upon my nails yes sir...one thing I have found helps is getting them done...and replacing the habit of picking with rubbing them down with critical oil or just baby oil...I have to say it's worth getting them done for I am more apt to not pick and my hands look good at present if I do say so...

[renaeden]

Hannah, my psych told me I could use Papaw (yes it is spelt that way) to rub on my fingers to stop picking.

One good side effect of haloperidol is that I am less inclined to pick at my nails. I still do it but it is far better than it used to be.

[Gopher Gary]

This needs to be moved near the Ebola thread.