Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! On its own, picking at scabs isn't even close to being OCD.
no i leave them alone so they get better, because i know that if you keep picking at them they'll scar!
Interesting. I never thought about it like that. Recently, I started picking the nail on my left little toe and finally ended up pulling the entire nail out. It might actually be a self-injury thing because actually, the pain from it does feel good to me.
my son picks his scabs i keep telling him if he picks at them they will scar! but he doesnt listen to me, he says "but they're itchy"
Next time he picks one, clean the wound with dettol, apply an antiseptic cream and cover it with a bandaid or similar. Reapply cream and bandaid as soon as it comes loose. The itching will stop, and healing will accelerate. Cuts and abrasions don't need to dry out and scab over to heal. They heal faster when they are kept moist, covered, and protected from bacteria. Great Moments in Science - wound healing and air
A sick relative was living with us. She had sores all over her body and kept them covered as you suggest. When at the dermatologist, she complained about how her sores were not healing. He told her to leave them uncovered at night. I would tend to wonder if moist and covered is really protected from bacteria. Sounds a bit like a petree dish to me...
What do you do with the scab when you pick it off? Do you eat it or just chew on it and spit it out? Has any physician suggested medication for this condition? Alternatively, could the scab-picking be minimized by applying a substance on the scab that would make it taste less pleasant?
Apparently different wounds need different management. Moist wound healing is the general way to go for your everyday cuts and abrasions... anything more, you see a doctor. You're right - moist and covered is not necessarily protected from bacteria. You should ensure that the wound is protected from bacteria as well as moist and covered. You can do this by cleaning the wound thoroughly before covering it (dettol and a wire brush works great! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!), and optionally applying an antiseptic cream. Note that all a scab does is keep the wound moist and covered... but not as well as a band-aid.
I usually place the scab on my desk and observe it. I used to put them in jars years ago. Now, i just throw them in the trash. I have never been to a physician on the issue. I never use my mouth on picking a scab. I always use my nails.
i got some bites on my toes that are itching like mad at the minute and i know if i scratch them then i'll make them worse
will you help me sum1? i hate that i love to pick at my face i am a very beautiful girl and i always wanted to have evryone look at me and want me but since i did crystal meth i started to pick at my face ( i knew i had OCD b4 i did meth but i didnt do this) Now my face is ruined i hate it but i just cant stop i go into a like blank state of mind and i know im doing it but i dont want to stop! it scares me and i want help badly i want to be beautiful again i dont even like to go out in public i know the makeup doesnt hide it and the worse thing is i just had a baby in sept he is my world and i dont want him to have a mommie that does this to herself i wish i knew wut to do i was getting my boyfriend to slap my hands whenever he saw me doing it but it got to the point i would go hide in the bathroom and pick for hours at nothing omg its very depressing i dont know y i cant stop but it is wierd that i get pleasure out of it and when i get stressed and anxious i pick pick pick i wish i never wouldve done meth but i cant change the past ive been clean for a little over a year now but the picking hasnt gone anywhere i feel like a freakazoid and i know my man really loves me cuz he still is with me even though i do this to myself he still says im beautiful but man i wish there was sum way i could stop i think if i just look at my baby evrytime i want to pick i can sumhow train myself to play with him instead of pick omg its hard!Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I think it is part of a broader pattern: kids who wiggle loose baby teeth with their tongues and squeezing zits early are a couple of physical examples. but I think the pattern is even broader than that. There is an impatience with intermediate steps. One rushes through to final stages. Many men and more and more women have this attitude about sex.
