my scab picking habit

Hi Blueberry--I'm so sorry for your problems. Marital tension and stress only aggravate the need to pick since the act of it is a self-soothing mechanism. I know exactly how you feel about the itching. All my old picking spots have healed (although I have some nasty scars) except for this one place that is about the size of a quarter. I have been picking at it continuously for more than a year, and I swear there's nothing left but scar tissue. As a result, I have a huge hypertrophic scar which constantly itches like a mo-fo. When I've had all I can take, I find myself digging at that scar tissue which offers some temporary relief but of course only makes the problem worse later. If I could just leave it alone and let it heal, I could go back to the dermatologist and let him inject the spot with the cortisone he gave me for the other scars which helped to shrink them significantly. But of course the problem is I can't leave it alone. I have found a couple of things help when I'm itching out of my skin. Try taking a Benadryl and even applying some cortisone cream on the affected area--but NOT on an open wound. Those histamine blockers will help stop the body's response to the scar tissue which is the cause of the itching. Also, you can use those silicone scar sheets which soften the scars and reduce some of the itching. I use Dr. Blaine's and have found that to be the most effective for me. If you can get your spots to heal, try to get a dermatologist to give you those injections I mentioned earlier. It is by far the best treatment! Good luck to you. Hang in there!

Oh, and one other suggestion. Several people on this forum have recommended Calamine lotion. I've used it, too, and it also works well for the itching. Again, you don't really want to put it on an open sore, but if you've got some healing or shallow, runny spots, it helps to dry them up and reduce the itching. Also, it works well if you've got some large areas to target. Just saturate a cotton ball and coat your legs, etc. with it.