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

Hey people, my name is Juan. I'm 14 right now. I've Been biting my fingers since I was 13 till the point I start to bleed. I'm trying to stop as hard but I just can't. It's like those smokers who can't quit smoking. Biting my fingers is Somthing I NEED and can't stop, I don't know why or how I started to bite them but now they are really pink, hard. My skin is tanish until my finger, now it's almost all my hand. My uncle who is a doctor gave me some skin creame to help grow out my skin but no matter What I just can't stop. I'm embarrassed to show my hands at school or public.i used to have these perfect hands now they are chippen away pink wood. Is skin going to grow back? I have heavily ate 2 pounds of skin in 1 year. :( when I saw all these people with the same problem just made my day :) I hope WE bitters will someday be healed <3

hi i'm 14 and biting my skin since i was little...i try to distract myself and keep busy. try chewing gum to keep your mouth busy,but not too much because i chewed gum often to much my stomach hurt very badly and you get diarrhea for 4 days and lose weigh a lot. Oh and don't look at you hands! i chew on my thumb the most. i was thinking of putting tape on my thumb but i'd look silly in public O.o plus i'm the only with terrible hands at school!

Im 12 yr. Old i live in Dallas tx I been bitting my finger sinceb i was 10 yr. Old Idk why im bittiting my fingers and idk how to stop please someone help me tell mevsum to stop bitting my fingers :( i need help plz give me a cure

I am currently a sophomore and I've been eating the skin around my nails since 6th grade. It's been awful having weird and awkward hands. I thought I was a complete freak but I'm glad I'm not alone. I have a few questions: 1.) Should I see my doctor about Dermatophagia? 2.) Does anyone else have a large, abnormal lump (mine is on my right thumb.) that is skin built up. It may or may not be a callous and if so how do I get rid of it. 3.) Can someone please tell me if there is a cure or at least a way to make the marks from biting go away?

Ive been eating my skin on my fingers to for al long as i can remember i don't know why.... is it a bad thing?

Hi. I do not really know how to do this. Quite honestly it wasn't till a month or two ago that I knew I am not alone. I pick, chew, and eat the flesh around my fingers. I eat through the skin and I have even eaten part of my muscle on my thumb. I am sixteen I started when I was six. Looking back it might have been from paranoia and stress due to night terrors. I am scared. I can honestly say I am scared shitless of what's going to happen in the real world. I am constantly made fun of about my hands. Some call me a cannibal. I suffer from a severe depression disorder as well as PTSD. I don't know what to do. A decade of this has destroyed my fingers especially my thumb. To the point where my phone barely recognizes that my thumb is human flesh. I want to stop. Liberation from this. My mother quit smoking a year ago and tells me all the time that it is stupid that I don't quit. She tells me she can quit an addictive substance yet I cannot quit eating myself. The first battle I believe is making my mother understand. I have shown her forums akin to this one. She thinks its all in our heads and we can stop whenever. Its so hard to stop. I pride myself in strong will but i can't stop myself. Its terribly embarrassing and I want to be a pediatrician one day! No mother wants there child treated by some guy with disgusting chewed up fingers. People notice hands. A lot. I just want to stop. I stopped once and completely healed but the first tragedy to strike my life ignited the old habit. What do I do? I know I am being repetitive but please. We are all suffering from this. I have read hundreds and hundreds of posts and looked at other sites. I have tried everything that people say has worked for them. Today I only ate one tiny piece if skin from my thumb but what about tomorrow? I do not want to live the rest of my life like this. I really want to be a pediatrician and find a wife. Have some kids. Not have chewed up fingers. Anything. Seriously anything that you think can help me email me at tmacwat@Gmail.com. Thank you if you read this long message. Good luck. I hope you succeed in kicking this things ass.

I have ben biting and i want to stop. I always fall off the wagon immediatly after a week or so. Someone help i'm so glad there are others like me out there.

I'm 51, and I've been picking and chewing my fingers most of my life. ItDurant stop because you want it to. I think it is a deeper issue, maybe covering pain or something. I've quit for periods of time, even I really set my mind to it, but then I think stress takes me right back there! I wish there were some easy fix, but I really think therapy may be the only way. Tricks and gimmicks don't work. It is a deeper issue. I have a lot of past garbage, and I have done counseling to learn to get past some things, but I've never done therapy for this specific issue. I think it starts out as a way to deal with pain, and becomes habit... but they both go hand in hand. My sister does the same thing! Hers look bloody and raw most the time. I and able to keep mine not looking so obvious, but they are clearly scarred. If you are able to, I would seek therapy for it. It doesn't mean something is wrong with you, it means you want to kick a habit, break a habit, that can be harmful to you. I'm sure it's not healthy to eat your skin, and I know from experience, it wears down your teeth! Seriously! You are young, get help now. It won't just stop, you have to trust me on this! I have no insurance, and I see no end in sight for me. That's my advice, from an expert finger biter!

i'm 18 years old, and i have been bitting my fingers too for as long as i can remember. The disorder as i have researched is called dermatophagia. According to my research, all evidence points out that it occurs because i am trying to prevent adapting to a change that will not be good for my health. I also have developed compulsion for sexual intercourse. Is this the case for all wold biters in this forum?

I have been biting my fingers for as long as I can remember. I am now 58 years old. I have tried to stop several times and have succeeded for a short period but if anything stressful comes along I'm back at it again.

Im 14 years old and i have been picking, biting, and eating the skin around my nails for as long as i can remember.. My mom always says its embarassing because i always do it in public but i just cant stop. I do it in school, also. I have no idea how i can stop. my fingers are constantly bleeding and it hurts to wash my hands with warm water. if anyone has any ideas on how to stop, please let me know because this is embarassing AND it hurts but i dont know how to stop. thanks..

Hi. I'm so glad I found this site! I have been biting my fingers since I was around 10. I have bitten all the way down to the knuckles on both hands and even the underside of my knuckles. My fingers look skinned. High school was a nightmare. I was extremely academic and intelligent, but did not go as far as I could because I had to hide my hands. Public speaking and presentations were horrifying. I somehow managed to stop biting my left hand and it looks normal. My right hand nearly looks deformed. I am a "fair skinned " black female and it is very obvious. The first two inches of my fingers are white and raw looking and the skin looks thick and discolored. The color hasn't returned to them. It hurts to bend my fingers and the skin always comes back thick and callused. I have been struggling with this for 20 years now. I have figured out how to hide my right hand at work and other places but bawling my hand up for 20 years has effected my joints so that I have to consciously make an effort to flatten my palm out. I have gone for a week or so without biting, but stress seems to trigger it. Nowadays I am dealing with being depressed and I have resorted to mauling my fingers. It probably stemmed from the emotional and physical childhood abuse I endured. I want to stop and be "normal," but I can't. I would love to be able to walk into a nail salon and have my fingernails done. I would love to go on a date or hold a book and not worry about hiding my hand. Or even make a fist and it not hurt. But for now I am TRULY grateful to know I am not alone. Thanks everyone for sharing your struggles.