does anyone pick their tonsils?

That's funny, I always biting my tougue with my teeth and it's felt like itching or scratching or biting. That's makes me nervous sometimes when I do that. I don't know why I did that sometimes even when I'm nervous or cold in the winter. Be careful you starting pretty redish and makes sure you will eat some ice-cream and it will helps you nice and cold. I did that all the time and it's always make me feel better. I'm glad we are not this alone in the forum. We can do it without picking or it's okay to slip-outs sometimes.

I didn't really explain what it is that I do to my tonsils. I realized several years ago that sometimes a disgusting yellowish clump can accumulate in the tonsils. It's in the tonsillar crypt (kind of like a crevice) It happens if your immune system is down or you have a cold. It's nasty and smells really bad. If I know it's there I can't stop until I get it all out. Everyone gets it, sometimes it's food accumulation also. Even more disgusting!! It is a pickers dream though. I don't mean to get anyone started on something new, but I realize now that I didn't explain what exactly I was going for.

My mother has always done this. She picks at EVERYTHING! She doesn't even have toenails anymore. She had me hooked on it when I was younger, but when I saw how she was destroying her body, I just quit. There are a few things I can't leave alone....A fingernail that's broken halfway, A pimple that just needs to GO, or a hair growing where it shouldn't and must be plucked. I consider this to be body upkeep. As far as the tonsils go...I had them removed. Sometimes parts of our bodies need to be dealt with. Other times its an addiction. Ever go to popthatzit.com? Its really gross, but you can't stop looking. Even as you are gagging :)

I totally understand! I had this problem with my tonsils, and I would use sharp picks to get the junk out, to the point of the tonsil bleeding. I finally got so sick of it, especially after a particularly bad throat infection, that I got them removed last year. The recovery sucked, but it's a relief not to worry about them anymore.

Do you know what they are called? What causes them? The easiest way to get them out? Im so tired of gagging...Every once in a while I get them for a couple of weeks. Drives me crazy to feel them (I also worry they make my breath smell and that they are dirty or that it will come out on its own and go into my mouth and give me hrrible breath). They smell like halitosis!

This is the first instance I have found of anyone else other than myself who picks their gums. I have been searching online for years to try and figure this one out, so I am especially interested to find that I am not alone. I probably began picking my gums at about 11 and have even had grafts to cover the recession. I have long since picked those off, and then some. I suppose that I relate the activity to stress, but I'm really not sure why I actually do it. I know that I actually derive pleasure from it, even though I know it's destructive. Finding this forum and site is the closest thing I have found to correlate to my issue. I hope that I can find others who pick their gums in order to learn more about what causes this OCD and how to stop.