Eating the scabs from picking linked to eating disorder?

Hi all This is just to stay I've been astounded to have had so much feedback since I first posted here in December. The ideas, the suggestions, the stories all help to make me (and I'm sure all of you who've posted) feel less alone and less 'weird' in this world of compulsive picking... My journey since December has seen me make many changes in my life- I left my very stressful job and after some time off have gone back to work in less demanding roles. I'm back on regular anti-depressant medicine, and I've had nearly 8 months of weekly/twice monthly Cognitive behavioural therapy which has worked mostly on low-mood, anxiety and self-esteem. All these things have helped me lessen in picking, and altho I do still pick, and it gets noticeably worse if I do have periods of more anxiety than what i consider is now 'normal', it is not so extreme and is no longer painful to wash/comb my hair. So these changes, along with my phone-reminders that say 'don't pick' at intervals throughout the day, and the note in my car, and the fact i'm learning to keep myself busy when stressed, and also giving myself time regularly to relax and chill out, mean that I'm altogether a lot more happy and relaxed individual generally, and I know that feeling low/negative/bad is what brings on the worst picking. I'm now going to set up a plan for the autumn/winter season with some help and advice from the SAD association, to prevent myself from making backward steps once the nights start drawing in as I have identified that this is a difficult time for me. Good luck everyone, and thanks for you help and support so far. Remember you are not alone; we are all special, important peole who deserve the best health and happiness and just seeking out advice or an opinion on this difficult issue is a step in the right direction to achieve those goals.

You are NOT disgusting! You're just a person dealing as best you can, like everyone else. Are you still in contact with whomever first diagnosed you with depression? If you trust them and feel comfortable you should tell them about the picking, the bulimia...all of it. Because it could all be related, like you mentioned, to OCD. Which is chemical disorder. It's biological, and it's not your fault. You didn't choose it, but there are things you can do so you won't feel out of control. Firstly, begin forgiving yourself because you didn't do anything wrong! It's easier than it sounds but you can get there. Find a therapist, counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, physician or any health care professional that you trust! They are not all created equal, people (myself included) have a tendency take the word of health care professionals as law and silently allow them to usher us out the door. If you can, interview a few and find one you like, after all he/she will be working for you!

hello... i really dont know where to start, im 29 year old female and for a long time i been doing some thing that i guess i just didnt want to notice or pay atention to... eating my scabs. from body and head too. also the skin that grows next to the fingernails not the cuticle but the skin on the sides not like really bad but i do it once in a while i dont have a problem with eating well i am over weight really bad i weight like 245lbs. the other thing really groses me out but i also eat my bugers not all the time but why i do this????? im really worried when i do all this things they just happen i dont even think about it later i realize its not right no one knows about this but please can some one help me im afraid i do this because im sick i would lke to stop can some one advice please.

I am a 48 year old female. I've always bitten my nails, my toenails when I was a kid & my finger nails. I always ate the thumbs out of my mittens as a kid. I chewed on shirts that were tight around my neck. I pick my nose & eat my buggers. I pick scabs. I place bandaids over the scabs to stop picking, and I then break out where the bandaid adhesive was & get 2 more spots to pick at. My scalp is constantly broke out with zits, which I pick, scab over, and I pick again. I eat the scabs as well. I went through a bad time with anemia. During that time I craved dirt & chalk. I was able to not pick up dirt in the driveway to eat, but I did eat chalk. I would eat 1/2 piece of chalk at a time 4-5 times a day & still crave chalk even though I am no longer anemic. My mother says that as a small child I would eat dirt. I have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, diabetes, under active thyroid, sleep apnea, and am being treated with 6 prescriptions & a cpap machine. I used to smoke but was able to quit. I abused alcohol when I was in my late teens & early 20s, smoked marijuana, snorted cocaine, and also tried acid & hash. I no longer do those things, but again I have 6 medications. I've decided that I'm not going to worry about the nail biting, scab picking, or bugger eating. As long as nothing is infected, I figure I'm not hurting anyone. I don't want more medications & I've seen a dermatologist who basically said "Don't pick". Was no help at all. Good luck to everyone who wants to stop, but for me, I do it in private & it's ok.

Oh my god! I cannot beleive it! I have found people who are just like me. I have been picking at my sores for years. I mainly stick to the sores on my scalp because I have thick hair and it is easier to hide but I also pick at pimples. I constantly search my body for places to pick. Like others here I also chew the sides of my fingernails until they bleed or become sore. I also have a place inside my nostril that I pick at constantly until it bleeds. I eat the scabs as well but I don't have an eating disorder...I am a little overweight though. It is an embarassing thing when people ask me why I always pick at my head...it sucks.

I am new to this site and have many similarities to what has been described here. I am 43, female, and have been picking since I was young. I have Keratosis pilaris, a "common skin condition in which a protein in the skin called keratin forms hard plugs within hair follicles" (quoted from AARP.com medical definitions). My mom used to pick these off me and my sisters when we were little. I don't blame her for this, or for my now OCD skin picking, even if it contributed to this. I remember pulling out the hairs on my knees when I was young, too. For a time I picked my scalp, badly, for over a year. I don't pick my scalp now, but I have scars, open sores & lots of scabs or bloody spots all over my arms (this past year is the first time my forearms have been a real target), and my buttocks, and my legs. This past month I have gone very wild picking my calves, then I started on my tummy, breasts, and inner thighs, more than I used to. Then, yesterday I started on my face! I have always been able to limit my face to only what a normal would pick if they pretty much never pick. Stupid me! I have my niece's bridal shower on Saturday, and her wedding next Wednesday, and here I am with sores all over my body and even infection on my face (I have occasional flare-ups of infection pockets in a few areas of my face. One is right smack dab in the middle of my big fat nose, and one next to the inside of my eyebrow- right where everybody looks!!!) Anyway, Today I have decided to wage war on this demon of mine! I am so compelled and so obsessed and can't stop even when I am late for something and people are waiting on me and I am telling myself STOP! over &over, I just... can't! But now, I have found this site & info so I am really going to make a real effort to STOP! and at the very least, get back in major control so I can stop. Well, I have a real question for everyone. Have you had Rheumatic Fever or lots of cases of Strept throat? I did have Rheumatic Fever when I was 5, and I had Strept throat on & off until my tonsils were removed at age 16. There is a possible link between this and OCD. I found this article called PANDAS THE OCD/STREP CONNECTION, written by Marc W. Reitman, MD. It intrigued me. Please reply! Thanks! OmniSekhmet

OMG! I thought I was insane. 41f, basically depressed all my life , recently diagnosed bipolar, OCD , diabetes, sleep apnea and i do just about everything, most of you have posted. I thought this was just something i did , and had no control over.

Hi there. Reading these posts today has been helpful for me, if only to know I'm not alone in this compulsion to pick and consume bits of my own skin. I've had a combination of OCD and depression since childhood, the OCD first manifesting itself in me washing my hands with harsh chemicals (Comet, rubbing alcohol, etc.). I've started on a low dose of generic Zoloft, but it doesn't seem to be helping (low dose only because of my low body weight -- about 85 pounds). If anybody has any new suggestions on dealing with dermatillomania, I'd be eager to know. Thanks so much, and good luck in your healing processes.

Oh my god, I thought I was the only one in this world that had this problem. I was born premature many medical problems and being adopted I lacked knowledge of why I had the problems I do. I since a young age have suffered from anxiety, depression, OCD, and yes compulsive skin picking and eating of scabs. I feel horrible eating my scabs and do not know why I do. I also do it in my sleep or when I am watching TV or focusing on something. I am digusted with myself for this habit and try and try to break it but it is so hard.

It is such a relief to find others who understand this problem. I am 32 female, married, no kids. I am an accomplished person with three college degrees and working on my second graduate degree. No one would ever guess that I have this picking issue. As I type this, I do so with bandaids on both of my thumbs because I pick the skin around them until the sides of my thumbs are open wounds. My arms have sores all over them that I have picked and picked. My legs have a nice collection of sores as well that I pick at. I also eat the scabs. I tell people that the sores come from mosquito bites that I have scratched. That is a lie. I have Keratosis pilaris and I pick the little bumps causing sores to form. I then pick the scabs. Even my husband doesn't know that I am basically causing these sores to form myself. He believes the mosquito story. It's embarassing and I am trying desperately to stop. I have made a decision that tonight was the last time I will pick. It will be hard to break free, but I am going to try and substitute another habit such as working out, which I enjoy, but haven't done for a long time. I cannot keep going on with picking at my skin. I am on Zoloft already. I also have a perscription for Xanax, which I will start taking more regularly to help with the picking issue. Thank you everyone for being here and contributing to this forum. None of us are alone. It helps to know that especially when no one around you seems to understand and constantly tells you to stop picking...as if it were that easy.

I wish there would be more scientific study done in this area. I think its a habit similar to cats licking their wounds and primates picking body flakes from each other. I am an occassional scalp picker. The phases comes and goes with my mood swings and level of stress. For the past two weeks, it's acted up again due to a surge of stress (I'm applying to business school - I wonder how the adcom would react to this sort of personal triumph :P). I basically only pick when I'm stuck on an essay or being asked difficult questions. But when I pick I would go at it bad. There are now a few spots around my hairline which are basically open sores pretty much during my waking hours. I feel great in the morning because the wounds have healed overnight and I promise myself to leave them alone. But alas when I've been sitting in front of the computer for a long time, I just get back into it. I think the easiest way to stop myself is to engage in less stressful work and do more activities like sports and hitting the gym. I use to do more of that but haven't since.. again, the applications. So in summary: my ambitions are destroying my scalp.

hello. im a 16 year old guy. i pick my scabs wenever i have dem nd eat da scabs. i never knew y. i used to tink cuz i saw my dad doing it. im kinda bi ploar,, but not very badly. i take break ups bad and all that nd iv done it since i was like 9. i av scars on my for arms that are fading now, but i still do it....... eh,, y do people do this? is it pyshological or us a habbit we got in2?

I just read the comment from the 32 yr. old accomplished woman with three degrees. I can't tell you how much better her story made me feel. I thought I picked because I never went to college, married the wrong person, and have serious financial problems. I guess there are no boundaries. I've been picking all my life. Now, at 56 it seems to be at it's worst. I think now it's my way of not letting any man close to me. Well,if he can't see me naked, I don't have to sleep with him, if I don't have to sleep with him, I'm safe. I prefer being alone. I've tried and tried to stop, with no success.

I'm a 54 year old female who has been "picking & eating" since my teens. Yes, that's right, approximately 40 or more years now! How disgusting is that? I finally admitted that I have a serious problem, the skin picking and eating scabs is so far out of control I have scarred my navel, upper arms and my legs beyond belief. I had abdominal surgery in 2002 and my navel is still infected from scab picking 6 full years later. Now I'm actually acting on this terrible addiction as some very close friends of mine got together when I was away on vacation to discuss it and when I returned did an "intervention" so to speak. I was so embarrased and ashamed of myself that I am actually making the first step to do something about it. It has been the hardest and loneliest thing I have ever had to do in my entire life. I have told my health care provider and have asked to be referred to a mental health facility for an in-patient program, not only to deal with this issue but obviously others like low self-esteem, binge eating, compulsive overeating, a financially crushing shopping addiction, depression and anxiety. Multiple issues to say the least. I just want everyone to know the following... Believe me, other skin pickers and scab eaters...if you think that others don't notice you are doing it...you are sadly mistaken. I can only be thankful that these very dear and close friends of mine love and care enough for the screwed up person that I am to want to help and stand by and support me through this very critical time in my life. I have cried myself silly since I realized people around me have witnessed my habit. What actually made me see how bad the problem is was when I returned from vacation with a co-worker of 30+ years travelling with her for the first time, she mentioned to one of the "intervention" friends that she would never travel with me again because it repulsed her and she couldn't wait for the vacation to end...and here I thought we had a great time travelling together. Boy, was I sadly mistaken! I know it's not going to be an easy road but it is one I must travel. I know not everyone can go down the road I have chosen but I do wish you all good things in life on any path you choose whether it be to deal or not to deal with this issue. I hope I haven't offended anyone as this is definitely not my intention, but I have to tell you it feels soooooooooo good to share with others who have this same affliction.

It's so good to hear that others suffer from this as well. 14, I was born with eczema. That means Im pretty much going to have scratches and scabs all the time. I pick at them every night and eat them, then I'm left with horrible scars. I try to stop but when I'm busy doing something and my legs happen to be exposed.. Well I pick them. I really can't take any more of this eczema, it's like hell for me. Jonny

My brother has this problem. As long as I can remember, he has eaten scabs, boogers, body hair, ect. I know I am not the only one who sees him do this, but no one talks about it. I think everyone is afraid of embarrassing him. We are middle age adults now and I believe this habit, or OCD, is holding him back. He has almost no friends and no love life. How can I help him without humiliating him? Also, is OCD hereditary? My mother has always picked at her face and toes. I used to mess with my toenails until I saw where she had picked hers completely off. My brother is the only one in the family who eats any body byproducts so maybe he has multiple disorders.

I have had psorisis for about 5 years, I havent told ANYONE but I do eat my scabs... well their not really "scabs" their more like hard skin or I dont know something. Is this really rare or am I just crazy? Please let me know.