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smallpebble , 30 Jan 2008

infections?

I pick my scalp. I have for 11 years, but for the last 2 I had it under good control. Now it is worse than ever and the sores on my head are bigger, more painful, etc. A couple of big spots (size of a quarter or slightly bigger) are now so juicy all the time and they kind of smell. Are they possibly infected? Is it possible to get a serious infection from skin picks? Thanks-
5 Answers
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marthawanab2
March 25, 2008
Yes, they are infected, see a doctor for antibiotics. They take a while to heal. I have been taking them for 3 months now. The sores are getting better but its a slow process.
Andrew
December 28, 2008
I once had such serious infections that my face swelled beyond recognition, I had a high fever which caused me to ache so much that I could not walk. My friends took me to the emergency room. The physican said the condition became septic. I was given intravenious antibiotics at the hospital. They prescribed surgical grade anti-inflamatories and a heavy course of gut wrenching antibiotics. Now that my doctor is sympathic about the condition, he permit me to just call in for antibotics. I have a shrink too, but just like my family she says, "just stop". Gee never thought of that. FYI - I'm a 40 yr old, male, professional, who has been dealing this this problem for about 10 years.
612dct
January 09, 2009
andrew: my mom found my current psychologist (among others experienced in skin picking/etc.) online--while she specializes in ocd and depression, her coworker specializes in bdd, which has been a huge help (she had already dealt with these kind of things, but was willing to research and learn more about bdd to help me out). i've been seeing her for almost 5 years now, and i know how lucky i am...having somebody empathetic to the mental and compulsive part that's going on, and able to help you form a targeted treatment plan has been such an improvement over the "dr's" that tell you, "well, duh...just stop! why is it so hard??" this was back when i was 15; i'll have to ask her how she looked them up. but yes, infections are real and pretty common...you're opening up wounds/taking away the protective barrier of skin...so yes, be careful--i won't give you the whole 'wash your hands and sterilize needles/tweezers/whatever tools you use before and after, blah blah blah' thing (though it is true and will help prevent infections), but there's been many a time where i've gone to bed with neosporin on my scalp (thank goodness for morning showers!) and neosporin/bandaids on my face...it's dorky and feels really stupid, but it does speed up healing and makes me feel like i'm actually trying to do something about it. idk. but if it's as serious as yours sounds, listen to marthawanab2 and see your dr :]
cutie80okc
January 15, 2009
Just to comment on the infection thing. Be careful with it, because I actually picked my nose( gross I know) and then picked my skin. Which in turn was a spreading staph infection all over. I do the scalp picking to. And it burns but helps, apple cider vinegar or poralalis shampoo. I have tried it all. But u need to treat every spot as an open wound. Witch hazel, neosporin is the best. It is my ritual am and pm. Now I just need not to continue to do it. Also tea tree oil products work well. Good luck to us all!
wiccanprincess35
March 14, 2009
I also obtained staph infections years ago from my OCD of picking. The doctor explained to me, the picking all over my body just spread it everywhere. I also got a strain of staph that was resistant to the anti-biotics and it took me like 3 different anti-biotics to finally wipe it out. I almost had to go to the hospital like someone else said to get intravenous anti-biotics. Even after that, 5 or 6 years later, i am still picking. :( I believe its an addiction like smoking, its almost impossible to stop.

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