Cuticle Picking & Biting: I need HELP ASAP!!!

I've been biting my cuticles since I was a child. I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time until I see my thumbs bleeding. I even wore out the enamel on my front teeth and had to get bonding, so I moved over to different teeth. It's embarassing and I don't know how to stop.

I have this issue too, as well as trichotillomania (hair pulling) I recently googled trich and found a book that a mother used to treat her daughters brain imbalance (dylexia, autism, aspbergers, add, adhd, etc) and she noticed that not only did it correct the autism spectrum issues, but she stopped the obsessive chewing and pulling. The book is called "disconnected kids" and at 42 I'm ready to try anything to be normal. (I took a "fun" aspbergers or geek? Quiz the other day and it said I was past geek and into aspbergers :( ) I've been divorced twice, have two kids, own my own house and two cars, but can't make friends and am obsessed with certain subjects, numbers, sequences, patterns, etc. Should check out the book. I'll keep u posted on how well the program works (been listening to mozart to build my right brain up, but there are exercises to do this as well)

I have had a LOT of luck with the amino acid N-acetyl cysteine, which is sometimes sold as N-acetyl L-cysteine, for my 11-year-old daughter who severely picks her skin (arms and legs). I'm hoping that everyone on this group will check it out. We started out at 1200mg each day, 600mg in the morning and 600mg in the evening. Then we worked up to 2400mg, 1200 mg in the morning and 1200 mg in the evening, within about 3 or 4 weeks. The study that was done in 2009 showed the best results were after 9 weeks of continuous treatment with this amino acid, also just known as NAC. We saw great results after 6 weeks. Please consider trying it. I am not a doctor, so please weigh out the risks for yourself. It has truly been a godsend. My daughter used to pick to the point of staph infections. She has scars all over her body. It works by regulating the URGE to pick. You can download the summary text of the 2009 study on this website - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19581567. The study was for hair-pulling, but skin-picking and nail-biting result from similar sets of urges.

I am so glad I found the forum. A few years ago I discovered that this nail biting/cutile picking "habit" was more than just a bad habit. The first time I knew it was when, one day, I was staring at my cuticles and there was this little piece of dry skin. I looked at it and I told myself "you can't pick at it" but it felt like something was urging me to keep at it. I had an internal struggle with myself for about two hours until I finally gave in and pull the little piece of skin right off. I am really lucky because I have yet to get an infection on my fingers. I have tried lotions, but they do NOTHING because I wash my hands every time I use the bathroom and then have to reapply the lotion. I can't seem to explain to anyone the feeling I get when I pick at the skin. It's like - relief? I read a previous post about supplements to help lessen the urge - N-Acetyl L-Cystein - has anyone else tried that??

I have been biting and picking my cuticles for as far back as I can remember. As I child my fingers would go in and out of infection constantly. I am now in my late thirties and would continue to bite and pick if it wasn't for acrylic nails. Artificial nails have been my saving grace to this uncontrollable picking problem. I have been wearing artificial nails off and on for almost 25 years now. It's not because I love acrylic nails, it's because it's the only thing that stops me from picking my cuticles. The acrylic nails work because they are not sharp enough to tear the skin, so needless to say the picking part stops. After about a week of so you will notice a huge difference in the healing process. By your second week of wearing the nails your hands will be pretty much completely healed even if you do find yourself biting a little bit. The other thing is your hands start to look pretty again and you begin to lose the desire to bite them. If you are to embarrassed to go to the nail salon because of your raw cuticles, simply put band aids on your fingers and go anyway. Ninety percent of the time the technician is not going to ask you anything. If she does, simply tell her you burned yourself cooking (hot water) or whatever. Or even tell her the truth, I'm sure your not the first customer she has seen with that condition and you certainly wont be the last. Hope this helps.

I AM HERE TO TELL MANY OF YOU THAT I HAVE FOUND A CURE THAT WORKS FOR ME AFTER 50 YEARS OF PICKING MY THUMBS!!!! I have been seriously been picking (the sides of my thumbs mostly) for the last 50 years. I couldn't stop and it drives my husband insane. The only time I quit was when I had acrylic nails (because they are not sharp enough) but I couldn't wear them all the time because my nails are so weak. Within a couple of days of getting the nails removed, I would be back at it, bloodying my thumbs down to the first knuckle! My index finger is always stroking the side of my thumb, looking for roughness to pick, because somehow I think picking it will make it smooth! I have been doing this since I was 8 years old and I was always trying to quit but couldn't and I know how ugly it is and my husband finds it so disgusting and just doesn't understand. I also have been chewing the inside of my cheeks for as long, and have not figured out how to stop that, so if you have any ideas, let me know!!! Anyway, what is working for me is my EMERY BOARD. I have gone 6 months without picking. I carry an emery board with me everywhere I go. First bandage the thumbs for a couple of days to let them heal a little and let the pain subside. Then remove the bandages and let the skin dry out. Now they are in the condition where normally you would want to start picking. Instead, take the emery board and file down until the skin is smooth. If you are still a little sore, go as far as you can. Any time you feel your finger searching for a spur to start picking, take the emery board to it. Once you get them smooth pay attention because a callous will develop because of the years of picking. Just take your new best friend (the emery board) and file them down till they are thin and pretty. Keep your hands soft with lotion too. I use it on the edges of all my fingers where you get a little point of skin that is tempting to pick. Well, I have been so excited about my success that I wanted to share this in hopes that it my help a lot of you. I can't tell you how exciting this is for me after doing this for 50 YEARS!!! Please let me know if it works for any of you. Good Luck!!

I have been biting the cuticles on each one of my nails until they bleed for as long as I can remember. I was amazed to find this site and all the comments on here. I was actually searching for a way to stop and I came across this site. I am 27 years old and the only time in my life I have ever stopped ripping the skin around my nails were the 3 years I was wearing fake acrylic nails. My nails and skin were so gorgeous. Then I took my nails off about 4 months ago to let my nails grow out for a bit and I'm back to ripping worse than I ever remember. It's so bad today that I think my middle finger on my left hand is badly infected. I put hydrogen peroxide on it, but now it's just red and really hot. On another note, my boyfriend and I just became engaged a few days ago :) It's so exciting and the ring is beautiful, but it's embarrassing to show people because I feel like they're focusing on the skin around my nails. My boyfriend... well now fiance, really wishes I would stop doing this. I honestly do not do it on purpose and really want to stop. I feel like the only way is to get fake nails, which is fine for a while, but expensive and I can't do that for my entire life! Any suggestions are welcome and I've been thinking about loading my fingers up with tons of cuticle oil that won't taste good... I'll keep you posted if I find something that works.

I'm 48 and have always picked the skin around my nails, trying to smooth out whatever snag I searched out. My fingers are even more likely to have rough spots now after years of pulling and picking. Finally I started using a tactic I remember my mother doing a lot, which is filing the rough spots with an emory board instead of pulling...and I think that just might be helping. I just need to make sure I have one handy by the TV and at my desk at work... where I do most of my damage. One other thing I want to share is that I've figured out that a major contributing factor to making my fingers the most pickable is when I've had more milk than a serving or two (ie.. calcium increases the hardness of my finger tip skin) Just cutting back on excessive dairy allows my wounds to be left alone and heal up. Primrose oil also seems to help soften them. I expect fish oil would do the same too. Good Luck

I'm 48 and have always picked the skin around my nails, trying to smooth out whatever snag I searched out. My fingers are even more likely to have rough spots now after years of pulling and picking. Finally I started using a tactic I remember my mother doing a lot, which is filing the rough spots with an emory board instead of pulling...and I think that just might be helping. I just need to make sure I have one handy by the TV and at my desk at work... where I do most of my damage. One other thing I want to share is that I've figured out that a major contributing factor to making my fingers the most pickable is when I've had more milk than a serving or two (ie.. calcium increases the hardness of my finger tip skin) Just cutting back on excessive dairy allows my wounds to be left alone and heal up. Primrose oil also seems to help soften them. I expect fish oil would do the same too. Good Luck

I had low thyroid hormone which can lead to dryness of skin. Not sure if it's related but my hands got a lot better when I got thyroid replacement. Still picking out of habit, but the dryness makes it easier to pick. If you haven't had your T3/T4 checked, ask your doctor to have the test ordered. Just a thought.

I'm so relieved to find out I'm not the only one. When people notice me biting my fingers and ask me why I do, it's hard to explain because it's come to the point where I don't realize I'm doing it most of the time. I'm 16, and started biting my nails about a year ago. But since this summer, I started biting the skin around my nails and trying to take care of it has become an obsession. I keep using a cuticle tool to keep my cuticles down, but it gives me hangnails which I bite and pick at when I get nervous or bored. I wear bandaids a lot to help them heal faster, but I've gotten so used to doing it that I can't stop biting my fingers even when they're almost all the way healed. I've really been trying to stop recently though so my nails and fingers aren't all torn up for any holiday events I might have to go to. Something I've found that really helps is Burt's Bees lemon butter cuticle cream. If I try to use it at least once a day, it really softens my cuticles and helps the skin around my nails grow back faster. I wish i knew when this got so out of control

Thank you all. I am a 50 year old male and I realize most of the people here are women. I have the same problem with peeling my finger and toe nails. I too want to stop but I just do it without realizing. I'll get mad at myself and stop for a moment but I am back to it without even realizing. All my nails are pealed all the way to where there is no real nail hanging past my skin. I am constantly feeling for somthing to peel, it's a nervous habbit that I have no control over. I've only noticed this for the past few years, and don't remember doing it when I was young. I find it discusting but just can't stop. I'm preaty sure it is because of my mental state as I am out of work and have been for some time. I think this started near the time I was laied off. Im not sure how to stop, but I feel for all you who struggle with these terrible nail problems. I will continue to monitor this site for help and if anything helps me I will share it. For me I think it is a mental thing but I sure apriciate any advice. Thank You

I bite the skin on my hands. My thumbs are the worst. My callus completely covers my entire knuckle on my thumb. My callus goes down to my second knuckle on my pinky finger. I also bite on the inside of my hands where the second knuckle would be. Does anybody else have it this severe? I have been doing this for over 15 years. I wear fake nails but because I bite instead of "pick" it has no positive effect other than distracting from the hideousness red callus. I have used the bad tasting stuff, and even got a higher strength one from the doctor. It's even more unattractive when I go swimming or take a bath. I'm just wondering if anybody else has it this severe or knows any tips that could work for the biting as opposed to picking.

I am SO happy that there are people out there who actually do what I do. For a while, I seriously thought I was a freak of nature. I am like you. My boyfriend thinks its disgusting, and anytime someone looks at my fingers they ask me "what happened"? I've been doing this for as long as I could remember. I believe I was about 4 years old. I remember my dad telling me to "stop playing with my boogers", but I remember thinking "I'm not" and I was actually picking at my cuticles. I've come to face a dilemma with this issue because I am now in nursing school and have open skin on my fingers, which is not okay in the hospital. I'm nervous about one of my instructors seeing it. I still do not know what the cause of this is. I've just recently been comfortable enough with researching it to try to find out why I do this and why NO MATTER WHAT, I cannot stop. Its embarrassing because in any situation I have to pull my hands away so people won't notice. I feel like it is a deep rooted anxiety issue, which I have suffered from anxiety my whole life. I have tried fake nails, which help temporarily. However, I cannot have fake nails in nursing school. So my one outlet is no longer available to me. I go many days in a row telling myself that "today I'm not going to pick or chew on my fingers" but I end up doing it before I even realize it. I really hope I can find a solution to this problem. But most of all, its definitely nice to know that I'm not alone in suffering with this issue. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal probably to most people., but it has become almost like something that has control over me. Being in nursing school, I am very paranoid about getting infection or the possibility of causing long term tissue damage. Worrying about something that I have no control over doesn't help with the anxiety--which in turn causes me to pick/chew even more.