Online Test
Find out the severity of your symptoms with this free online test
New and trying to cope.
Hi, I'm 20, and I suppose I have Dermatillomania. I never knew it was a condition until today, and it's a little unnerving. I pick and eat my scabs, which is very embarrassing, and I keep it secret. I pick at my scalp, my legs, my arms, anywhere that there is a scab. I have never gotten treatment, or told my doctor about it in fear of being committed to a psych ward. I usually do it whenever, and I get a little pissed off when people tell me to stop, because they will say it in a snide manner and with a disgusted look. My legs are the worst, they look like I've been eaten alive by mosquitoes. I don't really know whether or not to stop, as I have been doing it for so long and it is somewhat of a comfort and habit to me. So any insight, or ANYTHING would be nice. I had no idea other people suffered from this.
October 04, 2011
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.