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New here, looking for support
Hey,
I need help. I want to stop picking, but I can't figure out how to stop.
Mostly I pick at my upper arms, but I am not limitted to that area. It usually starts as either a mosquito bite (I get lots of them in the summer), or a pimple. I scratch the bites because they are itchy - and once they are scabs I pick the scabs... and I pop my pimples until they become red and sore, then I pick at them too until they become scabs like the bites. Luckily I have been able to avoid picking at my face, but the small heat pimples on my upper arms and sholders are the worst. I can't even count how many scars I have now from my picking.
Right now, I have 4 scartching areas on the go. One on my arm, my chest and 2 on my right shoulder blade. All of these started as small pimples that I popped. I would even count the scar that was from my last major picking site as still a spot I pick, because of the dry skin there.
I am so tired of doing this to myself.
Can anyone relate? Do you have any advice?
November 05, 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.
November 13, 2011
hi i,m new to the site too and if skin pick and i,m worst in the summer when i get bit by insects just like you a scratch beause the bites itch and then pick off the scabs for months after not found anything that stops me yet. Mainly its my lower legs and lower arms but can be anywhere i can reach. anyone found anything that helps .