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The below is a forum entry made by one of our community members. If you want to know more about your condition, we suggest you read the following article written by a mental health professional on
Dermatillomania (skin picking disorder)
Does anyone pick at the bottom of their feet? My story
Hi, I'm new to the site, so I've been poking around a little, and I've haven't seen any posts about anyone picking at the bottoms of their feet like I do. I'll do this to the point that patches of skin are very raw and it's painful to walk. Sometimes I bleed.
I bought Solarcaine to spray on my feet b/c it numbs the skin and kills bacteria, but it also dries out the skin, so instead of helping my feet heal, it just makes my feet easier and less painful to pick. Usually I end up spreading bacitracin or neosporin on the raw areas and covering them with bandaids or gauze, then limping around my apt. The real problem comes when I have to go out or work, especially since I have to be on my feet most of the time at work. I've tried applying lotion to my feet twice a day to make them less "pickable" and have had moderate success, but when I reeeeeally want to pick, I can still do it. I've even tried filing my nails down to the skin, and while it was effective against picking, I just about went nuts.
But despite the pain (and I'm a pain-adverse wimp), the embarassment, the expense (bandages, meds), the constant threat of infection, and friends/family always telling me to stop...I still do it! Arghhh! I also pick/bite at the skin around my fingernails and lips, plus I'll scratch sometimes at my scalp and the backs of my arms. But my feet are my biggest problem.
Anyways, that's my story, and I was just wondering if anybody else also picks at the bottoms of their feet.
Idk if ull see this but i to pick my feet compulsively.
Idk if ull see this but i to pick my feet compulsively.
I pick my feet and fingers. I used to be much worse as a child. I couldn't wear nail polish like the other girls because the fumes would burn my skin. I always had open sores on my fingers and toes. I have recently been attacking my left foot, on the side. Its so dry, I rub it and it comes off in little sheets. I don't know why that is so satisfying. I chew the skin pieces that come off. Under stress I pick my feet so badly that they bleed and I have trouble walking. I will be limping because of the horrible pain. Sigh... As a child, if anyone noticed my torn up skin I would blame my cats! Later on I said it was glue Iwould put on there to peel off (which I also enjoyed). And finally, really bad dry skin. I am 36 now and cannot stop. It gets worse when I drink alcohol. I may have an alcohol binge and wake up finding that I have ripped up my poor feet.
You sound exactly like me. I pick them till I pull the skin too deep then patch them and hobble around a few days till it heals, and that doesn't make me stop. I thought I was the only person like this and feel really embarrassed. I feel like I intentionally do it but yet I can't really not pick the bottom of my feet. I don't know how to explain it.
Hi, I’m a compulsive foot picker but I also can’t bear to throw the skin away. I keep it in a tin which is hidden. The thought of throwing the skin away terrifies me. Anyone know why?
I have been doing this since I was about 4. I am currently 27.
It started with biting my nails, then moved on to the skin around my fingernails, then moved on to biting off chunks of skin from the bottoms of my feet.
I have pulled that much skin off my feet that I have permanent nerve damage, I can rub my feet along rough concrete and bricks and it feels like a ped egg. I have used so many ointments on my feet to try to stop, but I can't. It's just addictive. I hide it from my children, I constantly wear socks to cover it up, and can't wear revealing shoes to hide my gross feet.
I never thought there would be others like me, I thought I was just a very sick individual. Please try to stop. Don't go as far as I have, where you'll need surgery to repair your feet and stop the constant pain.
My heel picking is bad and last night i hit a new low. I usually dont pick too deep (i ise scissors or sharp objects as i bite my nails). My skin was really hard and i figure i went too deep as it started bleeding a lot althougg when i was doing it it didnt really hirt and it didnt seem to bleed a lot then.
It scared me how deep it was and how it wouldnt stop bleeding. I washed it and wrapped it and it dried overnight - ive just got up and walked on it and it seems to have released the blood agsin as it is now bleeding a little again. It is sore to even press down on and it also itches. Ive got this urge to pull off all the dead skin but i know i cant, nd i dont know how to treat the affected area as ive never gone that deep before. And i still want to go for a walk as it helps my MH but unsure if i should
Hi there. Brand new to this. Looking for support from people who truly understand.
I have cracks on my heels that I can’t stop obsessing over. I have filed and pumiced the calluses down so far that it hurts to walk, but the cracks are deeper, and I just can’t let them be! I use crazy sharp cuticle nippers to try to open up those cracks so I can clean them and try to get down to the bottom of them, but it inevitably results in blood and painful sores. I do find some success using heel socks, the kind with the rubbery inside that allows lotions to stay on your feet rather than get absorbed into the socks. If I wear them all night and as much of the day as I can, the skin is so soft that I can kind of relax about the cracks. Then I shower, try to scrub my feet clean, but I can see those damn cracks… I also mess with my cuticles, scratch bites and stuff, pick at scabs, and generally exhibit mild and moderate behaviors like so many of you. I’ll try some epsom salt soaks. Thanks for this community. Best of luck to all of you!
Hi, I'm new here and... I'm a picker too.
Ever since I was a kid I've picked at calluses, and it's worse now that I'm older and readily build calluses particularly at the corners of my fingernails and on my heels, particularly since I live in an area that's very dry (as dry as a desert) half of the year and I'm either barefoot or in flipflops during this time, and barefoot in the house most of the rest of the year. My calluses gets so bad sometimes they'll crack and bleed.
The best thing I've found the the fingernail corners is emery boards; I file the calluses down until the skin is soft when I realize I'm picking. I keep boards at my desk, because I type a lot and I'm always messing with my fingers.
I went through a lot of different things to help with the heels - lotions (only helps when recently lotioned) - pumice stones (kinda works, tons of work) - sandpaper block (definitely helps but lots of work) - belt sander (DO NOT ADVISE, very easy to strip too much) - and the very best thing I've found is: A random orbital sander.
I mentioned belt sander is dangerous (because the sandpaper moves a lot) - but the random orbital sander I've *never* had it take off too much skin, and here's why: it only moves a little bit, and it'll only take off hard dry skin. Soft (good) skin is just grabbed by the sandpaper and gets moved a millimeter, there's no scuffing that happens. The hard dry skin isn't grabbed by the sander but it only scuffs it, which is precisely what you want. Once enough of the dry stuff is gone, you're only left with the soft stuff and the sanding stops because it can't scuff any more. I can put the sander anywhere else on my skin and nothing happens. No kidding, this really works.
I'll even use it where I have a painful crack, though not if it's actively bleeding. If it is, I'll tape it (medical tape, the slick on one side J&J stuff) for a day or two and then I'll sand it. If you sand a majority of the callus away from the cracked area (believe it or not the sanding doesn't hurt the crack much - definitely less than walking on it) it won't hurt nearly as much, because it's the motion of the hard callus plates flexing which keep the crack opening. Remove the callus, and the crack readily heals.
Orbital sander / random orbital sander (woodworking tool) with 80 grit sandpaper.
Keep moving the sander around because it can get hot if you leave it in one spot (I've never gotten a burn, but it gets warm).
The only downside is that you can literally remove all of the callus which makes your feet more tender to walk barefoot on rocky areas.
TL;DR - use an orbital sander. I put in paragraph breaks but sorry the forum dropped them!