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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
Picking Scabs
White Stretchy Plugs
I've always squeezed bumps and blemishes on my skin, but recently I've gone through a period of work-related stress. I was off work for 2 months, during which time my picking and squeezing got worse. I had lots of blemishes on my chest which I squeezed and picked until I had a few nasty little wounds. One of them became quite deep, and I discovered that when I picked the scab off there were a few little white pinhead shapes under it, in the wound. They were screaming out to me to be picked out, but I couldn't do it by hand - I had to use tweezers. Sometimes I found I would need a wool needle to ease the white thing out a bit before the tweezers could get hold of them. When I pulled, a white elasticy thing would stretch and then come out. It was about 2mm long. It was VERY satisfying to pull it out, so I looked for some more in my skin. This made my picking worse, and I now find I am thinking of it quite a lot of the day. I am longing to pull more stretchy white things out of my skin. I put up with quite a bit of discomfort and pain just to get the satisfaction of pulling out these stretchy white plugs. To heal my wounds I use Savlon antiseptic liquid, and they begin to dry up quite quickly. But this is the most tempting time to pick - the scab becomes very crusty and itchy, and I see little white bumps underneath which could be those white plugs I long to pull out. They are itchy and I am dying to pull them out!
Holy crap, I finally found something that sounds exactly like what I have been obsessed with! I pretty much had the same spot on experience you did, except mine was on my face and now I am constantly picking at my face to get those damn little stretchy suckers! I use a magnifying mirror to see mine but they are ridiculously difficult to pull out at times. I am just happy to have found someone else who understands and to also find out what the little white thing actually is, I thought maybe it was my actual pore. I really hope my stress goes away so I can stop obsessing over those damn things!
Oh boy. Do I have a story for you. Two biopsies - no help from the medical community. The dermatologist I saw said I am crazy. I should have gotten that in writing because a defense lawyer may find that helpful one day. I was reaching the end of my rope when a friend recommended a drawing salve. I ordered Smiles PRID drawing salve. Took two weeks to get here. I have been using it for a week now and my Lord - it is finally healing. A two year journey into darkness. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. Run out and get this stuff. It is miraculous. Read the reviews. Okay. Good luck :-)
I am not exactly sure what I have going on on my face but it is similar to what I have seen described on here. My face breaks out and soon become a oozing open wound with white stretchy plugs. The are painful until removed which is difficult , They bleed profusely and seem to send out clear substance. Once gone there is an open spot where they once were, The pain goes away but often then they seem to refill. I have tried tee tree oil, tee tree shampoo to wash face, Diatomaceous Earth, Manuka Honey, sulfur soap, hydrocolloid bandages, Lamasil, and now I am trying Light therapy. So far this has helped the most. I was wondering if anyone else has tied this.
What kind of light therapy?
Hi Jcat,
I have been part of this thread for years. I have tried so many things. Last time i posted, i explained how my son was diagnosed with psoriasis and there might be a correlation as his meds were also working for me (betamethasone).
On top of my skin issues, i have been experiencing extreme fatigue, muscle and bone/joint aches. I have recently developed red dots on my scalp and they are similar to the ones i had the plugs in--the only difference is i am not picking. I do believe picking makes it impossible to diagnose properly so we really shouldnt be doing this.
Another revelation i had, was a thought i might be Vitamin D difficient--and so i found out, this is not routinely tested (at least here in Canada). So, i asked my doctor for the test. He told me it would cost $38. So i got this done last week, and they called me on Friday to discuss my blood work on the 4th of July. This means i am obviously difficient, otherwise he wouldnt have called.
I read a lot of skin problems, such as psoriasis, stem from vitamin D difficiency--and light therapy helps those who do not motabolislze fat soluable vitamins or get enough sun (I also have no gallbladder which makes it harder to absorbe).
If you are like me, being difficient is a catch 22. Im so sick and tired i dont go out and get enough sun. Therefore, light therapy would prob be the way to go. Its actually quite a coincidence that I was about to share this info when I got a notification of your comment.
I think everyone in this thread should check their vitamin D and honestly, if you have any hope in a proper diagnosis you HAVE to stop picking! --Also, at this point i do believe these stretchy plugs are dead skin cells caused by psoriasis. When u sweat or pick they look different because psoriasis is typically dry and flakey. However, as a cleaner i sweat a lot and it creates wet oozy ones on my neck. I believe this is why i have not been diagnosed properly (for now diagnosed with neurodermatitis).
I see big improvments in my son (cystic acne/psoriasis) since the sunshine has been out (almost all clear)--and i know know this is the key to my health. Who knew the cure can be as simple as the sun/light therapy??
Ill check back in after my appointment and let everyone know if they go away with regular doses of vitamin D.
Hope this helps!
Gill
snipzie,
You can google vitamin D light therapy lamps. There are tons to choose from. They can be pricey though.
Gill
Snipzie, I have been using the Neutrogena pen style one. It is Blue and Red lights. I am considering ordering the mask style or a lamp!
Gill, thanks for the info 8 will look into that. I am vitamin D deficient. I was told some time ago to take vitamin D but I have not been taking them.
My condition seemed to start after I tried an at home Microdermabrasion tool online. That was over a year ago. I never had problems like this before but I over did it and since then I have been battling this.
Just wondering if anyone else has tried a drawing salve? The one I am using I call "Jesus in a can". Anyways, it is working for me. I haven't seen mention of drawing salves here. Hoping you guys will try it. An inexpensive venture should you choose. Okay. That is all :-)
I will try it an update. The light therapy works to calm it at start to heal but the white plugs seem to reappear. I read someplace else that someone used Priad drawing paste and it worked. This is the most frustrating thing I have ever dealt with. Thanks!
Just some guy, I just went back and re-read the thread. I guess it was you that mentioned the Smiles Prid! Haha! Thanks again. I had it in my shopping cart a few days ago after reading your post. I put it back because I also had several other concoctions. I will go back today and purchase it!
Thanks Jcat. I am really interested if it works for you. It has been about 16 days now. I removed a few ingrown hairs. Not too big. My wound is 90% healed and the pain is almost non-existent. I will check back to see how it works for you
I would also remove them. Only to have them grow back. There has been no regrowth since I have started to use the salve. Lol - I am too excited. Really hope this works for you
Just some guy,
Amazing! I used the Prid and overnight there is amazing improvement! The white plugs just seemed to fall off when I washed my face this morning! I can’t wait to see how they look tonight! The actual lesion is much smaller also! I’m optimistic that this little $4 can may be the answer! Thanks again!
Oh my! Jcat that is great news! I am still removing a few ingrown hairs and I am on the mend as well. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha it is a sad day when Just some guy is right Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha (my fee is in the mail) - just kidding. Spread the word - Jesus in a tin saves :-)
Just some guy, so now the white plugs are coming back. The first day I thought I was rid of them. The actual lesion seems to be smaller. Last night I put the Prid on with out a bandaid. I usually cover it with a Duoderm bandage. I am wondering if you cover yours, and if you still try and remove the plugs or you just let the prid run it’s course? I am still trying to figure out what these things are!! I have read so many articles of so many things that mimic other things. I haven’t been to a Dermatologist because I have read so many horror stories of misdiagnosis and Drs just saying that people are causing it themselves. The light therapy does take the inflammation redness and ozzing down enough to go out in public and the prid seems to be helping make the situation as a whole better.
Ughh! My comments are not showing up. They are blank! It is about the upcoming show Chasing the Cure. We need a volunteer fro Team white stretchy Plug. Lol!
It is about using crowd sourcing to solve strange problems. It airs Aug 8th. I think it is going to be a series.
It has taken me three weeks - near four Jcat. Perhaps mine has just runs it's course. For the first two nights I applied a bandaid. I applied the PRID religiously about six times daily. Still am. I was still removing the plugs for two weeks before the plugs began to disappear. The healing is fast and noticeable. I have found a few more plugs but this past week has been mainly small trapped hairs. I am so sorry this is not working for you. You are correct in that a treatment needs to be put forth. You would think a doctor would jump at the chance to discover something new. But, they are busy