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Dermatillomania (skin picking disorder)

alice.alice.alice , 07 Nov 2009

picking and eating skin from feet and fingers... what is this?

first off, I want to say how happy and amazed i am to find that there are other people out there with the same condition as me and that i site like this even exists... it's great. i feel supported and not so crazy and alone. i am a fourteen year old female, but please don't take me any less seriously because of my age. i am fully capable of communicating just as well as any fourty-year-old. to the point... i pick and eat the skin from my feet and fingers, chew and eat it. i've done this for so long i have just accepted it as normal. i try not to think about it too much. even when i do it, i don't admit it to myself. i pick and pick until my skin bleeds and is sore to walk on for days. right now it's not too serious, i don't obsess. but i'm still young, i'd like to stop this habit before it forms any more! if you can tell me the name of this compulsion i would really appreciate it. or just tell me your story...i want to hear about YOU. take care.
106 Answers
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allsallyz
January 30, 2014
I pick,pull, and bite at my cuticles, lips, and feet (well not exactly biting my feet, but I pull and pick at it) all the time, which is why I am so happy to have found this website, because now I know I'm not alone in this! so anyways, a lot of the time somehow, a piece of skin I've pulled off ends up in my mouth. Mostly I just chew it for a bit, and every once in a while I'll actually swallow it. I don't know why I do this, but I'm really glad that I'm not the only one suffering from this!
allsallyz
January 30, 2014
I pick,pull, and bite at my cuticles, lips, and feet (well not exactly biting my feet, but I pull and pick at it) all the time, which is why I am so happy to have found this website, because now I know I'm not alone in this! so anyways, a lot of the time somehow, a piece of skin I've pulled off ends up in my mouth. Mostly I just chew it for a bit, and every once in a while I'll actually swallow it. I don't know why I do this, but I'm really glad that I'm not the only one suffering from this!
allsallyz
January 30, 2014
I pick,pull, and bite at my cuticles, lips, and feet (well not exactly biting my feet, but I pull and pick at it) all the time, which is why I am so happy to have found this website, because now I know I'm not alone in this! so anyways, a lot of the time somehow, a piece of skin I've pulled off ends up in my mouth. Mostly I just chew it for a bit, and every once in a while I'll actually swallow it. I don't know why I do this, but I'm really glad that I'm not the only one suffering from this!
YungNWorkin
March 02, 2014
Hi. I just found this site today. I've got the same picking problem as you. I'm not that old and I am in high school. I've picked for four years. Your description of how you pick is the same as you. It started when I was in 6th grade with needle. My hands hurt so bad I moved on to my feet. I think Band-Aids and lotion helps me not pick as much. I really want to quick asap.
SickOfThePick
March 27, 2014
I've been picking and eating the skin on my hands and feet for years I don't even remember when it started. I picked to the point that my feet get sore and I can't walk on them or hurts to. my hands have always looked like Boy hands and that sucks cause I'm a female. I'm 28 years old and I really want to stop doing this because it weird and I have these weird stomach issues and I don't know if that's why.I make my hands and feet bleed and my boyfriend is constantly complaining about the way that my fingers look. I'm really happy to have found this website because I thought that I was the only one and that I was Sick like a cannibal. it's great to have other people to relate to
elisap
March 28, 2014
I am nearly 40 and have been picking since about 6 years old. It's always my fingers and feet (heels). Right now my fingers are so sore, I wish I could stop. The only time I can seem to break the habit is if I go away for a week on vacation...I guess the salt water helps heal them. I pick when I am feeling a bit down, stressed or just bored. I think ohhh I'll just get that bit it will help tidy it up, then I can't stop. Nobody understands, I just get ugh stop that it's terrible. Yep I only wish I could just stop. Good to hear everyone else's experiences, makes me feel less alone with this.
PatrickVR
April 10, 2014
I'm 30 years old and have been picking and eating my skin on both my feet and fingers since I was in my teens. I never knew anyone else did this. I've been able in recent years to control my urges enough to keep it from preventing me from doing things in my life. There have been times were I cut/pick too much and limp for a day or two but never more than that, and even that has become rare. Though I still eat the skin on my fingers in public a lot, I try not to let anyone see. It makes me more self conscious and adds to my already shy demeanor and I imagine has it's own part to play in why I've never had a girl friend. It is a condition I wish I did not suffer from but out of all the bad habits I could have, I'd say I got off lucky. Not sure if my story helps anyone feel better about themselves but I thought I'd share it for the first time within a community that would understand.
Darkwave5urfer
January 02, 2015

You are not alone, mate. I know exactly how it feels to have to wonder if others will accept this condition we have, especially the opposite sex. Glad I am not alone.

justnormal
April 14, 2014
Omg i have the exact same problem. Im 12 and a girl, but hear me out. I have been doing this for as long as i can remember. I thought i was the only one. No one knows about my problem. I feel so gross, but i cant stop picking/eating it. Sometimes i use a tack to help peel the skin off, especially right after i take a shower. Its mostly my heels and big toes but i chew on my fingers when im in public. I do it until i bleed sometimes. I tell myself i could stop if i wanted to and the reason i havent is because i cant find a reason that outweighs the pleasure i get when doing it. I always get nervous about doctors/dermatologists appointment because im worried someone might see. My only problem is that i dont want to become "addicted" when im older.
Zexy
April 19, 2014
Hi, I have ben gdoing the same thing since I was very little, Ive moved from the balls of my feet to the sides and even the heels, it gets very painful but the bleeding stops quickly. The name of this is 'self-cannibalism', although I wouldnt suggest seeing a doctor about it because the medication that can be prescribed is very addictive and there are other ways to get control, such as concentraating on other things or going to get something to snack on. Best of luck to you all. I aldo havean enquiry of my own though, Im twenty years old and nine weeks pregnant. Im scared of anything happening to my baby and have tried so hard to quit munching away at my feet, because i dont know what effect this could have on my little one. Is it alright to do this weird thing while expecting?
Letsgoogirll35
May 02, 2014
Hi I'm newly 15 and I have have the same condition. I usually take a cuticle cutter and dig it into the balls of my feet then cut it off. This started last year, not because of stress, I just didn't like the yellowness of the dead skin. If picking ur nails and skin isn't worse enough I started to ingest The nails and dead skin. Tbh I am not stressed at school (93 gpa) and I am what people would consider "popular" Ig. I've have been biting my nails as long as I can remebrr who ever is going through this ur not alone!! No matter how weird u feel just try covering up your feet with socks.
ameliedury
May 04, 2014
I am 14, female and I started this about 2 years ago, at first I automatically started because I decided to stop biting my nails so I found a way around it by biting the dead skin around my finger nail. Then I started with the feet and it became more serious. When I realize what I am doing I find it disgusting yet I cant stop. For me, it only happens when I am stressed which means that over summer I barely have any problems but during school or before exams, its terrible. I feel so self conscious about and im scared that people will judge me for what I do. I used to lie and say it was just cuts and I fell, but that doesn't work. If I ever go to get a massage,I always lie and say that I dont like having my feet massaged but really its because I scared that they will find it disgusting. I also rarely get my nails don't because I don't want them asking. I really want to stop, but I cant :(
megan101
May 12, 2014
Hello.so glad to know am not the only one who does this.just turned 18 and i started doing this last year during my exams.it was meant to be a way to stop biting my fingures.now its gotten out if hand.i pick them so bad that sometimes i bleed and it just looks pink and horrible.i mostly do it when am bored stressed or even just relaxed.my dad gets really woried because he says i have open wounds an could easily contract other diseases and my friends dont understand why i do it and always hit my hand when they see am gettin too much.wat is this condition called and how can u stop
callmecrazy1389
May 24, 2014
So glad I'm not alone. I have been doing this skin eating since I could remember. I'm now 25 yrs old. I know I should stop but I can't. I'm married and have three kids.my husband doesn't even know I do this. Sometimes I think I should tell him. But than its something maybe I should keep to myself besides on here. Thanks for being the community I was looking for.
flowerchild102
July 31, 2014
Hi, I'm fourteen and female I've been picking my skin off of my hands and feet every since I was 5 it started as me just biting my nails then it took of from there I finally stop biting my nails but Im still picking my skin I can't stop I do it when I'm bored,stressed or even nervous some of my friends always ask what happend to your hands but I always tell them I fell and scraped them. My parents know about it and always tell me to stop I can't no matter how hard I try. I have been to councils but I still do it.I even chew gum it still doesn't work. What is this called anyway.
kas12
August 02, 2014
Hi everyone, I am 35 and been biting and eating my fingers since i was young, and started picking and eating my heals for about 8 years now im not sure what started it but i do it more when bored or stressed . Some times i have picked my feet so bad i cant walk without limping in pain. I would be very grateful for any help or tips to stop this disgusting habit .
PenelopePicker
October 26, 2014

Like others have stated, I am so happy to find this site and find other people who have similar problems. It definitely makes me feel more normal when everyone around me doesn't seem to understand. I am 18 years old and I pick and eat the skin around my fingernails and the inside of my lips. I started doing this when I was 9 years old. I've found that it gets much worse when I'm stressed. The stress is typically due to schoolwork. There may be some underlying emotional reason as well, although I don't like to admit it. At any point there may be up to 13 open sores on my fingers. I hate swimming with friends since my fingers turn white and peel from the water. I have tried to stop and it only works when I'm not stressed (during the summer) and/or when I pay for manicures. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to keep getting my nails done with acrylics, nor is it very healthy for my nails (not that eating my fingers is really healthy either, but...that's why I'm typing this). My fingers always hurt and my family and friends are completely grossed out by it. It makes me feel ashamed. I have even asked my parents to get me help, but it still hasn't happened. The most they've done is bought gross nail polish and remover, but it doesn't stop me from mutilating myself. My lip biting is as frequent as my finger biting and I'm always bleeding. I feel worse about eating it as I do about just biting it, yet, I cannot permanently stop. Thanks to SkinPick for bringing all of us together. Thanks to the people reading this. I feel good voicing my problem to those who understand.
- <3 PenelopePicker <3

meglove
December 17, 2014

Hi I'm Meg. I'm only 14 but I pick at my feet almost every day. I'm so glad that I have found this sight because I don't feel so alone anymore. I wish there was a way for me to stop picking and eating my skin. It has got to a point where I take a pair of nail clippers and started to cut off pieces of dry skin at the bottom of my feet. Now I always where sock and never get pedicures. I claim I don't like them but really I'm dying to get one every time my mom takes me to the salon. I'm ashamed to show my feet to anyone and I often back out of events because of my problem.
The picking gets worse when I get my migraines (which happen very often) and when I'm stressed with school. If you have any tips or tricks to stopping please help
-with love Meg

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