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cheftk , 20 Feb 2010

Help...I need help now

I have a public demonstation in two weeks in front of hundreds of people representing my national culinary team and I have hundreds of open sores on my face, arms and hands from picking!!! How can I make it better in two weeks!!!! I would rather just crawl up in my bed and never get out, but I have no choice and I cand stop myself from picking!!! Anyone got any ideas??? My ocd have gotten worse with me stopping my anti depressants and even worse with me being so stessed and under pressure at work and with national team. I wish I can just rip my skin off my body!!
8 Answers
agirl
February 20, 2010
The worst part is being scared about how it is going to feel when you stand there. Remember that makeup does wonders. You will survive this. I also have so much pressure on me and feel so scared. Wish I could give you some wiser advices. We will get through this!
wildflower
February 21, 2010
when i have something coming up i make an extra effort to calm my skin and hopefully that effort helps with the compulsion to pick, at least for a little while, for the cause. nightly, i wash with warm, not hot, water, a mild soap, purpose liquid soap at the moment because research told me it was gentle. an extra rinse of cold water addresses inflammation. then i immediately cover every spot that might want to be picked at with a bandage, one of the round, clear, latex free riteaid brand bandages. that helps the spots heal over night. in the morning, only immediately before the morning wash with purpose do i remove the spots. i wash again, gently, and again do the extra rinse with cold water. if a sore is weeping or bleeding i'll put another round bandage on it for the day to give it extra healing time. just recently i decided to try something new, that is, applying a very thin coat of tronolane ointment on my sores. it is meant for hemorrhoids but i figure since it is meant for pretty delicate tissue that is inflamed and may even have open fissures, it couldn't be bad for inflamed scratches and pimples elsewhere. it addresses the itching and soothes the areas it's applied to quite well for a few hours and it doesn't have an odour. then i will apply makeup to the areas that are not covered with clothing and i will make a concerted effort to not pick because of the makeup and also being hindered by the bandages for the day. once home at the end of the day i will immediately do the night time ritual and cover all the sores with bandages for the nite as soon as possible to make them inaccessible to my picking fingers keeping in mind the event coming up that i want to look good for. i've found that much healing can happen in two weeks even. and the inflammation can really be reduced. the trick of course is, to continue with that kind of commitment 100% of the time. try to eat properly and get lots of sleep too. In short, relax, think about your skin getting better and better, be good and gentle with your skin, try not to irritate it, and whenever possible protect it with bandages. you might think about going back on your antidepressant, too, if possible. the more help you have, the better.
Ginger_Snapp
February 22, 2010

In reply to by wildflower

Wow....That really helps me. I focus mostly on my face, so I was thinking about trying to use a scarf? My major thing is I try to use a mask everynight. Even if your not really sopposed to, but I've found its about ten times better than picking.
Ginger_Snapp
February 22, 2010

In reply to by wildflower

Wow....That really helps me. I focus mostly on my face, so I was thinking about trying to use a scarf? My major thing is I try to use a mask everynight. Even if your not really sopposed to, but I've found its about ten times better than picking.
wildflower
February 22, 2010

In reply to by Ginger_Snapp

i have always been wary of using masks, mostly because i pick so severely that i create open sores that bleed and then weep for quite a while afterwards. i would be interested in knowing what kind of mask can be applied and left on over night. i've recently tried short term masks of honey for example reading about its antibacterial properties but i've only left it on at most half an hour. the same with egg masks that i'm a little more skeptical about. if you know of a mask that touts being healing and can be left on over night i'd be interested to know about it to perhaps give my skin a break from the bandages now and again, esp on days when my sores aren't too severe. i hope you can take some tips i've brought forward to help you with settling your skin condition down in time for your presentation. i know not feeling self conscious about your skin will help considerably with it. i wish you all the best for it and beyond it.
ocdFreak
February 21, 2010
And whenever you're not around people, wear gloves. and if you feel the urge to take them off a bit to quickly pick at something - do not do it!! telling yourself that you'll just pick a little bit is a lie and never works so keep those gloves on! you lotion too and do what (wildflower i think it was) says. that sounds like an awesome idea...
wildflower
February 21, 2010

In reply to by ocdFreak

yes! gloves too, are a very good idea. on occasion, i do that. i bought driving gloves to wear because i will pick while i drive (but i lost them :( ..... ) and i will wear them while i watch tv because my hands are idle. idle hands wander and pick. bubble wrap was suggested to me to keep my hands busy. and putting an elastic band around your wrist so you can snap it whenever you catch yourself picking.
anniem
February 22, 2010
can you wear long sleeves or a chef's coat during the demo? if you can resist picking your face for even a few days i think you will be surprised at how quickly things heal-- this always happens when i go on holiday -- after a few days of not picking (because there are too many people around) i am always shocked at how much better i look! the body will heal itself if you give it a chance! sometimes it helps me to carry a packet of baby wipes to just wipe my face off during the day, feels fresher and cleaner and helps speed up healing when its clean. if you have ever tried makeup i recommend dermablend-it's waterproof and will stay put no matter what (i've worn it on holiday in the caribbean, in high humidity, hiking in the rainforest, even swimming and it lasted all day!). good luck!

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