Zoo Keeper Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Anyone have any success with kicking the habit of extreme nail/skin biting? This is for my 11 year old son who does have known sensory issues, but is not on any medications or therapies. All of his fingers look like the one in the picture in the top right of the Wikipedia entry on dermatophagia (sorry, I cannot give a link right now). This has been going on for YEARS. We have tried gloves, the stuff you paint on for nail biting (Thumb?), and more positive things like earning Lego pieces for every day without chewing. He does use a some hand held fidgets, but this has not eliminated this issue. Nothing has truly helped. He is adamant that he is not chewing on "some baby toy", so chewlery is out. A nice manicure or acrylic nails are not real motivators either. ;) Our family doctor has noticed and commented on how he should stop this habit or he will have infections and possibly damage to the skin. He is an excellent doctor, but had no help beyond the idea of the paint on varnish (Thumb). This has become an ISSUE; an "I'm such a freak, everyone will think I'm some kind of cannibal or something," issue and and even a "I'm so terrible, I hate myself" issue. We have NOT shamed him or punished him for his biting/chewing, but just talked and reminded and talked and reminded ourselves blue. Anyone have any new ideas to bring to the table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 FWIW, I came across this sort of thing when I was reading about OCD, but I wasn't really paying attention. I would google "skin picking". Maybe CBT? CBT would be pretty mainstream for OCD. There may also be some alternative angles along the lines of alternative perspectives on OCD - I'm certain I came across skin picking in that vein though as I said I wasn't honing in on that particular problem. Thanks for thinking out loud; off to google. Anyone else? :bigear: ANY ideas or info is appreciated. We need help here, folks. :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 It's not a sudden onset habit; he was a rabid thumb sucker as a baby, then a toy chewer (well beyond the normal teether/baby stage), then a destroyer of shirt collars through chewing, and now he has moved on to his fingers for the past few years. He really, really, likes having something in his mouth. He has literally eaten himself sick before. :sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 Chewing on all this (yes, pun intended. ; ) ), and thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 :seeya: Bump for some advice from the evening crowd.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeritasMama Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I don't have any advice on the sensory issues in general, but a quick fix to save the nails is to use a scented hand sanitizer. I put it on my daughters hands a few times a day to prevent her finger sucking (she's been doing it since she was in utero I'm sure). The scented sanitizer tastes awful and it seems to linger longer than the regular sanitizer, it's been effective for us. I don't know if you could get your son to use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 I don't have any advice on the sensory issues in general, but a quick fix to save the nails is to use a scented hand sanitizer. I put it on my daughters hands a few times a day to prevent her finger sucking (she's been doing it since she was in utero I'm sure). The scented sanitizer tastes awful and it seems to linger longer than the regular sanitizer, it's been effective for us. I don't know if you could get your son to use it. It's worth a try! And what a help during cold and flu season... ;) (I'm trying to keep a sense of humor. This whole finger chewing thing has become a big, fat, smelly, hairy, deal in our house..) Thanks (really). I * do * appreciate the suggestion. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I was going to mention NAC too, but that would be for compulsive type stuff...and given this has been going on all his life, that seems less likely to apply. Have you tried gum, given it seems it may be a mouth sensory issue? I wish they made "tough" gum for stuff like this! But replacement mouth oriented habit seems like that best option, if you can figure out something. I don't know if an OT could help or not. For a while I put parade type gloves on my son (at home only), and it did help. His was a mindless type thing, though, and he was younger at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geodob Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 What you've described is termed as an 'Oral Fixation'. Which it has its origins in the 'weaning process'. Where it needs to be recognized how deeply embedded, breast feeding is, in the psychology of a baby. So that typically the oral fixation and oral reflexes are resolved during weaning. But the oral fixation is what needs to addressed, rather than just stopping the finger biting, and transferring to something else? Of particular concern, is that cigarette smoking often becomes an alternative. Also compulsive eating. So that it really needs to be resolved, so that he isn't compelled to seek out alternatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 Thank you both for trying to help; we're googling and thinking and trying to get a referral from our family doc. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 I would also recommend trying NAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 I would also recommend trying NAC. Thanks for recommendation; it piques my interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfABunch Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 No advice, but my DD does exactly the same thing. If you figure out how to help this, please share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 I have OCD issues that I learned to control, a bit or not so much if you ask Dh, but anyway. I started smoking crazy young, quit that after a few years, and moved on to biting and picking at my nails, skin, etc. compulsively. What I found worked for both the smoking and the gnawing were DumDums. Those little suckers. They sell them in super mega packs ar Costco (or they did, you could probably check Amazon). I would have one in my mouth almost all the time. I would gnaw at the stick like a beaver when the candy was gone. I would twirl it and mess with it and all sorts of tactile stuff. I was able to wean myself off of them with therapy help. I now only bite my nails when I am avoiding something. It is still not conscious, but it is not a constant thing. Writing also helped a lot to ease my OCD anxieties. I now type, but originally it needed to be writing, again tactile stuff was a big deal. If you are worried about the sugar, I would invest in a mouth rinse and ask your son to begin using it a couple times a day. My son is not as strongly OCD as I was, but anxiety issues are definitely present. He peels the skin on his fingers neurotically. Haven't quite figured that one out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I would find a therapist who works with OCD in children. There is a book called "What to do when your brain gets stuck" that we have used to help a child with OCD understand and develop more positive strategies to cope with compulsions. If the fingers are raw hand sanitizer would hurt, so that is probably not going to help unless you can get the fingertips healed first. I wonder if an anxiety medication would be any help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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