sunnylady303 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 DD6 is...precocious, let's say. She has developed a new habit of picking at her head for the last several weeks, getting worse and worse. There is nothing (I am almost certain) physiological going on - as far as lice or dry skin or whatever. She just had a little spot from a tick and started picking at it and is picking and more and more. Now she has like three huge, bloody craters in her head (and by huge I mean 1/4 inch in diameter). And she will not keep her hands out of her hair and off her head. I am constantly telling her. It's worst when she is concentrating or agitated. But it is literally all the time. What can I do to help her break this habit because it is just getting worse and worse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deacongirl Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 This is a form of OCD. She is probably already ashamed to be doing it, so don't shame her anymore. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help, and would be indicated, IMO. In the meantime I might try giving her a squeeze ball or some fidgets while she is working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 This is a form of OCD. She is probably already ashamed to be doing it, so don't shame her anymore. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help, and would be indicated, IMO. In the meantime I might try giving her a squeeze ball or some fidgets while she is working. Yep, it is a form of OCD. I'd take her to her pediatrician and talk about it. She truly cannot stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang!Zoom! Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 You said tick? I'd get her to the Ped and have it assessed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDad Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 (edited) Yep, it is a form of OCD. I'd take her to her pediatrician and talk about it. She truly cannot stop. :iagree: Nagging won't help. ETA: I was unclear. OCD and skin picking are related but are not the same thing. Edited August 22, 2012 by SuperDad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnylady303 Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 Is there anything that will help? I have no problem taking her to the pediatrician if she needs it, but she shows no other signs of OCD that I know of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 DD6 is...precocious, let's say. She has developed a new habit of picking at her head for the last several weeks, getting worse and worse. There is nothing (I am almost certain) physiological going on - as far as lice or dry skin or whatever. She just had a little spot from a tick and started picking at it and is picking and more and more. Now she has like three huge, bloody craters in her head (and by huge I mean 1/4 inch in diameter). And she will not keep her hands out of her hair and off her head. I am constantly telling her. It's worst when she is concentrating or agitated. But it is literally all the time. What can I do to help her break this habit because it is just getting worse and worse? It does sound like OCD, and sometimes those behaviors can be caused by nutritional deficits or mineral overload or even viruses. There are a lot of possibilities, but first off get her to the ped. to check for illness/virus, and check into possible nutritional issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deacongirl Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 You said tick? I'd get her to the Ped and have it assessed. It isn't about the tick. It is about the picking. She will likely continue to find places to pick. But, yes, I would get a referral from the ped. to someone familiar with treating this issue in kids and with CBT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deacongirl Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 FYI: http://www.trich.org/about/skin-picking.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Both my kids have trichotillomania (hair pulling) skin picking is related to this. She really has no control over this and nagging/shaming will only make it worse and you must not become the picking police. It is something your child will have to want to stop. Supplements that can help soothe the impulse is inositol (powdered form) diluted in a small glass of juice and 5HTP. My kids found it helpful to keep a journal of when they were pulling. It helps find the stressers/patterns so she can identify a situation that will lead her to pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 My son rubs and picks at his hair/scalp when concentrating. It is particularly bad during math :tongue_smilie:. Something that worked for us during a rough patch was a paintbrush, of all things. He was able to rub the paintbrush. I can't say it cured anything, but during that time, it took his mind off picking at his head for a while. My son is also very germ conscious, so telling him his fingers could have germs that would get in anything he opened up, stopped him for a while.....and temporarily led to some intense (though not obsessive) hand washing :glare:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I had two pickers. One takes an SSRI and it has made a world of difference. She rarely pick anymore (only if already has a scab from something else). The other did not want to take that kind of med so she took zyrtek during the day and a strong anti-histamine at night. She did eventually stop as well. The one that takes the SSRI was so bad that she has permanent scars. It looks like she has impentigo or a bad case of CP. She has fair skin and they are less noticable when she is not tan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 Last spring my youngest DS (the homeschooled one) started picking the cuticles around both big toes. We'd get him to stop for awhile and then he'd start again. Before we knew it it was totally out of control. He had infection around both toes and both toenails had become ingrown. He needed two rounds of antibiotics and surgery on both ingrown nails. It's been a little over a month since the toenail surgery, and so far he's been able to resist the desire to pick. But I'm not confident that the behavior won't resurface. I bought him a squeezy ball and told him to try to squeeze it when he feels the urge to pick, and I've also had him start wearing socks all the time. Not that they're a huge hindrance, but at least hopefully it'll make him stop and think first. His pediatrician very seriously suggested wrapping his toes in duct tape if he started picking again. Not that any of that's helpful to you (other than maybe the squeezy ball thing), but just wanted to let you know that your DD isn't alone. And I agree with everyone who has said that it really is something they can't help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 My middle was a hair twirler. She started twirling her hair when she was about 4. She ended up with a quarter sized bald spot right on top of her head. My MIL sewed up 5 kerchiefs in really fun fabrics, and middle dd wore them for about 2 months until she broke the habit. I only brought it up the first time (saying why she was going to wear them), and then just every day put a kerchief on her head. She twirls her hair sometimes now (she's 7), but I can bring her attention to it and she'll stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshin Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I'm not so quick to call this full blown OCD or recommending medication for newly surfaced problem. If she has had other OCD issues in the past, then perhaps. I came home from girl scout camp when I was 7 with lice. I was so squeamish I started picking at the slightest bump on my head, convinced it was more lice. After a few weeks, I was doing it without realizing it because it had become habit. My head was bleeding! My mom simply had me wear a ponytail and a baseball hat for two or three weeks and the problem was solved, I never picked at my head again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnylady303 Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 Of course! I am so silly. A hat or kerchief would stop the issue. I will talk to the doctor about it but I am really not concerned. This child has no OCD tendencies - she is like the opposite in fact. :lol: If my other DD started doing it, I would wonder if it were a sign of that but not with this one. And I will be careful not to shame her. I bit my nails compulsively as a child and hadn't remembered until just now how embarrassed and helpless I used to feel when my mom called me on it. Oh and so frustrated and criticized. Yes, I will be gentle in my handling. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charmaine Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 ...they used to be considered related, but as I understand they are now considered separate conditions. A wonderful resource is http://www.trich.org/about/for-kids-teens.html. Even better, call this organization and the sweet people will explain concrete ways to help your child. I never knew (until someone I care about dealt with this) how many people are affected by this, because it is not talked about. There are real physiological causes -- it is not a "habit." Interestingly, it tends to be genetic in families who have thumb sucking, nail biting, or hair twirling types of behaviors. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jen3kids Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 My dd got a bunch of bug bites on her scalp when she was in kindergarten. They all healed nicely, except for one that she had picked. She picked and picked and made a crater - it was so gross :ack2: It would be nearly completely healed and she'd pick it again, making a bigger hole. :ack2::ack2: I ended up taking her to the dr, who sent us to a derm. She had developed some type of scar/scab that would not heal and was very itchy. The derm cauterized it (not to painful, since it was scar tissue, but still ouch!) and it healed up within a couple of weeks. Dd never picked it at all after was cauterized. I had tried ointments to speed the healing, but nothing worked until that trip to the dermatologist. It was amazing how quickly it was diagnosed and treated - what a relief, for both of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 You might look into N-acetylcysteine. It is used in pediatric patients and is extremely safe. This article talks about its use for skin picking specifically. http://www.trich.org/dnld/NACarticle_InTouch55_rev.pdf There is a pediatric phase 2 clinical trial out of Yale right now. Kids are being given 600 mg. twice a day for two weeks and then 1200 (two pills) twice a day for the remainder of the study. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01172275 This one is for OCD but might give you an idea of both safety (it's safe) and perhaps dosing to try for this situation. I'm using it, very successfully, for my son for OCD. I wanted to mention that sudden onset of OCD can be infection related (PANDAS, PITANDS). That is what is our apparent cause--we just had bloodwork today. I don't know if skin picking can be a manifestation of that as well. You said this is a non-anxious child who just suddenly started this compulsive behavior so it might be worth researching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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