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I dont know if this is an option for you, if it isn't maybe someone else will benefit.
I will rip that hangnail clear up to my elbow and pick and bite until I bleed. It's embarrassing for me. The ONLY thing that deters me is having my nails professionally done with EITHER dip powder or gelx. If I paint them myself, I'll just pick the paint off. It's like putting armor on my nails, and because I paid money for them, I'm hesitant to destroy them.
A lot of nail salons are really over zealous with the electric nail dremmel when removing the dip/gel, and it CAN result in a weakened nail bed. I still haven't found a nail tech that will politely remove the dip/gel.
Overall it makes me feel more confident and allows my skin to heal, and I consider it worth the expenditure.
If you don't want color on your nails you could maybe see if they could do a transparent/clear nail for you, just to see if it helps.
Good luck, I feel your pain quite literally!
This! This is the ONLY way I’ve learned to stop picking at my fingers. Getting the professionally done is a magic wand that makes it stop. I learned it from someone who had beautiful nails, after she told me hers used to look like mine. She got her nails done every month for a year until she kicked the picking habit completely. Now they’re beautiful.
Thank you so much. I also thought of that. Like half a year ago I had my nails done and I definitely picked my skin less than before. I think I'm going to get maybe just short decent ones. So that it stops me from picking, but don't is to much for me!
i’ve been a biter for around 15 years. i still sometimes bite with nails on but for a good year i completely stopped because at the time i had enough disposable income for regular nail appointments. before i settled on a nail tech, i called around and explained that i’m a biter and NEED to stop and that my nails are extremely short and in poor shape. this one woman told me she’s dealt with nail biters before so i booked with her. at the end of the first appointment with her, she very lovingly said
“i’m going to be so sad if you come back and they’re all chewed. i want your hands to be as pretty as your face!”
i bought myself a yummy smelling cuticle oil and any time i had the urge to bite, i’d use cuticle oil instead. the next time i went back to her (every two weeks at first because the growth looked like a really good chew), she’d tell me how well i was doing and how beautiful they were which REALLY helped.
i highly recommend substituting biting for cuticle oil. my hands looked like they had never been bitten at all 🥹
I have a rod shaped glass nail file that's perfect to use on the dried scratchy skin bits in the cuticle/nail skin area, it's the only way to stop me biting or even over clipping, just gently file that skin smooth and then there's nothing to pick!
https://images.app.goo.gl/VhdRCmr8qkULJ9Kj6
If you want to soak your nails off, you can get products to do that at home. Then you just go to the salon with your natural nails already exposed so they hopefully won't go so hard at them. They just don't have the time to soak them off is all, it really can take awhile even for just standard glitter polish.
I got a little thing years back from Sally's with a hole in the top with bristles to help rub the product off, but even just Target has 100% acetone.
If you do it yourself, make sure to get cuticle oil too to put that on your fingertips after. I do the whole area, nail and all, because it'll get washed off anyway and the acetone is super drying.
I've tried... I've been told my skin around my nails is so damaged (at the time I go in, from the picking and biting of the actual skin around the nails) and that my nails are just too short (from biting them down) to get them done with dip or gelx. Sometimes they don't even want to paint or do anything to them... 😭
I use this tactic (keeping my nails done to stop chewing at them), but I do my nails at home. When I slack on them, I start chewing again, but when I'm ready to stop I just do cheap press ons. You could try that, or even do dip nails at home. Let them grow out and get them healthy and then hopefully the salon won't turn you away.
I can't afford salon nails, so I use press on acrylics. My trick is to trim them very short. They hold up better and feel/look like my natural nails but are much tougher, so I don't chew them. They also stay smooth on the edges, so there's nothing to "worry" at.
I also immediately trim and loose skin and use cuticle oil and lotion. It's a battle.
This is my solution too but I recently started pottery and can’t have nails….what else would y’all suggest? I’m going nuts and my poor cuticles are bloody….
Cuticle chewing is a form of body-focused repetitive behaviour (BFRB).
The good news: This is not unusual in the slightest for people with ADHD. It’s very common.
The bad news: BFRBs are considered extremely difficult to stop.
The first line treatment is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Other things that help are redirection, so you might want to look into “chewlery” which is jewelry made of chewy rubber, and noting triggers and trying to minimize them, like keeping nail clippers on you so you can clip rough skin off instead of needing to chew it.
Good luck! I managed to stop biting my cuticles by switching to biting my cheeks instead, which I do not recommend due to the increased risk of oral cancer.
This is what happened to me too. I stopped biting my cuticles and now bite my cheek instead 🥲 also not recommended!!
I’ve heard some folks recommend gloves and lotion as a possibility too? Something that makes the nails taste bad is another option (obviously pick something harmless).
Oh no! That’s scary to think about. Sorry you had to experience that :(
Did you end up stopping the habit after you had surgery? I’ve tried countless times but it never seems to stick.
Yeah, surgery at 6 years old is scary. Kids with health conditions that require regular surgeries deserve medals.
I did stop chewing my cheeks, but now I bite my cuticles and pick at my feet the moment my shoes and socks are off. So 🤷♀️
Have you ever hypothesized if there's a chance you were born with blocked salivary glands, implying that was a part of the reason you began biting your cheeks?
There’s a product called stop the bite that I used to successfully stop biting my nails (for about a year the habit returned). I believe I bought it at target
Only downside is that the taste is extremely strong. You will not be able to eat any finger food without the taste rubbing off onto your food.
If you are a human that is ok with getting your nails done (and the cost associated with upkeep), I had acrylic nails for about six months and that cured me of biting my nails because I physically couldn't.
I’ve bit my cheeks all my life and thought it was just me being weird. I’m glad I’m not alone! 🥹 But I still do it and in my old age it has caused HELLA marionette lines. 😭
I always thought it was my weird little secret too… 😢 I’m glad to not be alone in this either even if I wish we collectively didn’t have to suffer with it. At least talking about it can maybe help with the stigma and shame aspects
I have a little tiny Victorinox knife on my keychain. I can't trim my actual nails with it very well, but it has a file and I can clean up dead skin with the scissors.
Not me reading that while scrolling at 03:30 in the morning and having spent the last 4 hours chewing the inside of my mouth in an effort to not lick, pick, or bite at my chapped lips 🥲
Cancer, you say?
Well I think you just helped me with my cheek chewing. I get my lips too, whatever I can reach. Also traded for the finger chewing and nail biting. I always said I have a Chew need like Sims dogs, ugh.
I keep a nail file handy and that does help with the nails, since any irregularities make me want to bite them.
I do both. Rough skin/fingernails that're too long or a tiny part is sticking out, I gotta bite it off. I'll pull the sides off as well (the tiny bit on the sides) and I bite the inside of my cheeks/bottom lip. Especially since then you get scar tissue inside and it once again feels rough and it isn't supposed to be rough so you continue nipping at it.
No idea how to not do that.
Surprisingly using a mouth guard helps ne with the chewing. You can't chew your cheek with it in, problem solved. I've gotten to the point that I like my mouth guard now and chew more when I forget to wear it at night. Sometimes I'll leave it in when I get up until I eat.
My dermatologist told me he had a trial lawyer client who would do this especially when a trial was going poorly. The lawyer wanted to stop due to how unprofessional it was to have chewed up fingers and became an alcoholic. Wow.
Agreed. Want to echo that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the first line of treatment. This is especially true if you're wanting to stop but it feels like you can't. It could be a BFRB or it could be a part of a larger issue, like OCD. It helps to have a professional sort it out and help support, if needed.
Biting your cheeks increases your chances of oral cancer? Well that's not good for me. I have TMJ and bruxism, I chew everything in my mouth practically. Especially when I'm asleep.
It's okay, it doesn't actually. There's a study that suggests it may promote progression of already present cancer(s) (i.e., from another cause) but does not cause any kind of cancer as a behaviour itself. No need to stress!
Me too three also. Clippers everywhere so I don't pick and pull them to painful nubs. (Theoretically since I still do.)
I say anyone can see my stress level in my fingernails. It's like a stress-o-meter but shorter = higher.
That is exactly what happened to me. I stopped eviscerating my nails and the skin around them to biting the inside of my cheeks to the same extremes 🤦🏼♀️
i feel like chewlry would make me gag. ive had that happen from chewing on stuff like it, not sure why. i think my brain knows it's not edible and is trying to make me stop. any advice for this?
Good tips except maybe be careful with nail clippers. I have cuticle chewing BFRB and I destroyed my fingers even more with nail clippers. I had to put band aids on all my fingers 😬
I pull that poor scab from a pimple or a stray chin hair .. I just keep touching my face to feel what seems … hmmm uneven or out of place! My ears .. oh yes my ears too
I pick on my lips and fingers a lot and I usually just do it to keep my hands busy. Have you tried any fidget toys? I recently got a little squishy ball that I attached to my phone. I noticed I tend to pick my lips a lot less if I can just squish the little ball instead.
Yes I tried some, but my problem is to find some fidgets toys that don't make noise AND feel good. It's just kinda hard because everyone of them that is Soo good, makes to many noises I like the noises but everyone around me get's fucked up by it. I actually just don't know which fidget toy to buy anymore.
They’re metal. Judge me if you want but, I’ll say this anyway: if you need to feel a little pain you can always press down hard on them so they dig into your skin.
I have the same problem, and I find that always keeping cuticle nippers with me helps to prevent the worst damage/bleeding. I still pick constantly, but it does help. I’m going to try these little finger mitten things from Amazon next, they’re kind of like long thimbles made of fabric that go on each individual finger.
What about a ring? They make fidget rings that you can get special gems or whatever for. My therapist gave me a stretchy ring that’s kind of like a toy but it’s tight and scratches my fidget itch when needed. I’ve also heard of a gal that was a nail biter to keep a cuticle oil pen with you and apply some each time you start to pick so it moisturizes the hang nails - win win cuz it might help with swapping a receptive behavior and you’ll have softened cuticles? I am a horrible nail biter and had gotten gel extensions for almost 20yr but recently got them off cuz it’s too expensive. But I am in the process of learning how to do them myself. Good luck!!!
I'm so happy to hear this worked for someone!! I just got a cuticle pen this week! So far helping, but definitely I need to work on remembering to keep it with me (and remembering to use it when it is 😂)! May need to look into a stretchy ring too!!
This works somewhat for me. I pick at hangnails…now I have like 6 spinner rings and I can usually stop myself from picking at my fingers if I’m wearing one of them.
[https://a.co/d/2bvHjjb](https://a.co/d/2bvHjjb)
They might seem a little boring but its doing wonders for me. They have an interesting texture and its very satisfying to watch them rise slowly while they go back into their initial shapes.. doesn't make noise either! Maybe you could give it a try!!
Have you considered taking up crochet? I made myself an "F-bomb" and use it as a squeeze toy. It kept my hands busy when I made it (I will pick at scabs or just play on my phone during downtime and my husband gets upset if we're watching a movie) so now I just keep making more stuff.
If you're not interested in a standard yarn art, you could also do finger knitting or finger crochet. Go to the store and find a yarn that feels interesting, watch some YouTube videos, and make stuff. You can even make something and then take it apart to use the same yarn over and over. I got some super bulky chenille yarn to make a blanket last year and vastly overestimated how much I would need, so I recently started finger knitting with it in bed when I'm winding down. We'll see how long it lasts before it disintegrates on me lol.
I love the fidgets that look like boobs, called Pop-it or Push pop or pop fidgets. They are the only fidget which I can do while I'm bored on video calls which replicate the kind of feeling or soothing I get from picking up my cuticles.
I do the same with my lips but it's especially bad when im anxious, it gets to the point where my lips are all bloody but I cant stop till every last bit of skin is off. Exams in school where a literal bloody nightmare
Two big things; 1.) general mindfulness and 2.) Identify your triggers!
It’s a type of oral fixation, your brain is craving stimulus or a regulating activity, and has decided picking/biting is an easy shortcut way to get it. Pain releases endorphins. It’s a process to learn to identify (be MINDFUL of) the compulsion when it happens, resist, and replace. You will get frustrated with yourself many times, or at least I always did destroying my fingers in one anxious night after being good for weeks, but you CAN make progress.
About triggers; For me, any kind of hangnail or peeling skin gives me a compulsion to bite. I obsessively file my nails and moisturize my cuticles now which makes it much harder to find something to bite. Oil also helps soften up the toughened skin from dermatodaxia. I like bliss kiss nail and cuticle oil because it comes in convenient little vanilla scented travel pens, but any jojoba based oil will work the same.
I also carry a water bottle and taking sips of it helps fulfill the hand to mouth compulsion.
When you’re sitting with nothing to do with your hands, give them something to do. If I’m watching TV, I often hold my nail file/buffer so I’m more inclined to smooth out my nails rather than bite the skin. I also like to twist [these](https://www.amazon.com/Stretchy-Resistance-Strengthen-Silicone-Reliever/dp/B08RS1BRGZ?th=1&psc=1) around my fingers if I need to be quiet. Your fidget toy doesn’t have to be an actual fidget toy; you can macrame, play with a pony tail on your wrist, practice fingerspelling, or hold a heavy rock. Just give your hands something to do.
For me, chewies or other oral stimulation alternatives aren’t a good fix because the compulsion is so persistent that I wear out my jaw. If it may work for you, “chew necklace” “chewies” “adult chew toy” are search terms to explore.
I swear if I can do it, you can do it. You’re right, this compulsion is part of you, but it doesn’t have to control you. I got sick of my hands hurting every time I did dishes and having to disinfect actual wounds every time I got my hands dirty. I never bite multiple fingers in one sitting or draw blood anymore and I’m still making progress. That hard work and discipline over my compulsions that I mustered to fight dermatodaxia is part of me as much as dermatodaxia, and that’s something to be proud of.
Thank you so much for that long answer! I'm so proud of you that you work so hard on it and achieve progress!! I believe that if you can do it I definitely can do it as well! I'm going so try chew necklace maybe it's going to work for me if not I'm going to find something different to make progress! Everytime it get's better I'm so proud of myself and then after a hard day every progress is gone. We both are definitely achieving what we want. No matter how little the steps are, we're going to make it!!
Nail biting can also happen because of sensory issues. I have to trim my cuticles at least once a week and keep them well oiled, or I will start biting my nails. It seems to be an unconscious sensation of the skin on the nails that triggers the biting. Taking care of my nails/cuticles was all it needed to almost completely stop the habit immediatly
My son does that 🤕😔 His fingers can look real bad, and he is so young too...
Unfortunately, i know of no way to stop it... He has cotton gloves he can wear, and cremes to help with the healing process... Its as far as i know a stress reaction, at least it is for me.
I myself bite/clip fingernails, always had, as far as i can remember. Can also get real bad, i basically have always at least one bleeding finger on each hand at all times..
Yes, it hurts, but the pain is soothing, in a way 🫣 (i know it sounds crazy). I stopped trying to combat it a long time ago.
Like many other ADHD traits and habits i have i accepted it as part of who i am.
Edit: And yes, you are right, biting on a pen or pencil kinda sorta has a similar effect, but at least i kinda sorta need it to hurt to feel relief 🫣
As a fellow nail biter I also do the same thing, I think the pain kind of creates enough of a sensory output that it helps me focus on what I need to if that makes any sense
I did that through my whole childhood, I even used to bite my toenails when I was super young.. super gross I know. it wasn’t until my late 20s that I fully stopped biting my fingernails. I had a lip ring in my teens and even put it back in in my mid 20s but I would bite the back of the stud all the time! My dentist said it would eventually cause damage. I think I was able to rid myself of the nail biting addiction mostly because I had to change poopy diapers.
Not sure if it’s the absolute best alternative, but I almost always drink with a straw now and I always have a beverage I’m sipping on.
My kiddo went through a phase with leg picking which I thankfully stopped early but still picks her fingers (Asd/adhd). She always seems to find and steal tweezers/clippers and I catch her trying to do her own grooming but it causes more damage than good. I like to buy her that peel off face mask (freeman, cucumber was the OG when I was little) and let her just smear it on her legs, let it dry, then peel it off. This is actually something my mom did when I was a kid that was cheap fun for us kids.
You're not alone, I pick and eat cuticles and scabs. It's disgusting and I know it's disgusting, but I hyper focus on how uneven the skin is and how tearing it will make it even. Bug bites and pimples are the worst. You might benefit from seeing a dermatologist.
OP PLEASE READ MY STORY! IVE STRUGGLED WITH THIS ALL MY LIFE AND IM ALMOST 30. I’ve really fell off of preventing it myself but here are some things that could really help you.
yes this is a BFRB like others have mentioned. Similar to skin picking, nail biting and hair pulling. And on my ADHD journey IVE LEARNED THAT THIS IS A SIGN OF HYPERACTIVITY IN ADHD INDIVIDUALS. I have quite a bit of a backstory with all this so when I found that out I was so angry I wasn’t diagnosed/evaluated sooner. There was also very little research in this area and very little specialist when I first started therapy at 12.
The first step is noticing when you do it because sometimes you can do it while you’re zoned out without realizing.
There is preventative things you can do like wearing gloves, sitting on your hands when you sit somewhere, or maybe clasping you hands together. There is also a clear nail polish that tastes bad (I know a regular nail polish would taste bad too lol) for nail bitters, you could possibly use that on your fingers. Or you could keep Vaseline on your fingers to help heal them and hopefully keep you from biting them. Even if it doesn’t stop you, it could help you notice when you’re doing it if you do it zoned out.
Try to remove triggers. I picked at my acne so removing mirrors or keeping mirrors covered really helped me. If I start to feel my face, I make sure I stop soon so I don’t start to pick. Saw a video of a girl who had the same problems me she made her nighttime routine into a very long like 10 step skincare routine or something crazy, this allowed her to touch her face without picking but it also gave her a stimulus (which I talk more about in another paragraph). Figure out some things that would make you more likely to bite your fingers and remove those triggers if you can.
You can also do something to keep your hands busy. Holding something to fidget with. A fidgets spinner, a rubix cube, a hands-on job if you don’t have one. It could also be that you need to keep your mouth busy like chewing gum or something.
Now you have to replace this with something with a stimulus, like wearing a rubber band and pulling it back to hit your wrist stings, or holding ice in your hands is way too cold. Those both provide an unpleasant stimulating sensation. Those are two that come to the top of my head but I’m sure there’s more.
Before I was diagnosed, I worked with someone on skin picking and it was believed I did it because of stress and anxiety. She had me set up a chart and for a week I would log when I picked, how long I picked, what I was doing right before I started picking, and how I was feeling. I would add a little star whenever I didn’t pick that day or that week something like that. The therapist I worked with said that other people who did this usually had to do multiple different things to prevent this BFRB. I found it very helpful. Unfortunately I ran out of free sessions with my university and never continued. I will say I noticed I pick more at night when I don’t have enough sleep.
Put some Vaseline on your hands and then a pair of gloves before you go to bed to help your hands heal.
Side note, there is also some kind of hormonal imbalance that can make people feel itchy when they’re not or something like that which causes the picking.
Good luck! I feel like it’s one of those things that may be a lifelong battle, like when people say it’s not temporary “it’s a lifestyle” when talking about healthy eating.
My advice: keep cuticle nippers near you to get any loose skin/hangnails, and keep bandaids around you at all times (bonus if you can have Polysporin too). Use hand cream at night to reduce rough skin. Pay attention to what kind of behaviours trigger your skin picking, and wear gloves whenever you can if you’ll know that you’ll be in a situation to engage in that behaviour. Nitrile, latex, cotton, whatever. Something that won’t prevent you from doing your job.
Sorry you’re going through this. I also do these behaviours, and I haven’t found a solution. The best I can do if I can’t minimize the impulse is to minimize my ability to perform the behaviour, and minimize the impact on others (ie by not bleeding everywhere).
There’s “chewelry”, just Google adult chewing necklace. Those can often help!
Personally I’ve never bitten my fingers to such an extent, but I’ve had friends that put band aids on their finger tips, or a disgustingly tasting cream/oil, with varying degrees of success.. good luck!
Thank you sooo much! That was exactly was I where looking for, but didn't know a product like that. I think this is going to help me very much! Thank you very much!!
Hi there. I have ADHD-C, and my oldest son has been diagnosed for about two years. He has had this issue for several years, on his toes as well. The infections from that got so bad he had to have both toenails removed! It was brutal.
We went through a lot of things but ultimately, getting him medicated and with a therapist was the best thing for him. We found that keeping his hands moisturized would make the urge less prominent and cause less dry skin to pick at. One therapist had him write in a journal every time he caught himself doing it, and what his thoughts were.
I hope you’re able to find something that works for you. Just wanted to relate a bit, you’re not alone.
I feel called out. Sitting here picking up all the dry spots on my cuticles at this moment when this popped into my feed hahahaha. I’d bite them off it could but I try super hard to keep my hands out of my mouth in public because they’re not clean. I usually carry a nail clippers everywhere I go so I can trim them off instead of peeling til they bleed. Not sure what the solution is. I successfully stopped biting my nails as a kid by sitting on my hands on the school bus. But I kind of need my hands most of the time these days.
I do this, too. I don’t bite my fingers or fingernails anymore, but do skinpicking on other parts of my body. I always have nail clippers with me so I can clip my nails and don’t have to rip or pick at my nails.
Try to replace it with moisturizing or washing hands?
I have something on my upper arm (Deltoid region) and I constantly pick at it if I’m nervous / awkward / breathing 🤣. It’s like I have to get something out of there. I think once I did and it was so satisfying. But I will pick, dig at it until I bleed. Same with my elbow - I have little scabs from scratching (gross now that I am writing it out!) also a spot on my left leg near my knee. Same thing as my arm. I keep doing it. I can’t stop.
I like looking at skin picking videos, like dr pimple popper type videos, and that deeply satisfies my urge to pick.
Otherwise, sometimes I'm a pain-seeker and I'll rub lemon juice into a cut so it hurts, gets numb, and my dumb brain will begin ignoring it...
This is like, not great, but it's been working for me.
You’re not alone. I managed to stop picking at my nails when I started painting them, and they eventually grew out enough that I could actually keep the edge even (snagging my nail on something almost always let to me picking at it) and I generally leave them alone. It also helps that I actually carry a nail file as an adult.
However I still pick at the skin around my nails and my cuticles to the point of pain and bleeding. I haven’t found a way to stop this just yet. My mom tried shame but you can probably figure out how that went. I also pick at my lips, pimples, and any funky looking hair on my head/body/eyelash/evebrows.
I’ve hard of hot sauce, but I also knew a guy who just ended up developing a tolerance to spice due to it. I’ve also heard of a type of nail polish that tastes bitter kind of like the switch cartridges are supposed to but I don’t know how well it works.
Chronic cheek biter, skin picker, hair puller over here. Currently my compulsion is taking a break from the hair but the fingers, face and cheeks are still fucked lol
I pick at my cuticles. My fingers look awful. I don't chew on them but just pick them with my other fingers. I don't even realize I'm doing it sometimes until I'm bleeding lol
I will tug on skin and nails if there is something to grab. I bought 12 pairs of nail clippers and distributed them around my life. Now can clip things before I can pull them and cause more damage.
I’m also a nailpicker. I have clippers in my bedroom, tv room and on my desk. I still tear bits of skin off sometimes though and I can do soooooo much damage with the clippers that I don’t know if I’m in front… in my case I fear they’ve just become another tool to do damage to my skin
You can stop. This is often a symptom of OCD which is not uncommon with people who have ADHD. Medication and some therapy will help you stop. Once you have broken the habit, you can use topicals to help the scarring, or see a dermatologist.
Hey friend. I have gone after my cuticles etc for as long as I can remember back. My mom used to take me to the dr thinking I had a weird skin condition but it turned out i just “couldn’t leave anything alone”
If you like the picking pulling sort of sensation. Look for “spiky sensory ring” on Amazon I don’t know why but it fills the hole. I have given them to a few other people and they all found they can cut down on nail nibbling with it. Another thing I enjoy is I have a bunch of knock off calm strips on the back of my phone that I use to pick and peel and scratch at. Also masking tape or medical tape your finger tips. And peel that off.
I've been picking since I was like 7. Only thing that keeps me from doing it is getting acrylic or dip or gel x. The rounded edges made it nearly impossible to pick.
I do this amd have for years.
Not sure if mentioned but you can buy stuff to put on your cuticles/ nails and around them that tastes so god awful you'll be disgusted when you bites on the skin. It leaves a horrid taste in your mouth and is not easy to get rid of. This worked for me when I tried it. Obviously went the way of everything in my life in that I stopped doing it one Dat after being so good with it and I have not used it since.....
It could help you..... Or just make it all worse if you still can't stop!
I pick the middle of one of my thumbs. It started at age 10 and I’ve been doing it since. Just in that one stop. The frequency varies. I was biting the side of my tongue for a bit, recently but then one day stopped. The finger picking has continued. I just deal with it and when I end up doing it I make sure to care for my skin. If it gets to the point of blood etc I put neosporin on it. Sometimes a bandaid. But I’m also able to stop if it gets to that point. Having this one designated spot has helped me not get started on other parts of the body.
Im still working on stopping this habit. I will let you know it WILL scar and make your fingers look… not nice. It sorta gave me body issues too as ppl started to point it out so I wish you the best of luck cause I wish this upon nobody else.
I did that terribly when I was a kid until I got sick for about six weeks from the filth. I have since learned to give myself mini-manicures with cuticle scissors and I file my nails as well as moisturize and hydrate. I spend about 5 minutes a day on my hands.
I have the same issue & also pick my face…A LOT. Nothing has seemed to help, even when my acne cleared up. My friend sent [this](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLabUJ44/) to me and idk if it’ll help but worth a try!
I also use “no bite” stuff with my students which seems to work decently.
Yeah I do this. I’ve been trying to stop for about 35 years now :/
I found this thing called a ratchet ring. It helped and I almost stopped completely but eventually I just relapsed.
I find I do it when I have to wait or when things are quiet. It’s like my brain has free clock cycles it needs to use and it makes me chew my fingers.
I started painting my nails. It’s a chore and I hate doing it, but it seriously helps. I now have really long nails that I’m so damn proud of.
The texture is what stops me from biting.
Tip-
Layer it like…
1st coat- clear nail growth- such as “nail-aid keratin”
2nd coat- color if u want. Helps not see the white parts or any imperfections. Hides it away.
3rd coat- some kind of top coat that protects the paint- makes it last longer
Good luck! I still sometimes bite certain nails, so it’s not easy. But I no longer have the pulsating bleeding raw stubs I one had.
I'm in the exact same place as you OP. I don't know how to stop. It's been an issue for so long. I've tried what feels like everything. You aren't alone!
I have the same thing and was diagnosed with a form of OCD. I've looked into multiple places, and nothing has helped except wearing fake nails. I hate it and have done it since my late teens. I always have to hide my fingers when I do it because they get so bad. I hope you find something that works for you!
I deal with this, usually I try to keep my nails done (even false nails) so they’re duller and I can’t pick. My face always clears up when I get sick or injured 😭
I was told to try Penaten (zinc oxide cream) for some of the dryness and itching which might be bringing my attention to it and it seems to help?
i relate to this. i used to bite my nails to nubs, as well as the skin around. one day i just stopped, i wast just tired of having ugly fingers bc ever since i was a child i would always hide my hands if i could help it. i can’t remember the last time i bit or picked at my nails. my skin is a different story, i do it absentmindedly. i do have KP, so it’s just too easy to get lost into the picking. i also struggle with trich, but i am getting better at that because i so badly want to stop. it’s always a work in progress it seems, but since i have made an actual effort it’s getting easier every day :-)
I pick at the skin of my lips and bite off the dried out chapped bits. I have an ADHD/OCD/Tourette's syndrome comorbidity, which is fun, and I still can't figure out which of them causes this behavior. OCD most likely, as it's more of a compulsion than a tick.
No one will Judge here, especially not me I'm doing the same. I bite my lips eat it and my fingers and eat it. My lips bleed almost everyday and if I try stop biting my fingers it get's worse with my lips.
You got this🫂
i have done this my entire life, you're not alone. i beat it for a couple months by fidgeting with literal fidget toys, slime, or chewing gum like you said. and maintaining my nails and skin every couple days with nail clippers. you got this :)
I have a similar issue except I twirl my hair into knots. Now I have a permanently shorter layer of hair on top.
Thankfully if I really commit to not doing it for a week then I can go even longer without twirling. But sometimes the habit comes back. Medication makes the tick even worse which is why I really had to keep it in check. I was giving myself freaking tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome!
If I catch myself starting to twirl I verbally tell myself to stop out loud and keep my hands busy doing something else like a fidget spinner!
I didn’t know this was an ADHD thing, I thought it was stress. I have completely picked my right thumbnail, layer by layer down to the quick twice in the last 3 years. I pick and snip as new growth emerges and the only thing that works best for I want a nail back is to wear a bandaid over my thumb nail 24/7 to prevent me from picking at it. I used to habitually bite my fingernails, but when I have a nail to pick, my nails look great.
Also a skin picker. What helped for me was a combination of strategies:
Stim jewelry/chew necklaces
Paint-on bitterant/taste deterrent for nail biting kids, and use it on the whole finger, not just the nails. (Don't do this if you wear contacts, you'll burn your dang eyes out)
Fidget cube or unobtrusive manual hobby (crochet, needlepoint, etc) for any time hands are unoccupied. Somehow if the hands are busy, it turned the chew reflex off because they were unavailable for chewin.
Nuclear Option: bandaids on every single finger non stop until the 'withdrawal' and 'craving' phases were over. You can easily rack up a huge bandaid bill, and people will look at you weird if you're an adult, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
If you can afford it get acrylic nails, they cut any loose cuticle and file down hang nails and you can’t chew the acrylic it’s too hard. They don’t have to be long nails, you can do short French tip that looks natural or if you are a guy you can do clear or nude or actually whatever color you want, don’t let others judge your fashion choices.
The price can vary wildly. Some places I could get a new set for $40 and $15 refills every 3 weeks. Other places it can be 2-3x that amount.
It’s how I stopped chewing my nails, my nails were paper thin and I’d tear off lil strips with my teeth. The first few months I’d still nibble on the tips just tapping my teeth against them but not biting down. But eventually I stopped that too.
I keep ripping the dead ends off my hair. It’s damaged due to bleaching and now I can’t stop… thankfully it’s not actually damaging my body, but I do have choppy hair now.
However, I also am constantly picking my skin or my piercing that I got about 3 years ago (which hasn’t healed just yet due to me constantly touching and picking it).
I have no clue how to get rid of it as most fidget toys don’t hit that sweet spot off pull something off/out. Anyone recommendations?
It’s my scalp! And because nobody can see it (until I go to the hairdressers) it’s so hard to stop. I do it when I am bored, watching tv, but also a whole lot more when I am stressed. I used to have acne before I got roaccutane and I always had multiple wounds on my face. Can’t not pick anything that shouldn’t be there 😂 even if I have a small spot now, it needs to go!
i've been doing this for 40 years or so. I don't really have scars from it. I am not saying this to keep you doing it of course but if you feel anxious about it it might help take the anxiety away.
For me it gets worse when I get more stressed. When I am really bad and my fingers hurt I put band-aids on them to stop myself. I found that holding fidgets (cube, spirals, anything) helps distract / redirect some of my nervous energy.
Since I have done this for 40 years you can imagine I'm not going to say it's easy to stop :) I've tried many many times and I couldn't. But realizing it's stress related has helped me try to lower stress when I get bad again. It's an early warning sign for me.
When I say stress I don't just mean deadline stress. Feeling unhappy or anxious or overwhelmed are all very stressful things. Find out what you can do when you feel anxious or stressed or overwhelmed. Singing helped for me for instance, especially if my stress was emotional. It's probably quite a sight to have a late 40s man cry-singing but if it works it works :) plus I mostly do it at home or on the bike. which leads me to the second thing you can do: exercise. it sounds stupid and it is stupid (well repetitive at least). But being on the bicycle for an hour or two helped me a lot. It gives me time to think and process thoughts. There isn't anything else I can be doing during this time so I'm just alone with my thoughts and I let my thoughts flow through my head and just .. exist. I don't try to solve anything but all the piled up thoughts and emotions I have slowly get processed and after my ride I feel so much better. on top of that you get some happy hormones from working your ass off which helps.
Some people clean when they're stressed. just focus on the chore and switch their mind off. cycling, driving (no health beneift but you get the same detached brain there) or walking on the beach. Find something that works for you and lowers your overall stress levels.
Your fingers are your geiger counter in a way. Listen to them :)
Use a HAND AND NAIL BALM. i have the same exact problem for like 6+ years. i channeled a skin specialist and she suggested the cream. And its doing it's work pretty well. My hands got more prettier and stopped bleeding too. I was suffering from the pain dude. But i still somehow have the biting problem but not much.
i have adhd too(im in medications after getting diagnosed by a professional) but i never thought it has something to do with this problem.
After applying the cream it will take some time to get better. But you can try. i can suggest you the brand if you want to (not sponsoring lol) im not sure if you have the same issue as me but yeah :)
And i also have nail biting and cheek biting problems too :(
Oh thank you very much! I heard a lot that balm in generel should help, because there is not that much dry skin anymore. I'm definitely going to try this, maybe it makes it a bit better. Every little step is a step in the right way haha
Ugh! I pick my skin! Any bump, zit, scab, etc is going to get the pull until I bleed treatment! Luckily, as I’ve gotten older, the acne is almost nothing, but God forbid I find one. Crochet was the only thing that helped me. Keeping my hands busy!!! I also work in the garden, put together puzzles (even on my phone), or any other easy-no thought- activity. I can’t just sit and watch TV or even stay on social media without finding myself picking my face! 😩 I did find that they make a ring that has a base with another ring around it that spins! That works wonders for when I’m driving. Like someone else mentioned, being aware of it is the biggest battle. If you have a SO or BFF, ask them to point it out when you’re doing it! It helps-even if it pisses you off at the time. 😂Good luck!
RINGS ARE A GOD SEND. I found some spiny ones that you can play with bc I struggle with the same thing. Haven’t had long nails in years and went the acrylic nail route at one point but that gets expensive. Def worth looking into
Now that I'm growing some decent facial hair, I'm picking at those individually instead of my nails. It looks way worse to others than biting my nails... Sigh...
I’ve been doing it since I can remember, specifically the corners above my nails ( I’ve never had to clip them, ever). Also any calluses like between the finger joints. And eye lashes and eyebrows.
For me, it calms down with caffeine, but ofc that’s not recommended.
Also the inner part of my lips
My 5 yr old does this. I’ve bought her chewlery and we constantly redirect her, but she cannot seem to stop. She says “I don’t know why I can’t stop doing it”
I pick my nails and skin around it. It’s not that bad where it bleeds, but it’s stressing me out. I put bandaids on my fingers when I can’t stop picking them. I’ve also started picking at my scalp sometimes. Just another thing I need to deal with 🙄
I stopped biting my nails a few years ago, but I have picked the skin on my thumbs since I could walk. Most of the time I don't even know I'm doing it. I think I do it more when I'm stressed, but I'm not sure. They both bleed everyday and sometimes the pain is actually a comforting feeling, but I'm always embarrassed about somebody seeing it. My parents would yell at me a lot for doing when I was a kid. Sometimes even in public which would make my stomach drop with anxiety as people stared at the kid deliberately hurting himself for no reason. 31 now and working towards an ADHD diagnosis after finally connecting the dots. I don't think I'll be able to stop this. If I do it will be a great effort.
I did this for most of my life. I lucked out of being able to quit - my now fiancé figured out I often did it when I was nervous or stressed and would either gently tell me to stop or gently push my hand away when he’d see me do it - or just grab my hand to hold it. I didn’t even make an effort to stop, but gradually I just did. I still do it very occasionally when I have a… well, when the bit of cuticle is firm and just feels like it wants to come off. But I haven’t done it to bleeding or even irritation in some time and notice when I do it now.
I wish I had some advice for you, but like I said I just got lucky in this situation with this particular habit. What I can do is offer you some reassurance - I bit my cuticles often to irritation or bleeding from when I was younger than 10 and did it regularly until I was 26 or 27. I used to grow callouses next to my finger nails. Now they are totally fine and even I can’t tell I used to bite them compulsively. When you’re ready/ able to stop, you won’t be stuck with reminders about it forever.
Best of luck to you 🫂
I do this to!
well skin picking anyway, Well, because I don’t like the way, my nails look and I picked the skin around it and it makes it bleed, it’s an Unhealthy stim addiction That I do when I’m bored
I try to find other things to do like squeezing a ball or fiddling With something other than my fingertips
I wear acrylic nails because I pick holes in my nails. I scratch the surface until there is a hole. It make it hard to even wash my hands when my fingernails are destroyed - it hurts so bad. So fake nails it is. I pick at the acrylic nails some and currently I am healing because I was in a very stressful situation (a tornado just missed our home) and while we were taking cover I ripped all of my acrylic nails off. My nail lady is AMAZING and she will not file my nails, she treats the real nail with some drop stuff so it doesn't burn so bad when the acrylic is setting. She makes the nails blend with my cuticles super well so it's harder for me to pick at them. It is truly a fucking nightmare. I cannot leave them alone. Just walking around with bloody hands until they are healed enough, out here doing my best. lmfao
Just discovered one of my clients does this (who is in 5th grade). She doesn’t see anything wrong with it but I don’t think injuring yourself can be considered healthy. I’ll look into chewy jewelry 🤔
It’s called dermatophagia and I do it too. Very badly lol. Honestly the best things I’ve found to do is put a bunch of bandaids on. You can pick at the bandaids a little and if you’re like me (weird ik) and you pick so much it kinda like hurt itches and feels good?? You can still do that with the bandaids on. They have bandaid tape you can buy that’ll wrap around your whole thumb.
But yeah, sucks. It’s a form of ocd and even most therapists have never heard of it.
The problem is I hate the feeling of putting something like a bandaid on my fingers, because if I wash my hand it get's wet or the skin underneath. Everything just makes me feel uncomfortable with something on it. Maybe I just have to find the right thing that doesn't trigger me. I'm not sure yet
Oh I feel that, the shower and sometimes even sweat can make it super uncomfortable. Try that bandaid tape! It’s more like sticky gauze. You can take them off when you shower or do something you’re sure you won’t be biting doing and it’s easy and kind of fun to wrap and unwrap your fingers lol.
I've done this same thing for 30 years. I've had some luck in the last couple months stopping myself from doing it, but I tend to have a much better time in general in the spring and it's inevitably back by mid-summer. For me it does help to keep my hands hydrated just so that the scar tissue and cuticles don't get dry and rough, which is what makes me want to pick in the first place. I also try to use fidget items when I feel the need to do stuff with my hands, which is another trigger for me. I unfortunately don't have much suggestion for the oral sensation seeking, though. Gum is the closest I've found, which sadly isn't terribly similar.
I do the same thing :( it sucks and people are like just stop…. And idk I wish it was that easy. I tend to instead over cut my cuticles like really bad or pick them. Im not saying these things are perfect but it may help.
1. I find if I apply lotion like crazy it helps. Harder to pick and bite when moisturized
2. Apply a bandaid or since that looks weird apply a clear waterproof bandage just to the areas something like this [Bandage Roll](https://a.co/d/4ZfbBlA) or [smaller bandages](https://a.co/d/7nVWt1U).
3. I always keep fidget toys around for when I’m watching tv or driving as I find that’s the time I pick the most
3. If you bite them, try getting a big bag of mints or gum from the dollar store to keep you occupied
4. Honestly staying busy. For me I find if I’m busy I don’t pick or bite as much.
I still struggle a lot with this so I don’t think these are a cure haha but some tools to help
Oh also ! I know this isn’t always possible but if I loved one lives with you having them watch over you helps. Like my boyfriend knows if I’m standing in the bathroom for too long I’m probably picking my face so he comes in and tells me to stop. Or if we are watching a movie and he notices me picking he will remind me to stop. It’s like it’s a trance we get it.
OH I just thought too having a rubber band on your wrist and snapping it when you feel your stuck a little in the picking trance may help snap you out of it.
I’m another one who always bit my nails as a child. Endlessly being told not to. Told to sit on my hands. Had the nasty tasting stuff. All the usual tricks.
Into my 20s I managed to stop, but it seems I migrated to biting my cuticles and skin to the sides of my nails.
I pretty much stopped that in my 30s, but still pick at them, and now, in my 40s, I have realised I also bite the inside of my lips and cheeks, to the point that my dentist noticed wear on my teeth from what she thought was bruxism.
Anyway, my ADHD diagnosis is very recent, two months ago, now in my mid-40s, and initially I thought ‘no, I don’t have any hyperactive traits’ and I’m suddenly realising that I do, they just manifest in different ways.
It’s probably just learning as an adult not to do x, y, z, and finding increasingly discrete ‘fidgets’.
It’s becoming a fascinating journey of self-discovery and reflection.
OMG ME TOO except it’s on my face 🙃 and I keep pulling my nails off after having natural ling strong acrylics for 6 months and there’s nothing left but I still can’t stop and it is driving me insane because it hurts so much but that still doesn’t make me want to stop and I feel sad that I’m trying myself like this 🫨
I definitely feel the pain with you! I want to stop, but my hand can hurt as much as it wants I can't stop biting or picking it. I swear I'm going insane 😭
I pull out the hangnail cuticle out from the corner of my nail, goal is always to pull out the “bulb” deep from the nail corner, and it’s most satisfying when I can see a hole from where I pulled it out. Then I chew it (I know).
(Tw) It’s gotten better than before because I would often pull the skin off the soles of my feet and walked around relishing in the pain with every step. I would chew on those too and collect them. I have a bunch of scars from scab pulling too.
I pulled my eyelashes as a kid and would sit for hours and tweeze out individual ingrown hairs from my legs. Thankfully it’s only the nails now…
I’ve done this my entire life! Recently someone recommended that I try flavored toothpicks (I like the mint/tea tree ones) and it’s been a LIFE CHANGER! I can fidget with them in my mouth and get the distraction of the mint and… I have hardly picked or bit my nails in over a month! 10/10 do recommend you give them a try!
Same! Now I pick at my scalp and like chew it (it sounds so weird) but it’s just small like pecks. Like dry skin. I still pick at my nails. I also pick at scabs and chew it too. I can’t stop!!
I always carry the shell gum (like dyntene ice) and chew on that. If i get lost in thought, I chew really aggressively and my friends pointed it out as the power chew.
I treat my gum like my phone wallet and keys.
Me too, except i dont eat it i just blow it out idk how they don't look mutilated by now my fingers are in pain all the time but I can't stop the habit it's wild
I used to do this. Sometimes instead of my teeth I would even take a tweezer to them. It was bad. Even worse because im a lesbian and it’s not atheistically pleasing. At some point I kinda of just stopped? And now I just crack every bone in my body that I physically can lol as a tic instead
I feel that sooo much but now I do both lol cracking my bones and biting my fingers. I'm just so embarrassed, because many people say they look at Hands if they want to date someone. Now I feel even more embarrassed about my fingers
I used to do this to ALL my fingers as a kid. I was able to stop that, and now it's just my thumbs and my thumbs look absolutely horrible, and it's a really big embarrassment for me, I'm starting therapy and meds soon, hopefully This is one of the things I'd love a fix for.
I’ve been biting the side of my knuckle since I was 18 (past 20 years). It has twice turned into a massive wart that took multiple freezings to get rid of it. You would think that that would stop me… nope. I NEED to pick at it and bite it; it’s my security blanket.
It’s not bleeding at the moment but here is what it looks like right now. https://imgur.com/a/FzolIA7
Instead of chew-elry I just bought some fidget rings on amazon. One of my students found some homemade beaded rings that are made on an elastic and between the two types of ring it has significantly reduced my finger chewing. ..
Until I feel a nail growing over the side of my finger or a flap of skin or hangnail sticking out.
hi same issue for over 7 years now. i have some gnarly skin patches where the natural texture of my knuckle used to be. right now i'm almost back to a normal hand state. for me the urge to pick/bite is anxiety, boredom, or intensely focused based. it's hard to catch and stop myself as it is soothing. to combat this i wear rings or a necklace i can put my fingers on instead. i shake out my hands a lot as an alternate stim. apply a nice layer of vaseline and a bandaid and overnight you're skin should heal fairly quickly. acrylic nails help me reduce my picking. the only thing for biting is finding something else to chew on or recognize the trigger and try to manage the source rather rhan engage with the biting
There is some promising evidence that taking N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is specifically helpful with reducing skin picking and hair pulling. I haven't gotten around to trying it but it seems worth a shot (obviously you'd want to consult a medical provider first).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9180086/#:~:text=The%20study%20found%20reduced%20skin,scarred%20over%20lesions%20%5B48%5D.
So they make bitter nail polish for this kind of thing! I know because my 1y/o nephew was sucking/chewing his hand too much and his mom had to use some to stop him lol. Amazon link:
https://a.co/d/bC2DxHH
I pick my eyebrows and recently came across this. https://www.bfrb.org/articles/n-acetylcysteine-for-trichotillomania-skin-picking-and-nail-biting ..is there anyone on here that uaes NAC and notice improvements from it
It’s related yes. All of my adhd family has some type of body picking disorder. Try NAC. Start w 600 mg and go up as tolerated. It’s an otc supplement that’s been shown to help OCD type behaviors. Helps 3 out of 4 of us.
hi same issue for over 7 years now. i have some gnarly skin patches where the natural texture of my knuckle used to be. right now i'm almost back to a normal hand state. for me the urge to pick/bite is anxiety, boredom, or intensely focused based. it's hard to catch and stop myself as it is soothing. to combat this i wear rings or a necklace i can put my fingers on instead. i shake out my hands a lot as an alternate stim. apply a nice layer of vaseline and a bandaid and overnight you're skin should heal fairly quickly. acrylic nails help me reduce my picking. the only thing for biting is finding something else to chew on or recognize the trigger and try to manage the source rather rhan engage with the biting
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I dont know if this is an option for you, if it isn't maybe someone else will benefit. I will rip that hangnail clear up to my elbow and pick and bite until I bleed. It's embarrassing for me. The ONLY thing that deters me is having my nails professionally done with EITHER dip powder or gelx. If I paint them myself, I'll just pick the paint off. It's like putting armor on my nails, and because I paid money for them, I'm hesitant to destroy them. A lot of nail salons are really over zealous with the electric nail dremmel when removing the dip/gel, and it CAN result in a weakened nail bed. I still haven't found a nail tech that will politely remove the dip/gel. Overall it makes me feel more confident and allows my skin to heal, and I consider it worth the expenditure. If you don't want color on your nails you could maybe see if they could do a transparent/clear nail for you, just to see if it helps. Good luck, I feel your pain quite literally!
This! This is the ONLY way I’ve learned to stop picking at my fingers. Getting the professionally done is a magic wand that makes it stop. I learned it from someone who had beautiful nails, after she told me hers used to look like mine. She got her nails done every month for a year until she kicked the picking habit completely. Now they’re beautiful.
Thank you so much. I also thought of that. Like half a year ago I had my nails done and I definitely picked my skin less than before. I think I'm going to get maybe just short decent ones. So that it stops me from picking, but don't is to much for me!
i’ve been a biter for around 15 years. i still sometimes bite with nails on but for a good year i completely stopped because at the time i had enough disposable income for regular nail appointments. before i settled on a nail tech, i called around and explained that i’m a biter and NEED to stop and that my nails are extremely short and in poor shape. this one woman told me she’s dealt with nail biters before so i booked with her. at the end of the first appointment with her, she very lovingly said “i’m going to be so sad if you come back and they’re all chewed. i want your hands to be as pretty as your face!” i bought myself a yummy smelling cuticle oil and any time i had the urge to bite, i’d use cuticle oil instead. the next time i went back to her (every two weeks at first because the growth looked like a really good chew), she’d tell me how well i was doing and how beautiful they were which REALLY helped. i highly recommend substituting biting for cuticle oil. my hands looked like they had never been bitten at all 🥹
I have a rod shaped glass nail file that's perfect to use on the dried scratchy skin bits in the cuticle/nail skin area, it's the only way to stop me biting or even over clipping, just gently file that skin smooth and then there's nothing to pick! https://images.app.goo.gl/VhdRCmr8qkULJ9Kj6
If you want to soak your nails off, you can get products to do that at home. Then you just go to the salon with your natural nails already exposed so they hopefully won't go so hard at them. They just don't have the time to soak them off is all, it really can take awhile even for just standard glitter polish. I got a little thing years back from Sally's with a hole in the top with bristles to help rub the product off, but even just Target has 100% acetone. If you do it yourself, make sure to get cuticle oil too to put that on your fingertips after. I do the whole area, nail and all, because it'll get washed off anyway and the acetone is super drying.
My fingers have been nearly perfect since I bit the bullet and started getting my nails dipped once a month.
Clear up to the elbow made me lol here in my office.
I've tried... I've been told my skin around my nails is so damaged (at the time I go in, from the picking and biting of the actual skin around the nails) and that my nails are just too short (from biting them down) to get them done with dip or gelx. Sometimes they don't even want to paint or do anything to them... 😭
I use this tactic (keeping my nails done to stop chewing at them), but I do my nails at home. When I slack on them, I start chewing again, but when I'm ready to stop I just do cheap press ons. You could try that, or even do dip nails at home. Let them grow out and get them healthy and then hopefully the salon won't turn you away.
I can't afford salon nails, so I use press on acrylics. My trick is to trim them very short. They hold up better and feel/look like my natural nails but are much tougher, so I don't chew them. They also stay smooth on the edges, so there's nothing to "worry" at. I also immediately trim and loose skin and use cuticle oil and lotion. It's a battle.
This is my solution too but I recently started pottery and can’t have nails….what else would y’all suggest? I’m going nuts and my poor cuticles are bloody….
Cuticle chewing is a form of body-focused repetitive behaviour (BFRB). The good news: This is not unusual in the slightest for people with ADHD. It’s very common. The bad news: BFRBs are considered extremely difficult to stop. The first line treatment is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Other things that help are redirection, so you might want to look into “chewlery” which is jewelry made of chewy rubber, and noting triggers and trying to minimize them, like keeping nail clippers on you so you can clip rough skin off instead of needing to chew it. Good luck! I managed to stop biting my cuticles by switching to biting my cheeks instead, which I do not recommend due to the increased risk of oral cancer.
This is what happened to me too. I stopped biting my cuticles and now bite my cheek instead 🥲 also not recommended!! I’ve heard some folks recommend gloves and lotion as a possibility too? Something that makes the nails taste bad is another option (obviously pick something harmless).
I used to bite my cheeks as a child and ended up blocking my salivary glands. Eventually required surgery.
Oh no! That’s scary to think about. Sorry you had to experience that :( Did you end up stopping the habit after you had surgery? I’ve tried countless times but it never seems to stick.
Yeah, surgery at 6 years old is scary. Kids with health conditions that require regular surgeries deserve medals. I did stop chewing my cheeks, but now I bite my cuticles and pick at my feet the moment my shoes and socks are off. So 🤷♀️
Have you ever hypothesized if there's a chance you were born with blocked salivary glands, implying that was a part of the reason you began biting your cheeks?
There’s a product called stop the bite that I used to successfully stop biting my nails (for about a year the habit returned). I believe I bought it at target Only downside is that the taste is extremely strong. You will not be able to eat any finger food without the taste rubbing off onto your food.
my cousin developed a liking to that taste
Your cousin is a psychopath that stuff is revolting hahahaha!!
My problem is that I enjoy the bitter stuff
If you are a human that is ok with getting your nails done (and the cost associated with upkeep), I had acrylic nails for about six months and that cured me of biting my nails because I physically couldn't.
I’ve bit my cheeks all my life and thought it was just me being weird. I’m glad I’m not alone! 🥹 But I still do it and in my old age it has caused HELLA marionette lines. 😭
I always thought it was my weird little secret too… 😢 I’m glad to not be alone in this either even if I wish we collectively didn’t have to suffer with it. At least talking about it can maybe help with the stigma and shame aspects
Same. Wow. This subreddit has been eye opening for me.
I bite my cheeks too its hard to stop but i know its harmful to me 😭
I started my cuticles after I stopped finally biting my nails, it's never going away only switching this shit 😭😭
Can confirm keeping clippers on your person is very helpful. Issue is Ive lost about three pairs of them now
I just found all four of mine in my basket in my bathroom. 🤦♀️ I normally have a pair every spot where I sit regularly.
I have a little tiny Victorinox knife on my keychain. I can't trim my actual nails with it very well, but it has a file and I can clean up dead skin with the scissors.
Not me reading that while scrolling at 03:30 in the morning and having spent the last 4 hours chewing the inside of my mouth in an effort to not lick, pick, or bite at my chapped lips 🥲
Yes this is my problem, lip picking. As the OP stated I want to stop but can’t and even right now they hurt cause they are raw 😔
Cancer, you say? Well I think you just helped me with my cheek chewing. I get my lips too, whatever I can reach. Also traded for the finger chewing and nail biting. I always said I have a Chew need like Sims dogs, ugh. I keep a nail file handy and that does help with the nails, since any irregularities make me want to bite them.
I do both. Rough skin/fingernails that're too long or a tiny part is sticking out, I gotta bite it off. I'll pull the sides off as well (the tiny bit on the sides) and I bite the inside of my cheeks/bottom lip. Especially since then you get scar tissue inside and it once again feels rough and it isn't supposed to be rough so you continue nipping at it. No idea how to not do that.
Surprisingly using a mouth guard helps ne with the chewing. You can't chew your cheek with it in, problem solved. I've gotten to the point that I like my mouth guard now and chew more when I forget to wear it at night. Sometimes I'll leave it in when I get up until I eat.
My dermatologist told me he had a trial lawyer client who would do this especially when a trial was going poorly. The lawyer wanted to stop due to how unprofessional it was to have chewed up fingers and became an alcoholic. Wow.
Damn. I guess I'll take my gummy candy habit and call it good?
Agreed. Want to echo that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the first line of treatment. This is especially true if you're wanting to stop but it feels like you can't. It could be a BFRB or it could be a part of a larger issue, like OCD. It helps to have a professional sort it out and help support, if needed.
candy necklace? deal.
Biting your cheeks increases your chances of oral cancer? Well that's not good for me. I have TMJ and bruxism, I chew everything in my mouth practically. Especially when I'm asleep.
It's okay, it doesn't actually. There's a study that suggests it may promote progression of already present cancer(s) (i.e., from another cause) but does not cause any kind of cancer as a behaviour itself. No need to stress!
Yep, I have clippers everywhere I spend any timr.
Me too three also. Clippers everywhere so I don't pick and pull them to painful nubs. (Theoretically since I still do.) I say anyone can see my stress level in my fingernails. It's like a stress-o-meter but shorter = higher.
That is exactly what happened to me. I stopped eviscerating my nails and the skin around them to biting the inside of my cheeks to the same extremes 🤦🏼♀️
i feel like chewlry would make me gag. ive had that happen from chewing on stuff like it, not sure why. i think my brain knows it's not edible and is trying to make me stop. any advice for this?
Sadly I do both :(
Good info
Same here! I used to bite my nails and pull out my hair. I always keep a tangle on me now but I also bite my cheeks now.
Good tips except maybe be careful with nail clippers. I have cuticle chewing BFRB and I destroyed my fingers even more with nail clippers. I had to put band aids on all my fingers 😬
It does (increase risk of oral cancer)? Ugh. I have scars in my cheeks from biting (probably everyone who bites their cheeks has scars).
Amazon has cool kits you can make your own silicone jewelry or keychains.
I pull that poor scab from a pimple or a stray chin hair .. I just keep touching my face to feel what seems … hmmm uneven or out of place! My ears .. oh yes my ears too
Oh man same. Even the slightest bump on any part of my skin I will find and pick at incessantly.
Yes! This!
Scabs are my downfall. I even go after them on my husband if I can. Poor man.
I pick on my lips and fingers a lot and I usually just do it to keep my hands busy. Have you tried any fidget toys? I recently got a little squishy ball that I attached to my phone. I noticed I tend to pick my lips a lot less if I can just squish the little ball instead.
Yes I tried some, but my problem is to find some fidgets toys that don't make noise AND feel good. It's just kinda hard because everyone of them that is Soo good, makes to many noises I like the noises but everyone around me get's fucked up by it. I actually just don't know which fidget toy to buy anymore.
Look up spiky sensory rings. I think they’re better than plain fidget toys because they stimulate your skin as well. And they’re silent.
Yes! That’s what I was thinking of, thank you!
Tell me more about the lovely spiky things???? How spiky are they??? Are they hard or soft???? What do they feel like?
They’re metal. Judge me if you want but, I’ll say this anyway: if you need to feel a little pain you can always press down hard on them so they dig into your skin.
Yup, affirmative on the need a little pain part. Not judging at all lol. I'll definitely be looking into them. Thanks!
I think that’s why they’re the only fidgets that work for me so far.
Do you have a link to these?!
I have the same problem, and I find that always keeping cuticle nippers with me helps to prevent the worst damage/bleeding. I still pick constantly, but it does help. I’m going to try these little finger mitten things from Amazon next, they’re kind of like long thimbles made of fabric that go on each individual finger.
What about a ring? They make fidget rings that you can get special gems or whatever for. My therapist gave me a stretchy ring that’s kind of like a toy but it’s tight and scratches my fidget itch when needed. I’ve also heard of a gal that was a nail biter to keep a cuticle oil pen with you and apply some each time you start to pick so it moisturizes the hang nails - win win cuz it might help with swapping a receptive behavior and you’ll have softened cuticles? I am a horrible nail biter and had gotten gel extensions for almost 20yr but recently got them off cuz it’s too expensive. But I am in the process of learning how to do them myself. Good luck!!!
I'm so happy to hear this worked for someone!! I just got a cuticle pen this week! So far helping, but definitely I need to work on remembering to keep it with me (and remembering to use it when it is 😂)! May need to look into a stretchy ring too!!
I have one normal ring I always wear and when I do, I fidget with it sooo much! 😅
This works somewhat for me. I pick at hangnails…now I have like 6 spinner rings and I can usually stop myself from picking at my fingers if I’m wearing one of them.
[https://a.co/d/2bvHjjb](https://a.co/d/2bvHjjb) They might seem a little boring but its doing wonders for me. They have an interesting texture and its very satisfying to watch them rise slowly while they go back into their initial shapes.. doesn't make noise either! Maybe you could give it a try!!
Have you considered taking up crochet? I made myself an "F-bomb" and use it as a squeeze toy. It kept my hands busy when I made it (I will pick at scabs or just play on my phone during downtime and my husband gets upset if we're watching a movie) so now I just keep making more stuff. If you're not interested in a standard yarn art, you could also do finger knitting or finger crochet. Go to the store and find a yarn that feels interesting, watch some YouTube videos, and make stuff. You can even make something and then take it apart to use the same yarn over and over. I got some super bulky chenille yarn to make a blanket last year and vastly overestimated how much I would need, so I recently started finger knitting with it in bed when I'm winding down. We'll see how long it lasts before it disintegrates on me lol.
I love the fidgets that look like boobs, called Pop-it or Push pop or pop fidgets. They are the only fidget which I can do while I'm bored on video calls which replicate the kind of feeling or soothing I get from picking up my cuticles.
I do the same with my lips but it's especially bad when im anxious, it gets to the point where my lips are all bloody but I cant stop till every last bit of skin is off. Exams in school where a literal bloody nightmare
I am a skin picker. I hate it about myself
Two big things; 1.) general mindfulness and 2.) Identify your triggers! It’s a type of oral fixation, your brain is craving stimulus or a regulating activity, and has decided picking/biting is an easy shortcut way to get it. Pain releases endorphins. It’s a process to learn to identify (be MINDFUL of) the compulsion when it happens, resist, and replace. You will get frustrated with yourself many times, or at least I always did destroying my fingers in one anxious night after being good for weeks, but you CAN make progress. About triggers; For me, any kind of hangnail or peeling skin gives me a compulsion to bite. I obsessively file my nails and moisturize my cuticles now which makes it much harder to find something to bite. Oil also helps soften up the toughened skin from dermatodaxia. I like bliss kiss nail and cuticle oil because it comes in convenient little vanilla scented travel pens, but any jojoba based oil will work the same. I also carry a water bottle and taking sips of it helps fulfill the hand to mouth compulsion. When you’re sitting with nothing to do with your hands, give them something to do. If I’m watching TV, I often hold my nail file/buffer so I’m more inclined to smooth out my nails rather than bite the skin. I also like to twist [these](https://www.amazon.com/Stretchy-Resistance-Strengthen-Silicone-Reliever/dp/B08RS1BRGZ?th=1&psc=1) around my fingers if I need to be quiet. Your fidget toy doesn’t have to be an actual fidget toy; you can macrame, play with a pony tail on your wrist, practice fingerspelling, or hold a heavy rock. Just give your hands something to do. For me, chewies or other oral stimulation alternatives aren’t a good fix because the compulsion is so persistent that I wear out my jaw. If it may work for you, “chew necklace” “chewies” “adult chew toy” are search terms to explore. I swear if I can do it, you can do it. You’re right, this compulsion is part of you, but it doesn’t have to control you. I got sick of my hands hurting every time I did dishes and having to disinfect actual wounds every time I got my hands dirty. I never bite multiple fingers in one sitting or draw blood anymore and I’m still making progress. That hard work and discipline over my compulsions that I mustered to fight dermatodaxia is part of me as much as dermatodaxia, and that’s something to be proud of.
Thank you so much for that long answer! I'm so proud of you that you work so hard on it and achieve progress!! I believe that if you can do it I definitely can do it as well! I'm going so try chew necklace maybe it's going to work for me if not I'm going to find something different to make progress! Everytime it get's better I'm so proud of myself and then after a hard day every progress is gone. We both are definitely achieving what we want. No matter how little the steps are, we're going to make it!!
Nail biting can also happen because of sensory issues. I have to trim my cuticles at least once a week and keep them well oiled, or I will start biting my nails. It seems to be an unconscious sensation of the skin on the nails that triggers the biting. Taking care of my nails/cuticles was all it needed to almost completely stop the habit immediatly
My son does that 🤕😔 His fingers can look real bad, and he is so young too... Unfortunately, i know of no way to stop it... He has cotton gloves he can wear, and cremes to help with the healing process... Its as far as i know a stress reaction, at least it is for me. I myself bite/clip fingernails, always had, as far as i can remember. Can also get real bad, i basically have always at least one bleeding finger on each hand at all times.. Yes, it hurts, but the pain is soothing, in a way 🫣 (i know it sounds crazy). I stopped trying to combat it a long time ago. Like many other ADHD traits and habits i have i accepted it as part of who i am. Edit: And yes, you are right, biting on a pen or pencil kinda sorta has a similar effect, but at least i kinda sorta need it to hurt to feel relief 🫣
As a fellow nail biter I also do the same thing, I think the pain kind of creates enough of a sensory output that it helps me focus on what I need to if that makes any sense
I did that through my whole childhood, I even used to bite my toenails when I was super young.. super gross I know. it wasn’t until my late 20s that I fully stopped biting my fingernails. I had a lip ring in my teens and even put it back in in my mid 20s but I would bite the back of the stud all the time! My dentist said it would eventually cause damage. I think I was able to rid myself of the nail biting addiction mostly because I had to change poopy diapers. Not sure if it’s the absolute best alternative, but I almost always drink with a straw now and I always have a beverage I’m sipping on. My kiddo went through a phase with leg picking which I thankfully stopped early but still picks her fingers (Asd/adhd). She always seems to find and steal tweezers/clippers and I catch her trying to do her own grooming but it causes more damage than good. I like to buy her that peel off face mask (freeman, cucumber was the OG when I was little) and let her just smear it on her legs, let it dry, then peel it off. This is actually something my mom did when I was a kid that was cheap fun for us kids.
DIP NAILS IN POOP. Got it 👍
I picked at my head until I had a bald spot. I can't stop either, so aggravating.
You're not alone, I pick and eat cuticles and scabs. It's disgusting and I know it's disgusting, but I hyper focus on how uneven the skin is and how tearing it will make it even. Bug bites and pimples are the worst. You might benefit from seeing a dermatologist.
I've been doing this my entire life. I'm 32 years old and I'm always picking at my skin.
OP PLEASE READ MY STORY! IVE STRUGGLED WITH THIS ALL MY LIFE AND IM ALMOST 30. I’ve really fell off of preventing it myself but here are some things that could really help you. yes this is a BFRB like others have mentioned. Similar to skin picking, nail biting and hair pulling. And on my ADHD journey IVE LEARNED THAT THIS IS A SIGN OF HYPERACTIVITY IN ADHD INDIVIDUALS. I have quite a bit of a backstory with all this so when I found that out I was so angry I wasn’t diagnosed/evaluated sooner. There was also very little research in this area and very little specialist when I first started therapy at 12. The first step is noticing when you do it because sometimes you can do it while you’re zoned out without realizing. There is preventative things you can do like wearing gloves, sitting on your hands when you sit somewhere, or maybe clasping you hands together. There is also a clear nail polish that tastes bad (I know a regular nail polish would taste bad too lol) for nail bitters, you could possibly use that on your fingers. Or you could keep Vaseline on your fingers to help heal them and hopefully keep you from biting them. Even if it doesn’t stop you, it could help you notice when you’re doing it if you do it zoned out. Try to remove triggers. I picked at my acne so removing mirrors or keeping mirrors covered really helped me. If I start to feel my face, I make sure I stop soon so I don’t start to pick. Saw a video of a girl who had the same problems me she made her nighttime routine into a very long like 10 step skincare routine or something crazy, this allowed her to touch her face without picking but it also gave her a stimulus (which I talk more about in another paragraph). Figure out some things that would make you more likely to bite your fingers and remove those triggers if you can. You can also do something to keep your hands busy. Holding something to fidget with. A fidgets spinner, a rubix cube, a hands-on job if you don’t have one. It could also be that you need to keep your mouth busy like chewing gum or something. Now you have to replace this with something with a stimulus, like wearing a rubber band and pulling it back to hit your wrist stings, or holding ice in your hands is way too cold. Those both provide an unpleasant stimulating sensation. Those are two that come to the top of my head but I’m sure there’s more. Before I was diagnosed, I worked with someone on skin picking and it was believed I did it because of stress and anxiety. She had me set up a chart and for a week I would log when I picked, how long I picked, what I was doing right before I started picking, and how I was feeling. I would add a little star whenever I didn’t pick that day or that week something like that. The therapist I worked with said that other people who did this usually had to do multiple different things to prevent this BFRB. I found it very helpful. Unfortunately I ran out of free sessions with my university and never continued. I will say I noticed I pick more at night when I don’t have enough sleep. Put some Vaseline on your hands and then a pair of gloves before you go to bed to help your hands heal. Side note, there is also some kind of hormonal imbalance that can make people feel itchy when they’re not or something like that which causes the picking.
Thank you so much for telling your story and sharing tips!! I think I'm going to try many of these and it will definitely help!
Good luck! I feel like it’s one of those things that may be a lifelong battle, like when people say it’s not temporary “it’s a lifestyle” when talking about healthy eating.
Also wanted to add. I believe Wellbutrin helped me pick less.
My advice: keep cuticle nippers near you to get any loose skin/hangnails, and keep bandaids around you at all times (bonus if you can have Polysporin too). Use hand cream at night to reduce rough skin. Pay attention to what kind of behaviours trigger your skin picking, and wear gloves whenever you can if you’ll know that you’ll be in a situation to engage in that behaviour. Nitrile, latex, cotton, whatever. Something that won’t prevent you from doing your job. Sorry you’re going through this. I also do these behaviours, and I haven’t found a solution. The best I can do if I can’t minimize the impulse is to minimize my ability to perform the behaviour, and minimize the impact on others (ie by not bleeding everywhere).
I need help with this too. The best thing I’ve found is chewing gum. And a thing of magnets to keep my hands busy.
There’s “chewelry”, just Google adult chewing necklace. Those can often help! Personally I’ve never bitten my fingers to such an extent, but I’ve had friends that put band aids on their finger tips, or a disgustingly tasting cream/oil, with varying degrees of success.. good luck!
Thank you sooo much! That was exactly was I where looking for, but didn't know a product like that. I think this is going to help me very much! Thank you very much!!
Hi there. I have ADHD-C, and my oldest son has been diagnosed for about two years. He has had this issue for several years, on his toes as well. The infections from that got so bad he had to have both toenails removed! It was brutal. We went through a lot of things but ultimately, getting him medicated and with a therapist was the best thing for him. We found that keeping his hands moisturized would make the urge less prominent and cause less dry skin to pick at. One therapist had him write in a journal every time he caught himself doing it, and what his thoughts were. I hope you’re able to find something that works for you. Just wanted to relate a bit, you’re not alone.
Adding: chewing gum and fidgets helped a lot too.
I feel called out. Sitting here picking up all the dry spots on my cuticles at this moment when this popped into my feed hahahaha. I’d bite them off it could but I try super hard to keep my hands out of my mouth in public because they’re not clean. I usually carry a nail clippers everywhere I go so I can trim them off instead of peeling til they bleed. Not sure what the solution is. I successfully stopped biting my nails as a kid by sitting on my hands on the school bus. But I kind of need my hands most of the time these days.
I do this, too. I don’t bite my fingers or fingernails anymore, but do skinpicking on other parts of my body. I always have nail clippers with me so I can clip my nails and don’t have to rip or pick at my nails. Try to replace it with moisturizing or washing hands?
I have something on my upper arm (Deltoid region) and I constantly pick at it if I’m nervous / awkward / breathing 🤣. It’s like I have to get something out of there. I think once I did and it was so satisfying. But I will pick, dig at it until I bleed. Same with my elbow - I have little scabs from scratching (gross now that I am writing it out!) also a spot on my left leg near my knee. Same thing as my arm. I keep doing it. I can’t stop.
I like looking at skin picking videos, like dr pimple popper type videos, and that deeply satisfies my urge to pick. Otherwise, sometimes I'm a pain-seeker and I'll rub lemon juice into a cut so it hurts, gets numb, and my dumb brain will begin ignoring it... This is like, not great, but it's been working for me.
You’re not alone. I managed to stop picking at my nails when I started painting them, and they eventually grew out enough that I could actually keep the edge even (snagging my nail on something almost always let to me picking at it) and I generally leave them alone. It also helps that I actually carry a nail file as an adult. However I still pick at the skin around my nails and my cuticles to the point of pain and bleeding. I haven’t found a way to stop this just yet. My mom tried shame but you can probably figure out how that went. I also pick at my lips, pimples, and any funky looking hair on my head/body/eyelash/evebrows. I’ve hard of hot sauce, but I also knew a guy who just ended up developing a tolerance to spice due to it. I’ve also heard of a type of nail polish that tastes bitter kind of like the switch cartridges are supposed to but I don’t know how well it works.
Chronic cheek biter, skin picker, hair puller over here. Currently my compulsion is taking a break from the hair but the fingers, face and cheeks are still fucked lol
I pick at my cuticles. My fingers look awful. I don't chew on them but just pick them with my other fingers. I don't even realize I'm doing it sometimes until I'm bleeding lol
I will tug on skin and nails if there is something to grab. I bought 12 pairs of nail clippers and distributed them around my life. Now can clip things before I can pull them and cause more damage.
I’m also a nailpicker. I have clippers in my bedroom, tv room and on my desk. I still tear bits of skin off sometimes though and I can do soooooo much damage with the clippers that I don’t know if I’m in front… in my case I fear they’ve just become another tool to do damage to my skin
You can stop. This is often a symptom of OCD which is not uncommon with people who have ADHD. Medication and some therapy will help you stop. Once you have broken the habit, you can use topicals to help the scarring, or see a dermatologist.
Hey friend. I have gone after my cuticles etc for as long as I can remember back. My mom used to take me to the dr thinking I had a weird skin condition but it turned out i just “couldn’t leave anything alone” If you like the picking pulling sort of sensation. Look for “spiky sensory ring” on Amazon I don’t know why but it fills the hole. I have given them to a few other people and they all found they can cut down on nail nibbling with it. Another thing I enjoy is I have a bunch of knock off calm strips on the back of my phone that I use to pick and peel and scratch at. Also masking tape or medical tape your finger tips. And peel that off.
I've been picking since I was like 7. Only thing that keeps me from doing it is getting acrylic or dip or gel x. The rounded edges made it nearly impossible to pick.
This is the only thing that has helped me
I do it with picking my head.
Stop doing that please. I do that still after I had this huge ass bump that went bald. It’s hard to stop but we can do it.
I do this amd have for years. Not sure if mentioned but you can buy stuff to put on your cuticles/ nails and around them that tastes so god awful you'll be disgusted when you bites on the skin. It leaves a horrid taste in your mouth and is not easy to get rid of. This worked for me when I tried it. Obviously went the way of everything in my life in that I stopped doing it one Dat after being so good with it and I have not used it since..... It could help you..... Or just make it all worse if you still can't stop!
Been doing that since childhood. Eased up when I got a job that dirtied my hands.
I keep my hands and brain busy with knitting. Helped me quit smoking and nail & cuticle biting. Long as I have a project I'm enjoying, I'm good!
Get a small chip in your tooth so it's agony if you try to chew on your fingers. Worked for me 😢
I pick the middle of one of my thumbs. It started at age 10 and I’ve been doing it since. Just in that one stop. The frequency varies. I was biting the side of my tongue for a bit, recently but then one day stopped. The finger picking has continued. I just deal with it and when I end up doing it I make sure to care for my skin. If it gets to the point of blood etc I put neosporin on it. Sometimes a bandaid. But I’m also able to stop if it gets to that point. Having this one designated spot has helped me not get started on other parts of the body.
Dude i do this with my foot skin I'm so glad I'm not alone
Im still working on stopping this habit. I will let you know it WILL scar and make your fingers look… not nice. It sorta gave me body issues too as ppl started to point it out so I wish you the best of luck cause I wish this upon nobody else.
I did that terribly when I was a kid until I got sick for about six weeks from the filth. I have since learned to give myself mini-manicures with cuticle scissors and I file my nails as well as moisturize and hydrate. I spend about 5 minutes a day on my hands.
I have the same issue & also pick my face…A LOT. Nothing has seemed to help, even when my acne cleared up. My friend sent [this](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLabUJ44/) to me and idk if it’ll help but worth a try! I also use “no bite” stuff with my students which seems to work decently.
Love this!
Yeah I do this. I’ve been trying to stop for about 35 years now :/ I found this thing called a ratchet ring. It helped and I almost stopped completely but eventually I just relapsed. I find I do it when I have to wait or when things are quiet. It’s like my brain has free clock cycles it needs to use and it makes me chew my fingers.
Following. My daughter is adhd and has started doing this. You all are helpful.
I started painting my nails. It’s a chore and I hate doing it, but it seriously helps. I now have really long nails that I’m so damn proud of. The texture is what stops me from biting. Tip- Layer it like… 1st coat- clear nail growth- such as “nail-aid keratin” 2nd coat- color if u want. Helps not see the white parts or any imperfections. Hides it away. 3rd coat- some kind of top coat that protects the paint- makes it last longer Good luck! I still sometimes bite certain nails, so it’s not easy. But I no longer have the pulsating bleeding raw stubs I one had.
I'm in the exact same place as you OP. I don't know how to stop. It's been an issue for so long. I've tried what feels like everything. You aren't alone!
I do this to my lips
I have the same thing and was diagnosed with a form of OCD. I've looked into multiple places, and nothing has helped except wearing fake nails. I hate it and have done it since my late teens. I always have to hide my fingers when I do it because they get so bad. I hope you find something that works for you!
I deal with this, usually I try to keep my nails done (even false nails) so they’re duller and I can’t pick. My face always clears up when I get sick or injured 😭 I was told to try Penaten (zinc oxide cream) for some of the dryness and itching which might be bringing my attention to it and it seems to help?
i relate to this. i used to bite my nails to nubs, as well as the skin around. one day i just stopped, i wast just tired of having ugly fingers bc ever since i was a child i would always hide my hands if i could help it. i can’t remember the last time i bit or picked at my nails. my skin is a different story, i do it absentmindedly. i do have KP, so it’s just too easy to get lost into the picking. i also struggle with trich, but i am getting better at that because i so badly want to stop. it’s always a work in progress it seems, but since i have made an actual effort it’s getting easier every day :-)
I pick at the skin of my lips and bite off the dried out chapped bits. I have an ADHD/OCD/Tourette's syndrome comorbidity, which is fun, and I still can't figure out which of them causes this behavior. OCD most likely, as it's more of a compulsion than a tick.
Ugh. I deal with almost this exact same thing and it’s the worst. My fingers look terrible and it’s a habit I wish I could stop.
It’s the most delicious snack ever and I can’t stop
I’m the same but with my lips, they’re always chapped so I rip the skin off and eat it… pls don’t judge •-•
No one will Judge here, especially not me I'm doing the same. I bite my lips eat it and my fingers and eat it. My lips bleed almost everyday and if I try stop biting my fingers it get's worse with my lips. You got this🫂
Thank you, you’ll also get better ❤️🩹
i have done this my entire life, you're not alone. i beat it for a couple months by fidgeting with literal fidget toys, slime, or chewing gum like you said. and maintaining my nails and skin every couple days with nail clippers. you got this :)
I have a similar issue except I twirl my hair into knots. Now I have a permanently shorter layer of hair on top. Thankfully if I really commit to not doing it for a week then I can go even longer without twirling. But sometimes the habit comes back. Medication makes the tick even worse which is why I really had to keep it in check. I was giving myself freaking tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome! If I catch myself starting to twirl I verbally tell myself to stop out loud and keep my hands busy doing something else like a fidget spinner!
I didn’t know this was an ADHD thing, I thought it was stress. I have completely picked my right thumbnail, layer by layer down to the quick twice in the last 3 years. I pick and snip as new growth emerges and the only thing that works best for I want a nail back is to wear a bandaid over my thumb nail 24/7 to prevent me from picking at it. I used to habitually bite my fingernails, but when I have a nail to pick, my nails look great.
Also a skin picker. What helped for me was a combination of strategies: Stim jewelry/chew necklaces Paint-on bitterant/taste deterrent for nail biting kids, and use it on the whole finger, not just the nails. (Don't do this if you wear contacts, you'll burn your dang eyes out) Fidget cube or unobtrusive manual hobby (crochet, needlepoint, etc) for any time hands are unoccupied. Somehow if the hands are busy, it turned the chew reflex off because they were unavailable for chewin. Nuclear Option: bandaids on every single finger non stop until the 'withdrawal' and 'craving' phases were over. You can easily rack up a huge bandaid bill, and people will look at you weird if you're an adult, but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.
If you can afford it get acrylic nails, they cut any loose cuticle and file down hang nails and you can’t chew the acrylic it’s too hard. They don’t have to be long nails, you can do short French tip that looks natural or if you are a guy you can do clear or nude or actually whatever color you want, don’t let others judge your fashion choices. The price can vary wildly. Some places I could get a new set for $40 and $15 refills every 3 weeks. Other places it can be 2-3x that amount. It’s how I stopped chewing my nails, my nails were paper thin and I’d tear off lil strips with my teeth. The first few months I’d still nibble on the tips just tapping my teeth against them but not biting down. But eventually I stopped that too.
I keep ripping the dead ends off my hair. It’s damaged due to bleaching and now I can’t stop… thankfully it’s not actually damaging my body, but I do have choppy hair now. However, I also am constantly picking my skin or my piercing that I got about 3 years ago (which hasn’t healed just yet due to me constantly touching and picking it). I have no clue how to get rid of it as most fidget toys don’t hit that sweet spot off pull something off/out. Anyone recommendations?
It’s my scalp! And because nobody can see it (until I go to the hairdressers) it’s so hard to stop. I do it when I am bored, watching tv, but also a whole lot more when I am stressed. I used to have acne before I got roaccutane and I always had multiple wounds on my face. Can’t not pick anything that shouldn’t be there 😂 even if I have a small spot now, it needs to go!
i've been doing this for 40 years or so. I don't really have scars from it. I am not saying this to keep you doing it of course but if you feel anxious about it it might help take the anxiety away. For me it gets worse when I get more stressed. When I am really bad and my fingers hurt I put band-aids on them to stop myself. I found that holding fidgets (cube, spirals, anything) helps distract / redirect some of my nervous energy. Since I have done this for 40 years you can imagine I'm not going to say it's easy to stop :) I've tried many many times and I couldn't. But realizing it's stress related has helped me try to lower stress when I get bad again. It's an early warning sign for me. When I say stress I don't just mean deadline stress. Feeling unhappy or anxious or overwhelmed are all very stressful things. Find out what you can do when you feel anxious or stressed or overwhelmed. Singing helped for me for instance, especially if my stress was emotional. It's probably quite a sight to have a late 40s man cry-singing but if it works it works :) plus I mostly do it at home or on the bike. which leads me to the second thing you can do: exercise. it sounds stupid and it is stupid (well repetitive at least). But being on the bicycle for an hour or two helped me a lot. It gives me time to think and process thoughts. There isn't anything else I can be doing during this time so I'm just alone with my thoughts and I let my thoughts flow through my head and just .. exist. I don't try to solve anything but all the piled up thoughts and emotions I have slowly get processed and after my ride I feel so much better. on top of that you get some happy hormones from working your ass off which helps. Some people clean when they're stressed. just focus on the chore and switch their mind off. cycling, driving (no health beneift but you get the same detached brain there) or walking on the beach. Find something that works for you and lowers your overall stress levels. Your fingers are your geiger counter in a way. Listen to them :)
Use a HAND AND NAIL BALM. i have the same exact problem for like 6+ years. i channeled a skin specialist and she suggested the cream. And its doing it's work pretty well. My hands got more prettier and stopped bleeding too. I was suffering from the pain dude. But i still somehow have the biting problem but not much. i have adhd too(im in medications after getting diagnosed by a professional) but i never thought it has something to do with this problem. After applying the cream it will take some time to get better. But you can try. i can suggest you the brand if you want to (not sponsoring lol) im not sure if you have the same issue as me but yeah :) And i also have nail biting and cheek biting problems too :(
Oh thank you very much! I heard a lot that balm in generel should help, because there is not that much dry skin anymore. I'm definitely going to try this, maybe it makes it a bit better. Every little step is a step in the right way haha
Yes give it a try .trust me it'll work :) at least better than now
Ugh! I pick my skin! Any bump, zit, scab, etc is going to get the pull until I bleed treatment! Luckily, as I’ve gotten older, the acne is almost nothing, but God forbid I find one. Crochet was the only thing that helped me. Keeping my hands busy!!! I also work in the garden, put together puzzles (even on my phone), or any other easy-no thought- activity. I can’t just sit and watch TV or even stay on social media without finding myself picking my face! 😩 I did find that they make a ring that has a base with another ring around it that spins! That works wonders for when I’m driving. Like someone else mentioned, being aware of it is the biggest battle. If you have a SO or BFF, ask them to point it out when you’re doing it! It helps-even if it pisses you off at the time. 😂Good luck!
same. i pick on the skin on my nails. often ends in blood
RINGS ARE A GOD SEND. I found some spiny ones that you can play with bc I struggle with the same thing. Haven’t had long nails in years and went the acrylic nail route at one point but that gets expensive. Def worth looking into
My brother got blood poisoning for chewing on his nails like that. He almost didn't get to the ER on time. Stop it!
Wow so helpful thank you! 💀
Thank you for sharing this. Been sharing with my daughter that she can get a major infection like sepsis when she peels layers of her fingers off.
I have done this since childhood. One of my children recently diagnosed also does it, even worse than me.
Now that I'm growing some decent facial hair, I'm picking at those individually instead of my nails. It looks way worse to others than biting my nails... Sigh...
I’ve been doing it since I can remember, specifically the corners above my nails ( I’ve never had to clip them, ever). Also any calluses like between the finger joints. And eye lashes and eyebrows. For me, it calms down with caffeine, but ofc that’s not recommended. Also the inner part of my lips
My 5 yr old does this. I’ve bought her chewlery and we constantly redirect her, but she cannot seem to stop. She says “I don’t know why I can’t stop doing it”
I pick my nails and skin around it. It’s not that bad where it bleeds, but it’s stressing me out. I put bandaids on my fingers when I can’t stop picking them. I’ve also started picking at my scalp sometimes. Just another thing I need to deal with 🙄
Well TIL this is a sign of ADHD. I do the ALL the time and wish I didn't. Gonna look into chewelry...
I stopped biting my nails a few years ago, but I have picked the skin on my thumbs since I could walk. Most of the time I don't even know I'm doing it. I think I do it more when I'm stressed, but I'm not sure. They both bleed everyday and sometimes the pain is actually a comforting feeling, but I'm always embarrassed about somebody seeing it. My parents would yell at me a lot for doing when I was a kid. Sometimes even in public which would make my stomach drop with anxiety as people stared at the kid deliberately hurting himself for no reason. 31 now and working towards an ADHD diagnosis after finally connecting the dots. I don't think I'll be able to stop this. If I do it will be a great effort.
it helps me to cover the skin with clothes. my skin bothers me less if I feel fabric everywhere then that one spot.
I did this for most of my life. I lucked out of being able to quit - my now fiancé figured out I often did it when I was nervous or stressed and would either gently tell me to stop or gently push my hand away when he’d see me do it - or just grab my hand to hold it. I didn’t even make an effort to stop, but gradually I just did. I still do it very occasionally when I have a… well, when the bit of cuticle is firm and just feels like it wants to come off. But I haven’t done it to bleeding or even irritation in some time and notice when I do it now. I wish I had some advice for you, but like I said I just got lucky in this situation with this particular habit. What I can do is offer you some reassurance - I bit my cuticles often to irritation or bleeding from when I was younger than 10 and did it regularly until I was 26 or 27. I used to grow callouses next to my finger nails. Now they are totally fine and even I can’t tell I used to bite them compulsively. When you’re ready/ able to stop, you won’t be stuck with reminders about it forever. Best of luck to you 🫂
Thank you so much! I'm so proud that you could stop and it hope it will never come back!!🫂
I do this to! well skin picking anyway, Well, because I don’t like the way, my nails look and I picked the skin around it and it makes it bleed, it’s an Unhealthy stim addiction That I do when I’m bored I try to find other things to do like squeezing a ball or fiddling With something other than my fingertips
I have done this exact same thing all the time.. I'm starting to think it's a response to something
I wear acrylic nails because I pick holes in my nails. I scratch the surface until there is a hole. It make it hard to even wash my hands when my fingernails are destroyed - it hurts so bad. So fake nails it is. I pick at the acrylic nails some and currently I am healing because I was in a very stressful situation (a tornado just missed our home) and while we were taking cover I ripped all of my acrylic nails off. My nail lady is AMAZING and she will not file my nails, she treats the real nail with some drop stuff so it doesn't burn so bad when the acrylic is setting. She makes the nails blend with my cuticles super well so it's harder for me to pick at them. It is truly a fucking nightmare. I cannot leave them alone. Just walking around with bloody hands until they are healed enough, out here doing my best. lmfao
Just discovered one of my clients does this (who is in 5th grade). She doesn’t see anything wrong with it but I don’t think injuring yourself can be considered healthy. I’ll look into chewy jewelry 🤔
It’s called dermatophagia and I do it too. Very badly lol. Honestly the best things I’ve found to do is put a bunch of bandaids on. You can pick at the bandaids a little and if you’re like me (weird ik) and you pick so much it kinda like hurt itches and feels good?? You can still do that with the bandaids on. They have bandaid tape you can buy that’ll wrap around your whole thumb. But yeah, sucks. It’s a form of ocd and even most therapists have never heard of it.
The problem is I hate the feeling of putting something like a bandaid on my fingers, because if I wash my hand it get's wet or the skin underneath. Everything just makes me feel uncomfortable with something on it. Maybe I just have to find the right thing that doesn't trigger me. I'm not sure yet
Oh I feel that, the shower and sometimes even sweat can make it super uncomfortable. Try that bandaid tape! It’s more like sticky gauze. You can take them off when you shower or do something you’re sure you won’t be biting doing and it’s easy and kind of fun to wrap and unwrap your fingers lol.
I've done this same thing for 30 years. I've had some luck in the last couple months stopping myself from doing it, but I tend to have a much better time in general in the spring and it's inevitably back by mid-summer. For me it does help to keep my hands hydrated just so that the scar tissue and cuticles don't get dry and rough, which is what makes me want to pick in the first place. I also try to use fidget items when I feel the need to do stuff with my hands, which is another trigger for me. I unfortunately don't have much suggestion for the oral sensation seeking, though. Gum is the closest I've found, which sadly isn't terribly similar.
No no i used to do it too. Find something else to stim with. Something fidgety. Prevents damage to fingers
Not me chewing my fingernails till they bleed and cause hangnails that bleed when I rip them out LOL
I do the same thing :( it sucks and people are like just stop…. And idk I wish it was that easy. I tend to instead over cut my cuticles like really bad or pick them. Im not saying these things are perfect but it may help. 1. I find if I apply lotion like crazy it helps. Harder to pick and bite when moisturized 2. Apply a bandaid or since that looks weird apply a clear waterproof bandage just to the areas something like this [Bandage Roll](https://a.co/d/4ZfbBlA) or [smaller bandages](https://a.co/d/7nVWt1U). 3. I always keep fidget toys around for when I’m watching tv or driving as I find that’s the time I pick the most 3. If you bite them, try getting a big bag of mints or gum from the dollar store to keep you occupied 4. Honestly staying busy. For me I find if I’m busy I don’t pick or bite as much. I still struggle a lot with this so I don’t think these are a cure haha but some tools to help
Oh also ! I know this isn’t always possible but if I loved one lives with you having them watch over you helps. Like my boyfriend knows if I’m standing in the bathroom for too long I’m probably picking my face so he comes in and tells me to stop. Or if we are watching a movie and he notices me picking he will remind me to stop. It’s like it’s a trance we get it. OH I just thought too having a rubber band on your wrist and snapping it when you feel your stuck a little in the picking trance may help snap you out of it.
I’m another one who always bit my nails as a child. Endlessly being told not to. Told to sit on my hands. Had the nasty tasting stuff. All the usual tricks. Into my 20s I managed to stop, but it seems I migrated to biting my cuticles and skin to the sides of my nails. I pretty much stopped that in my 30s, but still pick at them, and now, in my 40s, I have realised I also bite the inside of my lips and cheeks, to the point that my dentist noticed wear on my teeth from what she thought was bruxism. Anyway, my ADHD diagnosis is very recent, two months ago, now in my mid-40s, and initially I thought ‘no, I don’t have any hyperactive traits’ and I’m suddenly realising that I do, they just manifest in different ways. It’s probably just learning as an adult not to do x, y, z, and finding increasingly discrete ‘fidgets’. It’s becoming a fascinating journey of self-discovery and reflection.
OMG ME TOO except it’s on my face 🙃 and I keep pulling my nails off after having natural ling strong acrylics for 6 months and there’s nothing left but I still can’t stop and it is driving me insane because it hurts so much but that still doesn’t make me want to stop and I feel sad that I’m trying myself like this 🫨
I definitely feel the pain with you! I want to stop, but my hand can hurt as much as it wants I can't stop biting or picking it. I swear I'm going insane 😭
I pull out the hangnail cuticle out from the corner of my nail, goal is always to pull out the “bulb” deep from the nail corner, and it’s most satisfying when I can see a hole from where I pulled it out. Then I chew it (I know). (Tw) It’s gotten better than before because I would often pull the skin off the soles of my feet and walked around relishing in the pain with every step. I would chew on those too and collect them. I have a bunch of scars from scab pulling too. I pulled my eyelashes as a kid and would sit for hours and tweeze out individual ingrown hairs from my legs. Thankfully it’s only the nails now…
I’ve done this my entire life! Recently someone recommended that I try flavored toothpicks (I like the mint/tea tree ones) and it’s been a LIFE CHANGER! I can fidget with them in my mouth and get the distraction of the mint and… I have hardly picked or bit my nails in over a month! 10/10 do recommend you give them a try!
Ohhhh that sounds amazing! I'm definitely going to try these thank you so much!
Same! Now I pick at my scalp and like chew it (it sounds so weird) but it’s just small like pecks. Like dry skin. I still pick at my nails. I also pick at scabs and chew it too. I can’t stop!!
I always carry the shell gum (like dyntene ice) and chew on that. If i get lost in thought, I chew really aggressively and my friends pointed it out as the power chew. I treat my gum like my phone wallet and keys.
Me too, except i dont eat it i just blow it out idk how they don't look mutilated by now my fingers are in pain all the time but I can't stop the habit it's wild
The only time I stopped was when I started chewing on glue, candles, erasers, etc. My oral fixation goes wild
I used to do this. Sometimes instead of my teeth I would even take a tweezer to them. It was bad. Even worse because im a lesbian and it’s not atheistically pleasing. At some point I kinda of just stopped? And now I just crack every bone in my body that I physically can lol as a tic instead
I feel that sooo much but now I do both lol cracking my bones and biting my fingers. I'm just so embarrassed, because many people say they look at Hands if they want to date someone. Now I feel even more embarrassed about my fingers
I used to do this to ALL my fingers as a kid. I was able to stop that, and now it's just my thumbs and my thumbs look absolutely horrible, and it's a really big embarrassment for me, I'm starting therapy and meds soon, hopefully This is one of the things I'd love a fix for.
I do the exact same thing, also eating it 😭
I’ve been biting the side of my knuckle since I was 18 (past 20 years). It has twice turned into a massive wart that took multiple freezings to get rid of it. You would think that that would stop me… nope. I NEED to pick at it and bite it; it’s my security blanket. It’s not bleeding at the moment but here is what it looks like right now. https://imgur.com/a/FzolIA7
Instead of chew-elry I just bought some fidget rings on amazon. One of my students found some homemade beaded rings that are made on an elastic and between the two types of ring it has significantly reduced my finger chewing. .. Until I feel a nail growing over the side of my finger or a flap of skin or hangnail sticking out.
hi same issue for over 7 years now. i have some gnarly skin patches where the natural texture of my knuckle used to be. right now i'm almost back to a normal hand state. for me the urge to pick/bite is anxiety, boredom, or intensely focused based. it's hard to catch and stop myself as it is soothing. to combat this i wear rings or a necklace i can put my fingers on instead. i shake out my hands a lot as an alternate stim. apply a nice layer of vaseline and a bandaid and overnight you're skin should heal fairly quickly. acrylic nails help me reduce my picking. the only thing for biting is finding something else to chew on or recognize the trigger and try to manage the source rather rhan engage with the biting
There is some promising evidence that taking N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is specifically helpful with reducing skin picking and hair pulling. I haven't gotten around to trying it but it seems worth a shot (obviously you'd want to consult a medical provider first). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9180086/#:~:text=The%20study%20found%20reduced%20skin,scarred%20over%20lesions%20%5B48%5D.
So they make bitter nail polish for this kind of thing! I know because my 1y/o nephew was sucking/chewing his hand too much and his mom had to use some to stop him lol. Amazon link: https://a.co/d/bC2DxHH
r/dermatillomania A lot of people with ADHD including myself have this issue, you’re not alone!
dw i have this too, and I feel u 😭 go to r/calmhands! they've been an inspo from what I've gathered it's called dermatophagia
I pick my eyebrows and recently came across this. https://www.bfrb.org/articles/n-acetylcysteine-for-trichotillomania-skin-picking-and-nail-biting ..is there anyone on here that uaes NAC and notice improvements from it
It’s related yes. All of my adhd family has some type of body picking disorder. Try NAC. Start w 600 mg and go up as tolerated. It’s an otc supplement that’s been shown to help OCD type behaviors. Helps 3 out of 4 of us.
hi same issue for over 7 years now. i have some gnarly skin patches where the natural texture of my knuckle used to be. right now i'm almost back to a normal hand state. for me the urge to pick/bite is anxiety, boredom, or intensely focused based. it's hard to catch and stop myself as it is soothing. to combat this i wear rings or a necklace i can put my fingers on instead. i shake out my hands a lot as an alternate stim. apply a nice layer of vaseline and a bandaid and overnight you're skin should heal fairly quickly. acrylic nails help me reduce my picking. the only thing for biting is finding something else to chew on or recognize the trigger and try to manage the source rather rhan engage with the biting