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Quit eating finger skin

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bluehairman

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 25, 2008
Messages
202
For the past 8 years I've been biting the skin off my fingers and eating it. It's pretty nasty, and I've been trying to stop for about 2 years. I just feel a need to bite the skin off my fingers, and if I bite once I have to keep biting until there isn't anymore skin hanging off, which sometimes becomes hours of biting. My fingers look disgusting, and about 90% of the time are scabbed. And the skin on my fingers becomes thin and sore. Even though I have strong will to quit, for some reason I can't. I'll just find myself eating my skin and I won't even realize I'm doing it. When I realize I'm eating my skin I can stop, but only for about 30 seconds and I start up again without realizing it. And I try to avoid touching my girlfriend because my fingers are so nasty and rough that it's too embarrassing.

What can I do to stop this? When I'm chewing gum I never do this, but I don't want to have to constantly be chewing a piece of gum. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
Try this stuff. Apply it religiously and it will train you to not bite your skin.
 
nasty, you should look at perhaps putting that cream that nail biters use one your fingers which are effected.
 
I pick at or chew off the rough skin on my fingers. Only one thing has worked for me: Cover all your finger tips in bandaids covered in antibiotic cream.

Don't knock gum chewing...it is how i quit biting my fingernails lol
 
That stuff that dokomo suggested looks pretty good, and its cheap. It supposedly takes a person about 3 weeks to break a habit like that, which isnt really a whole lot of time. You'd probably only need one bottle. Also, depending on where you live, if winter is on its way you could start wearing gloves more often.
 
Try to take up a musical instrument that requires you to build up callouses on the tips of your fingers. I used to have the same problem in high school, but when I started practicing the guitar, I started to build up a desire to have very calloused fingers, so I could practice for longer periods of time (I would literally have bloody fingers after only a couple of minutes of practice). The pain I experienced also motivated me to finally quit biting my fingers.
 
The only thing about the nail polish is that I will have to put it on my skin. I'm going to get some though and give it a shot.
How long after I stop biting would you suggest I continue to apply the polish? My biggest worry about it is that I will only stop when I have the polish on my fingers and just start up again.
 
Since you are doing it as a nervous habit by the sound of it, since you often dont even realize you are doing it, 3 weeks should be enough for you to start learning other ways to occupy your hands. You could go for 4 if you really wanted to, but somewhere in that time frame should be fine. Even without the stuff on your fingers, its more about learning other things to do with your hands when you are bored or nervous, which I would bet are the times you find it happening the most.
 
Been doing the same thing since about the age of 12 so I can relate. I just try not to do it until they bleed or hurt and accept that some ugliness is to be expected :\
 
I've been a nail/skin biter since I was a a child. As the above poster said- it's important to know a limit. I had serious issues with cellulitis periodically until I figured out when was safe to stop. This is actually a really serious issue- it could end up costing you a finger or suffering endocarditis in a worst case scenario.
 
I have been biting the skin around my fingers for about 12 years now.

Sometimes i will go days without doing it once, sometimes i will literally be every 5 seconds, then try and stop and stop for 10 seconds and go back to it without noticing.

I have tried everything....using the anti-nail biting stuff, plasters, willpower but i just always go back to do it.

I have been doing it all this morning which is slightly annoying as i just spent 2 weeks not doing it at all, and they healed well! I get seriously far down my thumbs.

I havent noticed a trend in when i do it. I do it on my own, in public, when calm, whilst nervous, sober, fucked.....I do it alot when im hungry. Go figure. Although its more the inside of my mouth that gets a gnashing when im hungry.

TBH, there is nothing more satisfying than getting a freshly healed, nice big chunk of skin grinding in between my teeth for a good minute and then spit it out. Repeat for 12 years. (There is nothing more disgusting than accidentally swallowing a peice of skin....makes me feel ill. I just chew the skin for a good minute or two and grab it off my tongue and throw it away. There must be couple of square miles worth of skin on my bedroom floor in a single day :D

I've kinda jst accepted it, man. And yeh, i was paranoid about girls:thinking it was disgusting but no complaints yet :D
 
I bought some stuff to put on my fingers, and it doesn't work for shit. I'm going to have to get something else.

Basically what attempt said is exactly what happens for me. Except I generally do not do this in public.
 
I used to and still somewhat have a problem with this myself. Be careful! I have gotten cellulitis several times over the years as a result of nail biting and skin chewing. That was the only reason that made me stop- infection running throughout your finger and towards the hand is no fun, especially when they drain it at the hospital with only a local anesthetic.
 
Ive been doing it for a good number of years and never got cellulitis....unless maybe I have unwittingly.

The thought of it scares me, but ive worked in various environments with these hacked fingers and never got anything....

Cellulitis? What were your symptoms....
 
^My finger swelled until it looked like a sausage, varied between extreme pulsating pain or no sensation at all, and then the swelling started to move furthur up unto my hand. This has happened to me three times, and each time ended up in an ER trip to have a doctor use a scalpel under the cuticle to drain the pus out. Disgusting and painful.
 
Sounds pleasant.

How common is it? Ive never heard of it before, and i know alot of people who do this. Like I said, ive been at it for 12 years and it hasnt happened.

However obviously im not negating that it can happen.

Just i want to know just HOW MUCH i should be panicking?:D

I need to engage the correct level of fear :D
 
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