Dermatillomania

[Guest Morgana]

Does anyone else eat whatever you pick off? I do and I enjoy these little tidbits. I have been doing this all of my life. I try to be careful where I pick so that others cannot see. I know this is disgusting and sometimes I feel shame but I can't stop. I have been at it for 40 years. A couple of years ago, I had a breakdown and was really ill. During that time I was cutting myself. Then I'd have huge scabs to peel off and eat. It left very large scars on my arms and stomach. I am no longer cutting but I do pick my legs and scalp. I sure wish there was help. I don't think I could talk to a doctor about it.

[LunaRufina]

Does anyone else eat whatever you pick off? I do and I enjoy these little tidbits. I have been doing this all of my life. I try to be careful where I pick so that others cannot see. I know this is disgusting and sometimes I feel shame but I can't stop. I have been at it for 40 years. A couple of years ago, I had a breakdown and was really ill. During that time I was cutting myself. Then I'd have huge scabs to peel off and eat. It left very large scars on my arms and stomach. I am no longer cutting but I do pick my legs and scalp. I sure wish there was help. I don't think I could talk to a doctor about it.

What you are describing is dermophagia, which is linked to dermatillomania/skin picking. Dermatillomania is a form of OCD in which one picks at their own skin and dermaphagia is one in which a person eats skin flakes, scabs, etc.

I haven't been able to find much information on dermaphagia. Maybe someone else can dig deeper than I am able to.

Talk to your doctor about the skin picking and then see if you are comfortable enough to talk further.

[Guest morgana]

Does anyone else eat whatever you pick off? I do and I enjoy these little tidbits. I have been doing this all of my life. I try to be careful where I pick so that others cannot see. I know this is disgusting and sometimes I feel shame but I can't stop. I have been at it for 40 years. A couple of years ago, I had a breakdown and was really ill. During that time I was cutting myself. Then I'd have huge scabs to peel off and eat. It left very large scars on my arms and stomach. I am no longer cutting but I do pick my legs and scalp. I sure wish there was help. I don't think I could talk to a doctor about it.

What you are describing is dermophagia, which is linked to dermatillomania/skin picking. Dermatillomania is a form of OCD in which one picks at their own skin and dermaphagia is one in which a person eats skin flakes, scabs, etc.

I haven't been able to find much information on dermaphagia. Maybe someone else can dig deeper than I am able to.

Talk to your doctor about the skin picking and then see if you are comfortable enough to talk further.

[cashew1ofMxdNutz]

I also wonder if there an element of pica? Pregnant women can have it where they crave weird substances like chalk or glue, etc. Old wives tales said that usually meant there was some type of mineral or extra something the person needed. Doctors poopoo that but I still believe there is an element of truth in it.

If you stick pretty much to scabs maybe you are iron deficient. If you don't want to talk to your pdoc about that maybe you could have your iron checked for potential anemia by your regular doctor.

Also I think more people pick and eat or pick and chew more then people want to admit. I have seen people bite their nails and chew on the piece that comes off. I also have seen people do that with calluses and hang nails.

And of course any toddler to preschool (and sometimes beyond) mine for gold and eat the boogers

[Guest Morgana]

Wow. I shared something with you that I have never even totally shared with my husband. I didn't even get one eeew gross! Thanks for the info. and advice. This is only the second time I have posted something on a chat board and I am amazed at your non-judgmental kindness. I want to be like you when I grow up. Thanks again.

[cashew1ofMxdNutz]

No Problem Morgana!!

[Guest Stacey]

Yep I am a picker and eater too. It is gross but I can't stop. In fact, I can't pick it without eating it. I don't know if it is the picking or the eating that I like better. That is more soothing. But if I am not picking my skin (scabs, nose, cuticles, feet) then I am binge eating or shopping. I have major issue with compulsion.

[Guest dodie]

It took a lot of differently phrased searches, but I'm glad I finally found this discussion. I never even thought of telling anyone about my own habit - it just seemed way too strange. I haven't even felt comfortable telling my girlfriend.

I can not stop picking the skin from the bottom of my feet and eating it. That sounds really messed up, I know, but it doesn't seem even the tiniest bit strange when I'm doing it. How strange that something that feels so normal sounds so weird when I write it out.

I often pick at my feet so much that they end up raw and painful to walk on the next morning. It's generally at night that I peel the skin from my feet - especially if I'm in bed reading or watching a movie. I even think about it beforehand, looking forward to it. I can't explain the satisfaction that comes from getting a particularly large piece of skin off all at once. It has to be a part of the sole of my foot that the skin would have come off anyway - if there's any pain at all, it's not satisfying, it's just painful.

Once I do get a big piece like that off, it's just great to sit there and chew it for a bit, and swallowing is absolutely satisfying.

I never thought of this as a compulsion or any kind of OCD, but I have always wondered why I've never heard of anyone else doing it.

Glad to know I'm not absolutely the only person ever.

[betcsu]

*raising hand* im in the club, too...

and aint crazy boards grand!

Edited January 28, 2008 by betcsu

[oohshinyobject]

ugggh, it's so gross...but i admittingly do it.

have been for several years now...

[Iknewsomethingwasamiss]

Yep, I am right there with ya. I know how satisfying it is to look forward to picking and eating it.... and the pleasure. It is sick, but I do it anyway. It has gotten really bad as of late. I will pick my cuticles, toe cuticles and all kinds skin and scabs until it bleeds. I will pick for hours at a time. I sit there with all my tools while my kids watch me. It is gross and embarrassing. Even my 8 year old has started clipping his toes way too often. Both kids pick their noses and scabs and eat them. I am creating disgusting kids by my own actions. But I can't stop. I tried, but I just go back again, worse than before. I am going to see a therapist on Friday for OCD. I want to stop and hopefully with some new meds and behavioral therapy I can.

Edited January 30, 2008 by Iknewsomethingwasamiss

[ChemistryExperiment]

I'm in the club I've been in the hospital so much that I haven't been able to search the boards fully. but I pick compulsively and eat it. its gross. I know. but..... I can't help it.... *sigh* I was better on the luvox... but they took me off that and now I'm.... picking like mad.

[Guest Guest]

Question: if you've only got dermatillomania (quite severe, though)(not dermophagia), does that mean you're OCD? Or do you just have behaviors along the spectrum?

[beetle]

I am a compulsive skin picker too. Never been compelled to eat anything. But I have gone through phases of horribly picking at my at my face, that's really the only place I do it. I have messed myself up pretty bad and always, always feel horrible afterwards, looking at how ugly it all looks. And I know my husband is looking at me knowing what I've been doing. When I've done a real number on myself, I hate to go out in public because of how bad it looks. Then, there's the scarring. And yet while I'm standing there in the mirror picking and squeezing, I don't think about the consequences, and it actually has a soothing, calming effect. And if I am able to pop a zit or squeeze out a blackhead, I feel so much better, like I've been able to get that nasty stuff out of me.

Thankfully, I haven't been on too much of a kick with it lately. I do go through spells of it.

Here's a place (with a forum) that I ran across while looking for info on compulsive skin picking. I've never posted on the forum so, I don't know how supportive it is but it's there for anyone who's having trouble with skin picking.

http://www.stoppickingonme.com/

[angry_girl]

Ok, so I just replied to the other thread about this, but I also wanted to quickly chime in on this one, too. I also pick and eat, scabs and skin. I feel so gross about doind this. Although I don't eat the stuff that comes out of a zit or infection, I do always smell it. I don't know why I do this nor can I pinpoint when it started (not too long ago, tho). I just enjoy the way the puss smells. I can't beleive I'm admitting to this. I feel so disgusting!

Hmmph. Crazyboard, where I let it ALL hang out.

AG

[sammka]

I eat skin too! Usually because I pick at my lip. I like the texture between my teeth.

Or, when I pick things off of my scalp, I actually line up the things or pile them, but don't eat them.

[Guest Guest_Morgana_*]

Damn - we're quite the club! I have been seriously thinking about seeing a doctor about all of this. I need to get my hair done and my scalp looks bad. Last time, I told the stylist that I had an allergic reaction to Pantine I doubt that will fly again. I have been taking Celexa for severe PMS and it seems to make the picking, etc. worse. Anyone have experience with that? Also, a couple of years ago, I went through a bout of cutting. Now I have obvious scars on my arms. Does anyone know of something that effectively covers those up? I live in Phoenix where long sleeves are too hot and I am self concious of people staring at my arms.

[Artemisia]

I no longer eat the skin off my feet--but I used to as a kid.

I still very much chew (and ingest bits of) my cuticles. I'm also a scab-picker, and I occasionally do eat those. Amusingly enough, I don't eat large scabs (though I may pick at them); large scabs seem "gross." That's rationality for you.

The scab-picking I learned from my mother (and possibly from my sisters?), but I think the scab-eating is my own elaboration.

P.S. I don't do any of this in public. Well, OK, the cuticle-chewing always happens subconsciously, so I might find myself doing it without total privacy...

[I'm Melting]

wow, did you see how many views this post has gotten??!!!

... hmm, dont think you are alone!

[Guest Another skin picker]

[i pick my feet and chew the skin. I like to peel of huge pieces and chew it like gum. I wish I could find a woman who picks and we could pick together. I picked a girlfriend once and chewd her skin.

Man am I a sick puppy...

[Guest Guest]

wow. for 32 years i thought i was alone. it sounds so messed up to hear unless your doing it. why can`t i stop...

[Guest Emily]

Damn - we're quite the club! I have been seriously thinking about seeing a doctor about all of this. I need to get my hair done and my scalp looks bad. Last time, I told the stylist that I had an allergic reaction to Pantine I doubt that will fly again. I have been taking Celexa for severe PMS and it seems to make the picking, etc. worse. Anyone have experience with that? Also, a couple of years ago, I went through a bout of cutting. Now I have obvious scars on my arms. Does anyone know of something that effectively covers those up? I live in Phoenix where long sleeves are too hot and I am self concious of people staring at my arms.

I had not bitten/chewed the insides of my mouth in years (since I was a kid and I'm 35), and suddenly started doing so when I got put on Celexa. So, you are not alone on that. I have an appointment next week to get switched back to my Lexapro. It worked just fine, but Celexa was cheaper. Not worth the $10 per month to have the inside of my mouth look like raw hamburger. Yikes!

For the coverup, there is a fantastic product called dermablend that is like a heavy foundation-type product. It is wonderful for covering scars. Lots of dermatologists offices sell it, and I'm sure it's available online.

[Guest gus]

i know its gross that i eat my head scabs, dandruff, buggers, blackheads, pimple cheese, dried foot skin, and the roots of my pubic hair, but it's fun! my girlfriend is very grossed out by me; just now i was eating blackheads so she googled "gross eating blackheads disorder" and that leed us here. wow! well, i totally understand you guys. i wrote a poem:

its so satisfying

to pick shit off of your body

and munch away!

its a free food source

that makes my day!

scabs are coarse

but don't taste bloody

demophagia is my buddy.

ya'll take care now and i say do whatever makes ya happy!

peace.

[panda_baby]

Oh my godddd you have no IDEA! I pop my pimples...mostly blackheads..and just munch away. I love the big old hard ones, the huge puss-y zits, small ones, dandruff, scabs, ALL OF IT. I don't know where i got the idea to pop one of them into my mouth in the first place!

it's so annoying. i feel like a freak. picking and popping is SOOOOO calming and seems to release all my stress. but i hate myself after doing it and feel so gross because my face looks like a bumpy wad of cheese.

I just came from my bathroom feeling terrible after another one of my huge popping and eating episodes and decided to look it up. I usually do it when i feel stressed or upset or anxious. I have a huge paper due and went right to the mirror. i try to leave notes on my mirror reminding myself not to do it and sometimes i can contain myself for a couple days.

but my fingers just act on their own. they pick dandruff, scabs, dry/dead skin, blackheads from ANY place on my body(they show up anywhere and everywhere from my face, head, back, stomach, chest, neck, pubic area, legs, and even random places like ankles and wrists.)

AND IT ALL GOES INTO MY MOUTH.

i feel like the whole process of eating it is calming too because any time im stressed i like to nibble and chew. i nibble the sides of my mouth and cuticles. i also snack alot. i never knew why i did this.

is it really OCD? i wish there was a way i could stop it so my skin could get a chance to recover and restore itself.

I'm so happy i found this forum because i always thougt it was just me. only one person in my life ever noticed i did it but i never stopped me. what can i do? i dont wanna get married and have my husband find out about my weird obsesssion! and i want my skin to clear up!!!!

[Guest SalGal]

I eat skin too! Usually because I pick at my lip. I like the texture between my teeth.

Or, when I pick things off of my scalp, I actually line up the things or pile them, but don't eat them.

This is interesting because I peel things off my scalp too. I don't line them up or eat them, but I always place them down to where I can see them. If I see a large piece, I like to tear it apart with my fingernails or tweezers. I have even used tweezers to pull my scalp apart. I'm not sure why I do this, but it hurts so badly that it feels good. Luckily, I have thick hair, so no one knows how badly I have this disorder.

The only things I will put in my mouth from my body are my cuticles though. I will also pull those apart with tweezers, especially cuticles from my toes. I'll also pick on my heels when they are dry, but I try not to do that because I have a job where I stand pretty much all day.

I do a lot of other weird things to.... I'm very OCD. I'll count the amount of bites during each meal, especially around other people. I don't want others thinking I eat very much, but then when I get home, I might go through a binge and purge session. I will starve myself for months at a time, then one day, I'll eat almost everything in the house and purge it all. This happens, like I said, once every few months. I also have to do some kind of exercise per day, even if it is right before bedtime. Once I get in bed, I start picking at my scalp again.... grrrr...

I really want to stop all of these behaviors... but I don't know how. I'm a 31 professional with no family but a dog and a roommate. Oh, I also have BDD (Body Dismorphic Disorder), so I have a hard time going to social events sometimes. Other people have to literally beg me to go with them.

So, I've confessed a lot .... I'm outy....

[Guest cannibal]

I pick the skin off my fingers I do this so bad that I feel like I'm walking around with bloody stumps. I also like to suck the blood, sometimes I think I may be doing it to get to the blood although I hate the pain. The skin tastes delicious and feels so satisfying between my teeth. Sometimes I feel like the skin on my fingers is too tight and sometimes it feels like its crawling it feels like I NEED to pick it. I feel like such a freak!!! I try to stop and I'll be doing really good then I notice how unobvious they look then they start crawling like and I ruin them. It's so annoying why can't I stop?

[Guest fingereater]

I eat the skin on my fingers around my fingernails. But what I do, is I use a nail-clipper to make nice, precise, surgical cuts of skin, and then I eat them. If you do this, you should try the nail-clipper approach. It allows you to be more careful and not end up ripping off huge pieces accidentally. That cuts down on the pain and the blood and the gross-looking results. Much more stealth Just don't go too crazy with it, because you really can do more damage if you let yourself get out of control.

[liveoak]

it grosses me out to read the subtitle again and again.

Sorry, it just does.

[BPCharlotte]

What I always put down to be a simple bad habit, picking at the skin on my lips and sometimes around my nails, and finding ovbious tracts of dead skin on feet and LOVING peeling burnt skin... so satisfying... Now. I wonder if it had always been a sign of my not dealing with stuff. I do tend to eat skin from my lips and maybe around the nails, but not scabs or "crunchy" stuff...

My daughter (11 y/o) went to see her GP last week for picking at her fingers. The skin was getting really damaged, and he was concerned as to why she felt the need to do it. She told him she doesn't know when she starts that she's doing it, but when she becomes aware she carried on anyway, knowing it's damaging her skin but it made her feel better, she felt it was comforting.

I am concerned, obviously, about her own mental state. Does dermatillomania progress to SI often? As in, intentionally causing pain to feel better?

Should I be worried?

[Guest Ashes2ashes]

Wow, my BF does this.. ITS FRICKING GROSS!

[successful_workthru]

In times of stress I make scabs or sores on myself, not cutting.

I hate pain, so don't know why on earth I do this.

Sometimes I have been known to eat them.

I always look at what I pick. I have been known to chew on scabs.

I am gross, as I get a lot of satisfaction from pulling out an awkward to reach, but troublesome big scab, or lump of earwax, or eye bogie.

We all have our quirks.

Out of manners, if I am with someone who is easily grossed out, I try to avoid this, but the trouble is, I don't know I am doing it half the time.

I have two big scabs the size of a 50p peice on either side of my face, and a smaller one beside my nose.

I bought antiseptic cream for them today.

[ajw194]

I pull my hairs out I enjoy poking myself with them. Razors leave them pretty sharp so you can give yourself a nice prick. Never eaten though.

[andrea3821]

I pick a lot of different stuff on my body but there are very few that I eat. I guess I just can't bring myself to admit it all to anyone, not even here, but I can say that I pick my scalp, like others have said, when I lay down to go to sleep. Taking Ambien before bed has helped a lot since I'm not laying there for as long before I get to sleep, so maybe that will help others as well.

[Guest Guest]

So, I've read this entire site now and there is no way that I can't share my own experience now that I see you guys were bold enough to share yours. I pick and eat everything. Oh God, I can't believe I'm telling you guys this.... NO ONE KNOWS!!!! This is pretty extensive so ok, I'm just going to put it out there... maybe it will help me feel better about all this.

First it started with nail clippers, clipping off pieces of the soles of my feet.

I eat my buggers, my cuticles, the puss from my zits, the scabs from mutilating my zits....

I've picked at my skin for a LONG time with tweezers and have all kinds of scars on my chest and back.

I compulsively pick my face, and I'm not sure if people notice that what I pick off, I eat.

I've eaten my fingernails and toenails since I can remember, but I'm better about that now.

I eat my earwax and have performed numerous "surgeries" on myself (such as removing a pimple, wart, or freckle)...

Any kind of scab, I pick it and eat it.... I don't mind the pain, usually things end up bleeding and probably, as guessed, I used to be a cutter.

I can't believe I even had the nerve to type this.

Can anyone help me? I'm afraid someone will find out and not understand. I know it's gross to some people, but that is only because this topic is socially taboo.

[crazybutcute]

So, I've read this entire site now and there is no way that I can't share my own experience now that I see you guys were bold enough to share yours. I pick and eat everything. Oh God, I can't believe I'm telling you guys this.... NO ONE KNOWS!!!! This is pretty extensive so ok, I'm just going to put it out there... maybe it will help me feel better about all this.

First it started with nail clippers, clipping off pieces of the soles of my feet.

I eat my buggers, my cuticles, the puss from my zits, the scabs from mutilating my zits....

I've picked at my skin for a LONG time with tweezers and have all kinds of scars on my chest and back.

I compulsively pick my face, and I'm not sure if people notice that what I pick off, I eat.

I've eaten my fingernails and toenails since I can remember, but I'm better about that now.

I eat my earwax and have performed numerous "surgeries" on myself (such as removing a pimple, wart, or freckle)...

Any kind of scab, I pick it and eat it.... I don't mind the pain, usually things end up bleeding and probably, as guessed, I used to be a cutter.

I can't believe I even had the nerve to type this.

Can anyone help me? I'm afraid someone will find out and not understand. I know it's gross to some people, but that is only because this topic is socially taboo.

This is me--Crazybutcute. Adding this so that I can be notified of replies now that I added myself.

[Guest Guest]

i wish there were people in my area i could hang with and give a call to when i feel the urges...

its effecting my relationship very much so.... i keep thinking he doesnt see me as sexy, cant wear bathing suits tank tops tshirt skirts shorts its pretty bad... and so he has a bad problem with checking out other chicks and im sure i wouldnt mind it as much as i do now, if i didnt think he was looking at those other girls because he cant see me naked and see nice skin if he catches glances at my naked skin

my hole body is one great big scar and i would love to stop...

i just want to be pretty... i always tell myself i love my body i think its damn sexy, if i had new skin.....

there has not been one hour where i have not picked at my skin since i was well maybe 5 or 6....

in all honesty...

ive bought dresses and bikinis telling myself ill be in that this year....

but i never do...

WHY US????

any helps on stop picking... and most importanlty... and medications that can get rid of scarring very fast... i would love to sit in a bathing suit at least mid to end summer

[BPCharlotte]

Stopping picking is easy by physical means, like wearing gloves, occupying your hands elsewhere (sit on them if you have to/knit/playing with hair?)

Short term.

But it will keep coming back if it's a comfort thing, stress thing, punishment thing. Unless you deal with those issues...

A tdoc/pdoc could probaably take a good history and go from there, but main prehibitory thing for you should be that YOU are unhappy about it, not for anyone else.

Total honesty with your doc is the way to go. All the best!

[Guest Guest]

do you guys enjoy doing this? i mean like really like doing it to a point where you dont want to stop...

it seems like everyone is getting a big laugh about this whole things. i really want the help i know that. but reading posts like

"do what makes you happy"

"you should use nail clippers"

thats not helping at all... im just wondering...

[Guest Guest_melissa_*]

I have this problem. Both the picking and the eating.

I enjoy it and sometimes I crave it, but I want to stop at the same time. I *know* my fiance must notice it, but he only usuaully ever says anything(or grabs my hands) when I'm picking at my scalp, which is the worst part. I've had some kind of scab on my scalp for over two years. I have bald spots. I have weird spots where my hair is regrowing. In the process, I tend to pull out hair. My hair is so thin and my scalp so gross.

Even though I enjoy it and get some kind of sick pleasure out of it, I want to stop. Does anyone have any success stories with stopping? Any useful treatments? I've tried the rubberband on the wrist trick and it only works for so long until I just don't care and rip the damn thing off.

[JuliannaMKH]

I pick at everything everywhere. I will pick at my feet and be almost unable to walk some days from the pain. It's doubly stupid because I'm a diabetic but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to stop. I mean, I can stop for a while, but I always end up going back to it.

[Guest annonymousCPS]

I pick my arms and sometimes my face too. I don't eat the skin, but I do chew it and usually blow it across the room with my mouth to "get it away from me". I have horrible scars and I feel so insecure about my arms and it really affects my self esteem. I want to stop. I can't. =(

[psychosocialworker]

ok guys, i do this too, i have never let anyone know, not even my boyfriend. we've been together for four years, and he has no idea, i mean he knows i pick, and he tries to stop me, but he has no idea i eat it. and i do, i eat it all.

the worst time for me is when i am driving. i am always consciously aware of other drivers though, so nobody knows what i am doing. especially when i am picking my nose.

lately though i have had this overwhelming fear that i am going to hit a deer or something and my finger will be up my nose and my secret will be out!

or that when i get old, i'm going to have dementia or something and just be sitting around in front of everybody picking at myself and eating it. this really scares me.

i want to break the habit but i don't know how. i have no idea why i do it, i just can't seem to stop, most of the time i'm not even aware i'm doing it.

thank you all for posting about this. i would have never thought to talk to someone or even that it could be my ocd...wow. when ya'll figure out a solution let me know. thanks.

[The Emperor]

I've ruined my face for the time being doing this. It seems to be my favorite spot to fucking pick at. The other places that no one can see are forgotten by me, except my back.

I have many noticeable scabs on my face, and my SO is getting pissed at me. I spend a lot of time in the shower doing this and most times I pass a mirror I could spend fifteen minutes on it and then I'll randomly catch myself doing it without noticing for a long time.

I hate how time consuming it is for me and how embarassed I am to have my uncovered face seen by anyone because it's so obvious I have this disgusting habit. I tried not to all day yesterday and did okay, anyway, no long sessions in the shower or infront of the mirror, but there's little I can do about the times my hands find something to pick at of their own accord, seemingly without me ordering them to do so. So, yeah, that sucks.

I fuck with a lot of shit on my body. I have facial piercings that I'm always fucking with, lots of earrings, I'll rip the split ends off the bottom of pieces of hair a lot. I leave my nails alone but only because I cannot stand the feeling of something touching them or them touching each other. It's weird. Chapped lips are a gold mine. Probably pick my nose ten or more times a day, this is not including the times I am just fucking with my nose rings and it LOOKS like I am picking my nose but I'm not.

I feel like a damn monkey. I haven't eaten anything I've picked off though. Hopefully I won't after reading about it.

Sometimes it's worse than others, but there's always at least SOMETHING on my face. Sometimes I go hog wild for a little while and now is one of those times. YAY! More crater like scars for my face.

I've done this shit for as long as I can remember.

[recoverymouse]

I've ruined my face for the time being doing this. It seems to be my favorite spot to fucking pick at. The other places that no one can see are forgotten by me, except my back.

I have many noticeable scabs on my face, and my SO is getting pissed at me. I spend a lot of time in the shower doing this and most times I pass a mirror I could spend fifteen minutes on it and then I'll randomly catch myself doing it without noticing for a long time.

I hate how time consuming it is for me and how embarassed I am to have my uncovered face seen by anyone because it's so obvious I have this disgusting habit. I tried not to all day yesterday and did okay, anyway, no long sessions in the shower or infront of the mirror, but there's little I can do about the times my hands find something to pick at of their own accord, seemingly without me ordering them to do so. So, yeah, that sucks.

I fuck with a lot of shit on my body. I have facial piercings that I'm always fucking with, lots of earrings, I'll rip the split ends off the bottom of pieces of hair a lot. I leave my nails alone but only because I cannot stand the feeling of something touching them or them touching each other. It's weird. Chapped lips are a gold mine. Probably pick my nose ten or more times a day, this is not including the times I am just fucking with my nose rings and it LOOKS like I am picking my nose but I'm not.

I feel like a damn monkey. I haven't eaten anything I've picked off though. Hopefully I won't after reading about it.

Sometimes it's worse than others, but there's always at least SOMETHING on my face. Sometimes I go hog wild for a little while and now is one of those times. YAY! More crater like scars for my face.

I've done this shit for as long as I can remember.

Emperor: I've permanently messed up my face doing this. I have a hole in my nose-- or a big depression-- that is so bad it changed the shape of one nostril. And lots of other scars.

I have OCD but I also have some version of Body Dysmorphic Disorder. It's related to OCD, I've been told. What you are describing reminds me of my BDD symptoms... spending time looking in the mirror, picking out all my faults, and being convinced I can fix them by picking. I don't pick anymore but I still have issues with the mirror. I tend to avoid looking at myself altogether. Because if I look, I can get stuck, and obsessive.

[Guest shari1677]

I pick at everything everywhere. I will pick at my feet and be almost unable to walk some days from the pain. It's doubly stupid because I'm a diabetic but I'll be damned if I can figure out how to stop. I mean, I can stop for a while, but I always end up going back to it.

[Guest shari1677]

I'm 42 and have been depressed since AT LEAST the age of 7, including psychosis, neurosis, anxiety and phobias. The past few months, I have started picking. I also picked my lips when they were chapped to an extent, but this has gotten out of control. My new obsession is PICKING MY FEET. I have picked the skin off half of each foot, the same spots over and over and over again, until they are very painful. I have ointment, which I put on AFTER I pick, but I cant seem to actually stop the picking. It is extremely frustrating and I unconsciously do it even when my kids and neices are around. My 10 YO neice showed me that she picked the skin off her feet the other day and I was so ashamed. What do I do - counseling, family physician???? WHAT???

[The Emperor]

My therapist is trying to get me to replace the habit with something else.

The other night, I took a pair of scissors to a callous on my foot.

I'm not very good at replacing habits.

Anyway, it should work, though, trying to find something else to do. I just tear up little things, like grass or leaves or carrot slices, anything really I can get my hands on. It DOES keep me from picking at that moment, but sometimes I do it without noticing or, like when I'm in the shower, there really isn't anything availabe to tear apart, so I pick then.

It's a disgusting, frustrating mess sometimes.

Good luck.

[r.mcmurphy]

used to chew finger nails to the quick. by always having a clipper and a file handy i beat that compulsion. the odd booger still goes down the hatch 'cause where else am i going to put them as i carry no snot rag. it's good somehow to see all moonbats letting it all hang out.

[TheTrishgu]

Wow! I'm actually excited to see this post with so many replies that I can have a chuckle at, because they remind me of myself. I've been picking my scalp for the last 10 years. My scalp never scabs for some reason so I only eat the skin. My husband deals with it, but tells me to stop if I start to bleed or there is pus. I can only use my left arm. It gets so tired and stiff sometimes. I hate wearing black.

[The Emperor]

Wow! I'm actually excited to see this post with so many replies that I can have a chuckle at, because they remind me of myself. I've been picking my scalp for the last 10 years. My scalp never scabs for some reason so I only eat the skin. My husband deals with it, but tells me to stop if I start to bleed or there is pus. I can only use my left arm. It gets so tired and stiff sometimes. I hate wearing black.

When I had head lice when I was a little girl I did this. I think it was bites from the bugs that started it. I picked at one scab, and eventually, all you could see when looking at my the part in my hair was a scabby, bloody mess, my parents got pissed about that. So off and on I've been terrible with this. Sometimes it isn't so bad, other times it can consume me. Now I'm doing better about it than when I last posted in this thread. I still pick, but not so much.

The scalp thing just reminded me of that. My SO gets really pissed at me when I pick, he doesn't get it at all.

[nonsum]

I've never made a post in this OCD forum but this thread rang true. I too am a member of the skin picking and eating club. cuticles. scabs. callouses. i pick at my cuticles incessantly. i have since i was a very small child. never chewed my nails, but i do chew them. i pick them till they bleed. and eat the skin. i chew them and eat the skin... i pick at scabs and eat them too.. i pick at anydead bit of skin i can find and more often than not will put it in my mouth. each and every one of my fingers is a wreck because of it. but i still continue on. even minor wolds leave scars because i pick them. but still i do it. my friends will comment when the see me doing it. and i'll stop for a bit. it's a nervous habit. i try not to let anyone see me actually eating the bits that come off my person because i'm afraid they'll think it's really gross. because i think its really gross. i pick at my face as well but not as much as my hands. or my scabs. because i try to put on a "pretty" face for the world and that would defeat the purpose. it's good to know that there are a fair number of others on here that do similar things.

[Stormienite]

I've always chewed on the inside of my mouth and ate it. And as far back as I can remember I scratch my head all the time. I go right to my scalp when I have idle hands. I look forward to bed time so I can read and pick at the same time. I don't eat it, but there's sure a crapload of scabs/flakes on my side of the bed. And I also pick scabs til they're all gone.

[MadMonk]

Wow, I love that this thread is here. I had to do a paper for college on a disorder, so I chose one I had...this one! I think it started when I got over pulling my hair out as a kid (trichotillimania?) and progressed to skin picking and chewing (and eating). My cuticles look like they were put through a meat grinder. I am basically missing a toenail on one foot because I ran it over with a chair wheel two years ago and it is SO SATISFYING to pick now that the nailbed is all messed up. I have to let it go a few weeks here and there or else it's a bloody mess, so I do and think "Maybe this time I'll leave it alone totally so I can paint my toenails" but then it hits a certain stage and I just can't resist. Most of the time, with my cuticles, I don't even realize I am doing it (I read this whole thread and didn't chew once, but it was an effort). I swear, if I could get my feet up there, I would chew the cuticles around my toes. My fingernails grow all sideways now from all the years of picking and chewing.

Confession is good. I'm new, but I'm really digging the crazyboards.

Edited November 11, 2009 by MadMonk

[Guest AmberWaves]

I'm always doing one of 3 things. I'm either chewing my cheeks, bitting/picking the skin off my thumbs or doing the same to my feet and eating the skin. I haven't the guts to tell my doctor about the eating part... I feel really embarassed. She put me on antianxiety pills but there has been NO improvement at all. My feet are so bad that they bleed when I walk. I want this to stop but don't know how to.

[lostgirl]

omg! finally i know i'm not the only one! i have always chewed on the inside of my cheeks and ate it. what else would you do with it? lol i'm also a scab picker, head scratcher, nose picker, cuticle chewin... ugh to list it like that. oh well it's me.

[lostgirl]

yeah, i responded to the other thread too... but i had to say... i understand the rational of not eating the BIG ones... blech! i guess that means the little ones are tastier. lol i couldn't resist.

[Guest picky nicky]

i used to pick and bite my toenails and eat them together with any loose skin around my toes. Now I cant get my toes to my mouth so i just pick an chew

is that nasty???

xxx

[winter360]

Oh man, I do this.

I started biting my nails in kindergarten because I wanted to try it out. I read a kid's book where a character develops a nail-biting habit so I tried it and I was biting for years. Eventually it just progressed to also nibbling on the skin around my nails.

I was able to successfully stop biting my nails for several months but I still picked at the skin around 'em, and now I'm back to nail biting and skin picking/eating again.

I've tried picking the skin on my heels but it's not as satisfying.

I also pick at zits :/ But I don't eat that.

[Guest AmberWaves]

I call myself a "peeler". I'm always peeling away at my thumbs, feet or chewing the inside of my cheeks. I do chew on the skin I peel off... If I peel skin off and don't chew on it, I will continue to feel anxious. I dont quite understand the gooey scab thing. That makes me feel a bit ill thinking about it but I def understand the skin chewing. I'm too embarassed to tell my therapist about the chewing part and it seems that she doesnt understand dermatillomania anyway - she thinks that it's caused by something else and doesnt really recognize dermatillomania as something real. I don't think I'm a picker... atleast not what I've seen on tv as a picker... I don't pick because I imagine a flaw or am trying to get the flaw out of my skin. I dont pick at my face or arms or legs. For me it's almost like a texture thing. If feel skin sticking up a bit I will peel it off until it feels right.

This is not fun for me. I don't think it's funny or enjoy it being "my little secret". My feet bleed and hurt all the time and it's embarassing. More recently I've noticed that my impules control is getting worse. I now have really odd cravings for chemical smelling things.

[Stars]

Just wanted to let all those on this thread know I have a thread under the health care system regarding this and how some of us are being treated by the medical profession. I welcome all comments as I'd really like to know how your docs are reacting to your picking, etc. I don't mean psych docs, I mean other docs you have to see, like the dermatologist, Ear nose throat doc, those kind of docs.

thanks stars

http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/37914-we-pick-our-noses-and-insert-objects-into-our-ears/

Edited May 16, 2010 by Stars

[Guest Em]

My gosh I thought I was alone! I started popping my pimples in gr. 5 when I got acne, then, out of the blue, I started eating my blackheads and pimple puss. No body but you guys know about this. Now I feel a little better that I know I'm not alone.

[WinterRosie]

I've been doing this all of my life. Still do - I keep trying to stop, but it never works for long. I didn't know it had a name (or was recognized as existing, let alone that so many other folks did it too). Funny.

Does it make us along the OCD spectrum? Or does it just happen to be in that category?

[who-who-who]

Thanks for posting on this topic, thought I was the only one.

Used to pick at a scab on the top of my head, during math class, in grade school. The scab would never quite heal, I'd eat it & suck the blood off my fingers. Damn. Guess I did this somewhat unconsciously until the kid in back of me grabbed my hand, shoved it in my face & said "look what you are doing to yourself"!! Be nice to find that kid & thank him for pointing out my behavior, stopped that particular destruction that day, went on chewing off split ends in high school & then leg picking/digging.

Quite odd the math teacher didn't report this !!!!

Just last year EMDR pretty much eradicated the self destruction....21+ years of it, amaZing to have a body left!

[mayiflyaway]

hey there

I eat my hair folicles. I pull hair everywhere until I pull a hair that has a giant piece of hair folicle at the end and I like it and play with it and then eat it. Or pick it apart with pins. I have been doing this for 13 years now. also eat my pimples when I pop them or I burn myself intentionally so I can pick at the wounds healing. I don't know how to talk to a doctor about this. I feel like I am the only one.

Saxsli

[Marjory]

OMG! I have been picking and eating for most of my life. I knew I couldn't be the only one but it's not exactly something you bring up in conversation with friends! I'm not sure what prompted me to google it this afternoon, but I am glad I did. It is something I want to change but I am just not sure how to go about that.

[velcro]

Sooooo guilty. I admit that reading about others doing it grosses me out (sorry,sorry), and seeing others do it, too. But when I do it, it's kinda like I'm... transfixed? And it's like, OoOooh, I can't wait until that scabs over so I can peel it off [and eat it] So I understand completely. I've always picked, bit and ate the skin at the side of my nails, especially my thumbs. More yucky stuff, but I won't go into any other details because it's embarrassing for me. I won't even tell my boyfriend,who is constantly picking at his skin. I've never seen him eat anything he picks off,though.

Edited June 18, 2011 by velcro

[San]

Definitely not alone!

I've been doing this since I was a child. Open sores in my mouth from chewing on my cheeks. My lips are often dry, and I'll peel the flakes off with my teeth or fingers and chew on them. The worst is my fingernails and cuticles. I chew them with my teeth and rip off skin until I'm bleedng and my fingers are raw. I'm too embarrassed to get a pedicure. I pick scabs and chew on them sometimes. I have a bad oral fixation.. and as I type this I'm chomping on my cheek. I do it without really noticing. No idea why.

[itsbrendawalsh]

this is a huge problem for me. i was a thumbsucker until age 10, and as i sucked i would rub the skin underneath my nose raw until it bled and scabbed. around age 8 or so i developed trichotillomania, which i had strongly for a few years and more or less went away by the end of college. i ate the hair and got bullied quite a bit about that. the worst part of it that i can't stop is the nail biting, which started around age 7, when i also became nearly incapacitated with OCD. i am 29, and in the last year i have bitten one of my nails clean off and have picked and chewed on the exposed nail bed so that the nail will never grow back. i am so ashamed about this. i am permanently disfigured. i know at job interviews they look at your nails and it counts against you if they are bitten. how will i ever get a decent position with a gnawed up stub on my right hand? my boyfriend is disgusted by my behavior and i know he is also ashamed of it, but i still can't stop. every day i swear to myself that i will be strong, that i won't give in, and every day i fail.

i pick my skin as well, but this is much better since i have found a combination of prescription cleanser (Plexion) and ointment (Ziana) that keeps my skin pretty clear. sometimes, though, i will stay in the bathroom for 45 minutes just squeezing at pores trying to get something out.

i also chew the skin off my lips and have chewed the inside of my cheeks and lips to the point where they once turned purple and swelled up to the size of a jawbreaker. that one was pretty difficult to explain at work.

i just read through the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Compulsive Scale on my own, which i took formally at the time of my diagnosis of OCD and Tourettes at age 14. it made me realize that my obsessive compulsive disorder is still severe, although i had convinced myself it had mostly gone away because i tend to discount the obsessions and most of my compulsions are "silent," and nobody notices what I'm doing except me. they only notice that i have spaced out and lost time and have no idea what is going on around me, and then of course people are angry and annoyed and think i just don't care about anything.

it makes me feel completely helpless. i am on my second try with anafranil right now, but it isn't doing very much besides making me sleepy at night and reducing my dependence on temazepam for insomnia, but that's almost like just trading one drug for the other. i read about n-acetyl cysteine today and ordered myself some. maybe it will help, or maybe it will just sit in the vitamins basket along with the other 50 or so supplements i have tried for all of the made up diseases i have been convinced that i had.

sorry for the long post on a dead topic, except obviously not really that sorry or i wouldn't post.

[suomii]

I started Pulling out and eating my hair at the age of 9 and stopped at the age of 27. At my worst, all my eyelashes, eyebrows, and 80% of my head hair was missing. The only way I was able to stop was to replace one addiction with another- that is, pulling out and eating my hair with using pain medications and then eventually abusing them. Of course, it did help that for the first time in my life I had a loving, kind sensitive husband that cared for me and loved me despite my many flaws... I really think that after years of abuse and feeling "different" or "not right" it took a long time to bring my barriers down- but I'm glad I did.

In the interest of full-disclosure (Which I've noticed can be a tad sketchy at times on this site) I'll mention that in addition to pulling out and eating my hair (mostly the roots) I would also eat my nails, cuticles, skin from my feet, toenails, and acne as well as it's output (Pus, blackheads, etc.). Smelling a sub dermal yeast ball or pus infection can be just as enjoyable as anything else- but nothing, and I mean *nothing* in my book beats pulling out a thick textured hair with blood on the end and a crunch to the root as opposed to a soggy mess.

Ah- one thing I neglected to share as I had forgotten- certain foods will give me inflamed taste buds, or "canquer sores" I suppose they are called. They are so painful for me that I will take nail scissors and cut them off/out of my tongue. The remaining pain is fiery and intense, plus there is TONS of blood, but it hurts waaaay less than the sores did. Go figure.

And as disgusting as this all is... I know I'm not the only one. So feel free to relax, share, and not be judged.

The best advice I can give as a person in "remission" from this disease, is twofold: Anxiety medications (in moderation) and Behavior Modification Therapy. These are the only two things which will actually work. Best wishes!

-Kaisa

Bipolar II, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, ADD, Bulemia Nervosa. Lamictal, Seroquel, Lexapro, Vyvanse, Valium

Edited October 14, 2011 by suomii

[Guest1542]

Wow I thought for the longest time I was the only one. I don't know anybody personally that has these weird habits but I feel at home strangely while reading all these posts by other people. It's also really embarassing and I have never told anybody about this but I get so frustrated...

I am a picker and an eater. Mostly dandruff but scabs will do as well. I can't control it and I keep telling myself it is disgusting but I can't stop doing it. I am also too embarassed to speak with a doctor about this or seek help.

 

There is something so satisfying about lifting off the dandruff flakes that appear on my scalp. I have a large amount of sharp objects at hand around my room at all times, and I constantly sneak away to the bathroom and stab underneath all my dandruff to lift them. If it makes a scab thats even better, I will probably pick at it later. The larger the dandruff or scab, the more satisfying. Then I must eat all of the dead skin I have collected, I love to chew it. It grosses me out so much...

 

I am also a compulsive nail bitter, I will bite and eat my nails at any given opportunity. Also I am compulsive where anything that shows up on my skin surface I must pick off. However like many people mention they eat pimples or feet skin, I am not at that stage yet and hope to never be... Just want to cry.

[kitkatt91]

I stopped eating my skin after a girl in grade school told me I would get worms if I did. even though i didn't think that was very plausible, the visual was enough to deter me because I have a constant paranoia of parasitic infestation anyway, you're not alone! i pick at the skin around my fingers, mostly my thumbs. i don't know when i started, i don't think i noticed i did it until it got to the point where i couldn't ignore the embarrassment  my fingers are usually bloody now and when i've been picking a lot i lose the coloring on my fingertips. been trying to stop for years, but i am finally nearing the point of not caring. i've recognized it as a stress response and its just about the only coping mechanism i have so i use it keeps my anxiety somewhat a bay.

 

i sometimes like keeping it at finger picking because my fingers are already ruined. if i stopped picking them, i would just pick something else. as a kid i used to scratch the paint off the walls and shred paper. i'm never conscious of it as i do it. the one time i started curtailing my picking, i just started plucking hairs instead. Ended up with some ridiculous looking eyebrows so i am not allowed near tweezers anymore. 

 

anyone ever considered a biological component before? i saw my dad today and while we were in the car i peeked over at him and he was picking his fingers while driving. he was actually driving with his elbows just so he could fidget with his fingers. i never noticed it before, he has always fidgeted so i think i never really thought about what he was doing. looking back, he used to always peel the skin from the bottom of his feet or from his fingers. always. he's a very stoic calm man, but constantly picking at himself and shifting his legs. i thought i was the only one, but lo and behold, my dad does it too!

Edited January 22, 2013 by kitkatt91

[WinglessFaery]

Hi. Most of this stuff I dont do. I have always bitten my fingernails and chewed on them and my cuticles and inside of my cheek and lips but honestly ive never really thought about it. but recently ive been super anxious all the time and have chewed my lipped so bad that its swollen and looks like somebody punched me in the face and ive also started picking my gums until they bleed and sucking the blood off my finger. Those too things together have gotten very painful and make it hard for me too eat so I guess its becoming more of a problem.

Ive never thought I was ocd because im just so messy and unorganized lol but ill admit I know next too nothing about ocd.

I do have hideous scars on my stomach from when I used too cut but I never really thought of myself as a selfharmer because I never considered myself addicted and I ussually did it when my ex was being emotionally abusive and ive barely done it since we broke up. But maybe this is a SI thing.

All I know is it fricken hurts but I really enjoy it anyway and cant stop especially the gum picking.

[csp-angie]

Dermatillomania is a disorder that helps relieve anxiety for many
people. Most people with it experience anxiety to some degree. It's very
complex in that it is an impulse control disorder also tied in with
OCD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, and personality disorders. It's cyclic
with anxiety because once the anxiety is relieved after a "pick
session", we become more anxious from the aftermath... so we try to fix
that feeling by picking again.


Dermatillomania co-exists with many of these disorders but often it is
"caught" far too late so other symptoms are created because of it. It
can be diagnosed separately instead of only being a symptom of
another... but for some people it is a symptom of another issue. Kind of
the "chicken or egg" question of which came first.

[Wooster]

What are your experiences, Angie?

 

CB is a first person site, and people are encouraged to write about their own personal experiences, rather than generalizing about a condition.

 

I am guessing based on your experiences in your website that you have found some things that helped you.

 

(eta: missed an 's')

Edited February 7, 2013 by Wooster

[woahstop]

Hah awesome, I'm not alone. I just posted on a Trichotillomania post on pulling hair. I have this one spot on my head that's pretty sore and I've been picking at it for five to six years and recently (for two years or so now), I've been pulling the scabs off this one spot up to the point where I'm bleeding and it's painful but relaxing at the same time. 

 

I also have Dermatophagia (or something like that) where I pick the scab and then eat it. 

 

I don't know. Strange and disgusting, but relaxing.

[woahstop]

Wow I thought for the longest time I was the only one. I don't know anybody personally that has these weird habits but I feel at home strangely while reading all these posts by other people. It's also really embarassing and I have never told anybody about this but I get so frustrated...

I am a picker and an eater. Mostly dandruff but scabs will do as well. I can't control it and I keep telling myself it is disgusting but I can't stop doing it. I am also too embarassed to speak with a doctor about this or seek help.

 

There is something so satisfying about lifting off the dandruff flakes that appear on my scalp. I have a large amount of sharp objects at hand around my room at all times, and I constantly sneak away to the bathroom and stab underneath all my dandruff to lift them. If it makes a scab thats even better, I will probably pick at it later. The larger the dandruff or scab, the more satisfying. Then I must eat all of the dead skin I have collected, I love to chew it. It grosses me out so much...

 

I am also a compulsive nail bitter, I will bite and eat my nails at any given opportunity. Also I am compulsive where anything that shows up on my skin surface I must pick off. However like many people mention they eat pimples or feet skin, I am not at that stage yet and hope to never be... Just want to cry.

I'm a scalp scab picker myself and whenever I feel the scab rip off, I feel a huge satisfaction and then I eat it which makes me feel even better. I laugh and smile to myself while doing this. It's so great :-)

[Wooster]

Just a reminder that Crazy Boards is a pro-treatment, pro-recovery support site for mentally interesting people. We encourage you to work with your real-life providers to find solutions to your challenges.

[TrichOcd24]

I know this is probably a dead post but I want to share my story as well because it's always nice knowing that we aren't alone in our "odd" habits. I have been a finger sucker since I gave up drinking bottles (18 months according to my mom) I am 24 now. I only suck my fingers in my own house and am usually doing it when I am watching tv or on my computer. It is self soothing to me. My boyfriend is accepting of it, although I don't do it around him he appreciates that I suck my fingers instead of smoke cigarettes. I started pulling out my hair when I was 13. Middle school was extremely stressful for me and I also started eating the roots of the hair as well. My parents didn't know what happened and I was too afraid to tell them that this was self inflicting. I had pulled along the natural part of my hair leaving a long bald spot about an inch thick. The doctor was baffled too as I was too afraid to tell him I pulled. They said it was just stress from being in middle school and it will go away. I pulled out all my eyelashes when I was 15 and started wearing fake ones to hide that. I started picking the tops of my legs when I started shaving and would eat the ingrown hairs with the follicles. When I started to get breakouts I was about 16 and that's when I started to eat those too. I used to bite my nails a lot but then I started getting acrylics and now that prevents me from biting. I still pick at the cuticle around it but it's a lot harder to do with the fake nails on. Saying this out loud sounds absolutely disgusting and watching other people do it grosses me out as well. But when I do it it is "normal". None of my anxiety habits has led to me leading anything other than a normal life. I have a full time job, a boyfriend, and a social life. This is my dirty little secret.

I would also like to point out that I can stop myself at any time although I choose not to. I have never been on any anti anxiety pills or anti depressants. I have never been formally diagnosed and have found therapy to be more stressful that helpful.

[nonuser]

......

Edited September 16, 2014 by larali

[Chimako]

Wow.  I pick at my skin but I don't eat it.  Uh, no judgement or anything.

 

I find that when I have acrylic nails, it keeps me from picking (I don't have them now-- too expensive and I am pretty hard on my hands, so I don't bother.)

 

Also, I use lots and lots of lotions and creams.  Moisturized skin makes me less likely to pick.  Plus, it is so much fun to spoil myself with all the fun oils and creams you can buy.  I just bought this amazing cream that is marketed for stretch marks, but it's working great on my picking scars.

 

If you have a problem with picking (and/or ingesting  ) skin, don't hesitate to bring up the subject with your pdoc or therapist... that is what they are there for.

 

Really?  Wow, you're so great.  Why don't you just give yourself a giant pat on the back for being better than everyone else.  Oh wait, you already did.  Way to be a snarky asshole.

[Beans1]

I'm also a picker/eater and have gotten better but now that I'm almost 30 I'd really like stop. I see a lot of people saying that they eat their bodies/functions but are there any success stories on here and if so how does one go about it? Thank you guys for posting these overwhelmingly embarrassing issues, I would have never thought to ever seek any help for it even though I see direct detrimental effects every time I look at myself. (I've torn my big toe nail and thumb nails off using needle nose pliers probably 5 times over the years and eat my black heads daily) I have know I need to stop but until reading your posts would never have thought to ask for it! So any positive outcome testimonials would be greatly appreciated, thanks everyone.

[Shellbelle]

Im sorry to see that this is so old, but im thankful i found it.  I thought it must just be me.  Not only do i eat scabs, blackheads and anything else i can find, i love certain smells.  Im a compulsive overeater also, so i am a very heavy woman.  If i dont take a shower for a few days, i get that smelly yeasty paste and i like to get it on my hands and smell it.  It sounds as totally crazy when i write about as it does when i think about it!  I dont know if this blog is totally dead, but im so glad to find others like me.