My son is always picking his nose. He will be four in February. It bothers me not only because it is a bad/gross habit, but also he picks it to the point that it bleeds now. I have kleenex available to him almost all the time, although he chooses not to use them. He doesn't seem to have allergies, no coughing at night, no nose itching or watery eyes. I feel like I am constantly telling to quit picking his nose. Any suggestions????
My daughter did the same thing until my doc told me to get a humidifier in the house. She picked her nose so much because it was very dry inside her nose. Once we got moisture in the air on a regular basis, she stopped picking.
What worked for my boys was to make them wash their hands with soap and water every time they did it--they hated washing their hands so it worked out well :D
A.
You may want to try getting some moisture into his nose. My doc always recommends vasoline-- I don't usually do vasoline but pick some more natural lubricant (vitamin E oil) YOu can also run the humidifier.
If you think it is just a habit - talk to him about why it isn't good to do....that it isn't 'good manners' and that he could get an 'infection' (that it might make his 'nose sick') ----things at his level AND than see what you can do together to help him stop. He might have some good ideas.
I don't know if he gets with peers much but I know that at preschool the peer pressure takes care of stuff like this....Something about a couple of peers saying 'oooh gross' does more to change behavior that all the 'mom' work to stop it. (sometimes peer pressure is a positive thing)
It sounds wierd but I told my girl who's 4 that her nose was going to get big and ugly from picking it.She will still do it accasionally but she has slowed down alot.I don't know that something like that would work for him but I just thought I'd tell you this because she use to be a constant picker also.Good luck and hopefully you'll get more advise on this.
I am having the same problem with one of my 5 year old twin girls. No matter how often I tell her to get a kleenex it doesn't seem to matter. It is even to the point that now if I catch her and say something she will go a hide to do it. So i feel your frustration. I would love to have some advise on the topic too if anyone has it to offer. Sorry I couldn't helpbut to offer support.
It is just a habit, but I agree that it is gross, and if he is getting nose bleeds, it is time to step in. A few things you might want to try include:
- Teaching him about why boogers are there. They trap the germs that can get into his body and make him sick. When you stick your fingers up there, you are giving germs an entry way into your body. Really play up the nastiness of the germs that are on his hands. As a nurse, you might even have some scary pictures of the germs that are on his hands.
- Start using saline to moisten his nose. He might not like the feeling of the dried boogers in there, so teach him to do a squirt to freshen his nose.
- Finally, teach him that he may only pick his nose in private after thoroughly washing his hands. Tell him he needs to put the boogers on a tissue and flush it and wash his hands afterward.
I imagine that once he gets to school and the kids start telling him it is nasty, he will succumb to the peer pressure anyway!
