Hi everyone! I was wondering, have any of you had a toddler that sucks their fingers until they're red and swollen, and if so, what did you do to heal the fingers? My daughter sucks her middle and ring fingers, mostly when she's upset or tired but sometimes other times too. Last week her daycare teacher pointed out that her middle finger looked really bad and to take her to the doctor. I didn't think she looked so bad but I took her to the doctor who said her fingers were fine. Today we went on a long outing (to the zoo) and by the end of the day she was tired and sucking her fingers, fell asleep on the car ride home and took a nap in her bed. She always sucks her fingers in her sleep. After her nap she was fussy and said her finger hurt. It didn't look any worse than usual but I put on some Neosporin and a band-aid, but I had to watch her closely because I was afraid she would suck the band-aid off her finger. She managed to get her band-aid off so now her fingers are bare. I would think Neosporin and a band-aid would go a long way toward overnight healing of her fingers but I'm afraid she'll choke on the band-aid in her sleep. Does anyone out there have any good advice for me to help heal those little fingers? Many thanks... *Peace*!
how about lanolin? the brand name is Lansinoh- it's safe for use on sore nipples from breastfeeding. it's safe for babies and works wonders!
I would wash her hands alot. I would also put something unpleasant on her fingers when she is sleeping. So she does not like the taste. or as my sister did she told her son he would turn green if he did not stop. one night she put green food coloring on his thumb and in the morning he thought he was going to be green. He stopped cold turkey.
put chapstick on them when she is awake. and put mittens on her at night.
Lansinoh. It's in the breastfeeding aisle at target or walgreens or whatever. It's purified lanolin, primary use for nipple soreness, it's safe for a baby to nurse on (and, basically, eat.) I always keep a tube on hand for all sorts of skin irritations - my 2 year old also is a big hand-sucker, especially when teeth are coming in. Before nap and before bed, make sure her hands are clean and dry, and slather her up. She can go ahead and suck on her fingers, but the lanolin will create a barrier between her skin and her saliva. It also moisturizes and allows the skin to heal. It can take up to a week of diligent application, but that's usually all it takes with my son. Works great on winter-dry skin, too, on their faces or anywhere else. Good luck!
Hi Melissa, We have some awesome natural essential oils that would heal the area as fast as possible, we use another one that is for the tender tushies yet is fantastic for any skin issue. It doesn't taste the greatest so that may help too. We use coban as a wrap vs bandaids. That might stay on a bit better too. Go to www.youngliving.org/yljohn to see tender tush.
try mittens or socks. I had a friend who sewed socks on the sleeves of their daughters pjs that way the child couldn't get them off. use thick socks. that way you could put cream, bandage or what ever on the fingers and let them heal hopefully.
I only had one finger sucker. When he was 2-3 yrs old. I started dipping his sucking fingers in baking vanilla. He was done sucking is leass than a week.
My daughter sucks her thumb so much that sometimes I think it is going to fall off. Her thumb gets raw, swollen, and cracked and we use Aquaphor as often as we happen to think of it (usually just a couple times per day). It works like magic and her thumb is usually 10x better within the same day but completely healed within a day or two.
Hope this helps and best of luck to you!
I feel your pain. My youngest (now three) is an avid thumb sucker. When she was one she had a blister on her thumb that popped and got infected so we had to put a special salve on it. It was easiest for us to do it overnight, so we washed her hands real good before bed, applied the ointment and a band-aid and then we picked out a sock to wear over her hand for the night, which we taped around her wrist with that white cloth first aid tape. You could make it fun for her by buying a cheap pkg of socks and decorating a few (with puff paints or markers) to look like puppets....and let her choose which "puppet" she gets to wear to bed, so she feels somewhat in control. Best wishes to you!
Jenn J
You could try the cloth band-aides that are hard to get off... and put a little bitter apple spray or something she doesn't like the taste of... her fingers will have time to heal, and maybe it will help break the habit a bit. (if you want to do that...)
Another mom friend gave me the idea to use Lansinoh nipple cream because it's safe when ingested. She said it worked wonders on her children's thumbs. I haven't done it yet because my son's thumb improved on its own. But, if it becomes chafed and scabbed again, I'll try the cream.
I agree w/ the Lansinoh idea...or any safe thing that tastes gross and will help break the habit. I myself sucked the same fingers up until I was in 1st. grade or around there. I don't remember what my parents did that finally did the trick to break the habit. As a result to the finger sucking, my teeth were horrible and I had to have extensive orthodontia to straighten/correct my them. I'd try breaking the habit early to avoid all of this. Good luck!
My daughter sucks the same fingers... has since birth, and she is now 6. Its a habit I am desperately trying to break because she is constantly picking up sickness, and her dentist says her jaw is mishapen from it. Anyway, her fingers are very callused and her nails are yucky looking from all the sucking and being in a wet environment all the time. She only had them get yucky and sore twice, and they really just healed on their own with less sucking. Its hard to put anything on it because they will most likely go right back in her mouth and suck whatever it is off. They really should just get better on their own, as long as they do not get worse. Good luck!
