Picking

My little sister did (probably still does) the same thing. I can't remember at what age she started it but I thought she was a little older than 4. I know my mom tried bandaids as well and they didn't work either. What seemed to have some impact was that my mom asked my sister what would be something she really wanted to see/do. My sister really wanted the family to go bowling. So my mom said that as soon as she allowed all of her sores to heal we would go. I remember how excited she was when it finally happened. I believe she still picks on occasion but it isn't to the degree that it was, she is now almost 12 and I think she cares a lot more about her appearance.

So my advice is that you may want to try some sort of reward program.

Hope it goes well!!

My son used to pick his lip until it bled. We knew he did it to sooth himself, so we did not want to make it a big deal...so we asked him whenever he feels like picking his lip, pick his shirt instead. eventually he stopped altogether. Never make a big deal about it-just matter of fact, usually they don't do it without thinking. Hope this helps!

How old is your child? How long has this been going on? Have there been any changes in her life or major stressors? That could be causing it. Otherwise it could be a symptom of Obsessive Complusive Disorder, which my 5 yo dd has.
S.

Hi there,
My dad does the same thing, he picks until they bleed. the Dr's. have associated his with anxiety (nerves) or stress. Talk with your doctor to see what can be done for her. they may prescribe something for her or ways to get her to stop.
good luck

I recommend talking to your pediatrician. my son picked his face raw and we found out it was due to his transitioning between mom and dads respective houses.

I agree that you should make sure there is not a bigger problem at hand, but two things you could try are this. You said that band-aids work until they come off, why don't you try one of two things, either liquid band-aid or a small reward for the healing. Give her a small incentive for not picking at it, tell her that as soon as her sore is gone she can have an ice cream cone or something and make sure she knows that it will heal faster if she doesnt mess with it.

My husband does the same thing. I asked him why he does it, and he does it, and he says because he does not like the feeling of anything bumpy on him. So, if could be an OCD. Like someone else said, it would be a good thing to get checked out. :)

hi my boyfriend who I have a 5 year old son with his mom who lives with us picks her face her back her head until she bleeds. she has been doing it for 4 years shes 73 years old & has very poor hygiene. she has picked her back before to where it got so infected & turned into staph & not washing her hands she had spread it all over the house & i must have touched something she touched & had popped a pimple on my forehead & woke up the next morning with my eyes swollen. the next morning they were swollen shut so i went to 2 different urgent cares they told me it was life threatening since it was close to my brain. i had to have a needle left in my vein so when i went for the next three days for antibiotics the could just put it in that. after that my son who was 15 caught it on his leg and went to urgent care he had a hole so deep after they lanced it he could of dies cause of the line he had going up his leg was a sign of blood poising. I have told her time after time to stop picking she wont she refuses to believe she gave us staph & refuses to wash her hands with soap & water even after she uses the bathroom. Im too the point where Im scared for my five year old & hesitate to eat anything cuz she has touched it. she does this while Im home & I can imagine what she does when nobodys home she continues to do it more after I say something to her & will not stop please help me

First you want to make sure it's not a psychological issue (a tramatic event in childs life).

You might want to try washing it with rubbing alcohol after she picks them. Explain to her (in a very serious and concerned way) that when she opens up sores, they can get infected so they gave to be cleaned. The sting of the alcohol and then anticipating that it will happen every time (be consistant) will most likely stop the behavior. My mother said it worked on me.

It is extremely important that this is done in a matter of fact way and not in anyway that could be perceived as punishment.