Picking at Sores

[sahara78]

DD (6, ASD) got a small scratch on her nose about a month ago. She’s taken to scratching/picking at it & making it bleed. DH got an Rx ointment from the Pedi, and it 95% healed before DD tore it up again. It’s on the side of her nostril, so hard to put a bandage on it. She told me yesterday that it itches, which it probably does as part of the healing process. She’s also laughed when I stop her from touching it, so it’s partially attention seeking behavior. Ugh.

Any advice on how to get her to leave it alone?

[wildfloweragain]

DD has a problem with picking. In areas we can't wrap, globbing on neosporin helps because she doesn't like to touch neosporin.

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[auntie]

This is a tough one. DS had a scab that he picked at in his ear for years. Try getting a Bandaid on that. Like from the time he was 4 until about 10.


This is likely part sensory. As wounds heal, they kind of "pull" which feels weird. Picking scabs were also a form of entertainment for DS when he was bored. Ugh. We had better luck with Liquid Bandage for somethings and the "wet" bandages designed for blisters/burns. Picking is often a compulsive behavior which can be addressed with an SSRI; in the end that's what helped here.



I would avoid Neosporin as many people have a sensitivity to it which can lead to a reaction and scarring. Aquaphor is better toward that end.



We had better luck with those wet bandages which keep a scan from forming.

[sahara78]

Thank you both for replying!

Unfortunately, DD likes the feel of ointment, so Neosporin and the like encourage her to touch it more.

auntie - DD also sucks her fingers & twirls her hair. She’s faded that a lot, but still does it in bed. I think that’s when she does most of the picking damage, as her fingers are already in her face.

I’ll try the liquid or wet bandages going forward.

[agedsubaru]

We are using NAC. A friend,s kid starting picking.Nac too 4 to 6 weeks to kick in. He stopped picking. For us the frequency has dropped but not entirely eliminated. We checked i with our team. Dev pedi stated nac works for some ant not for others. We tried behavioral stuff before the nac.

I also suspect picking is related to anxiety.

[jr009j]

My niece is an anxiety picker. We had some luck putting those weird zit patches on her scabs- these: COSRX Acne Pimple Master Patch, 24 Patches www.amazon.com/dp/B00PBX3TN6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YMDzBb2DACE84. It’s wound dressing so it also helped it heal some. They come in varying sizes too.

[wildfloweragain]

Hey, I just checked back into this post. I'm so glad I did!

agedsubaru we have also been using NAC, and although DD hates it, it, she has been picking much less than before. I can't be positive it's from that, but it's been enough healing that when I dropped her off to camp without the NAC yesterday, she asked if she has no new picks when she comes back on Thurs, can she please stop taking them. (She is very adverse to meds and already has to take stuff for ADHD and anxiety.) The classic "I'm better now so I don't need to take it."

Also, we have tried 2 brands and one is definitely more tolerable than the other. The GNC brand smells and tastes a bit less bad. We were almost out of them and the GNC brand was going tot take longer to ship from Amazon than another brand I found, so I tried the other brand to get us through. Unfortunately for DD, the other brand she didn't like and was a larger bottle, so we are still trying to get though it. I should do her a favor and pitch them and get the kind she could tolerate better. We also noticed that on the NAC, her rough come-down from the ADHD meds was much less severe. She had been acting more impulsive than ever right when the meds wear off, which was especially an issue at the dinner table.

In our case, if she does have no new picks (unlikely, since she will get bug bites at camp and she cant resist picking those) I will let her try going off of them, but if she needs to continue or start back up, I'll let her go with the brand she likes.

And jr009j I have those patches, what a great idea to try them for DD!

If anyone has trouble with hair pulling, my sister has that and recommended the NAC to us since it's the same issue just manifesting differently either for skin picking or hair pulling.

Finally, my sister also recommended the habit aware bracelet, and that was very helpful to us as well for DD. Like everything else, it worked for a bit and we had to make adjustments. She's 13, so that's a factor. When she stopped picking with one hand, she moved on to her other hand and we had to retrain the bracelet for her left hand. Then it was at night in bed when the bracelet was charging. But it has been really helpful in breaking habits.

[auntie]

What is NAC?

Meds can play into this. Stimulants can exacerbate picking. SSRIs can sometimes dial it back.

[wildfloweragain]

N-ACETYL CYSTEINE

www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1018/n-acetyl-cysteine