3 Year Old Son Won't Stop Picking Fingers

Updated on November 01, 2010
B.S. asks from Spring, TX
4 answers

My 3 year old son won't stop picking at his thumbs. I use cuticle nippers to cut off anything hanging off and as soon as I turn around he has dug a hole in his finger and more skin is hanging off and his thumbs are bright red. I hate seeing him do this. He has been doing it for a few months. At first I was keeping gloves on him until it kept interfering with his playing. Now I have been putting band-aids on his thumbs to keep him from picking at them but I can't keep band-aids on him the whole time. He will pick at anything. This morning he has a pimple on his chin that he won't leave alone--so I covered it with a band aid too. I know it sounds like I am band aid happy but I'm at a loss as to what else to do. He had a blister on his leg and ripped the cover off it before it had a chance to form.

I've talked to our pedi about this and he says I am doing the right thing by cutting what's there off and putting a good thick lotion on his fingers but it isn't helping. He isn't biting his finger, just using his other fingers to rip skin off. I keep his nails as short as possible even cutting them every 3 or 4 days.

We went on a 11 day vacation and in 75% of the photos with him in them, he is picking his fingers!

I just wanted to add a little bit more history. We do have problems with him eating. He has a very limited diet. He doesn't care about other food...he has never shown an interest or cared to play with it. Next week we have him scheduled to see if he has sensory issues. He has also been sucking the skin over his top lip making it red and raw. I am a SAHM (well disabled with Fibromyalgia) so I can't always do a lot with him. We recently (2 weeks ago) put him in a mother's day out program that he loves 2 5 hour days per week but these symptoms? were going on before that.

What can I do next?

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More Answers

S.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

Sighhhh . . . . . imnsho, this behavior is a symptom of something else.
Seems to me he wouldn't need to do this if whatever the underlying problem is were determined and dealt with.

You're in a major metropolitan area.
See if your local university has a program where
psychology students or therapists-in-training
have office hours to work with clients.
The therapists are closely supervised by faculty members.
See if there are opportunities to work with play therapy trainees.

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A.L.

answers from Las Vegas on

hello
I believe in part this to be inherent . My biological family has many nail biters in it. Additionally, as a young person (and even now when nervous) I pick at my fingers. I have read articles where nail picking/biting can be equated to the same type of anxiety as those who pull out their hair (Trichotillomania) sounds strange doesn't it, but true.. Also, some might say.. ah stop picking at your nails, you can do it.. true.. you can.. but when it's something you've done from such a young age, it becomes very difficult to stop. My mom used to get so upset with me when I would start in, but I often did it without realizing I was doing it. Not to mention, I truly believe it was a built in mechanism for me that I used to fight anxiety or stress.. Now, as an adult, I can manage better, however I will say, stress can still bring on a bout of picking at my fingers as can different foods such as too much caffeine or even sugar. I try to limit both.
Exercising has also helped me to not pick as much.

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K.A.

answers from Detroit on

Could be anxiety related. I would talk to his doctor. As Shira said, there could be something more underlying this behavior and you don't want him to progress in self-harming behavior. Good luck.

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L.B.

answers from Stockton on

Well, he definitely likes to pick, doesn't he? Some kids pick there nose, some their fingers, some are nail biters. It's a habit that's hard to break because the source is always there. Have you asked the pediatrician for some suggestions? My son would chew his fingernails until they were so low they would get infected. He would do it during story time in kindergarten. He's 17 and I still have to get on him about it.

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