Why do I keep picking at this scab on my shin?

[Chigworthy]

Seriously, I think it was poison oak about 4 months ago. I scratch it in my sleep, when I'm driving, at home, etc. I've tried antibiotic ointment to heal it, but it's no match for my incessant picking. What is the underlying mental problem that is causing this?

[jauble]

dont know but I might suggest

http://www.sassafrasenterprises.com/assets/images/SAS00176.jpg

[Chigworthy]

It's crossed my mind.

[Pitdoc]

Try some hydrocortisone on it.. Apply it twice a day to the area,,and see if its better within a few weeks.. You might need a steroid/ anesthetic injection to stop scratching at it, like Opie with his hand

[Chigworthy]

Is there a hydrocortisone product available over the counter?

[sailor]

Is there a hydrocortisone product available over the counter?

yes. cortizone-10 is probably the most readily available brand.

http://walgreens.hs.llnwd.net/e1/dbimagecache/333326.jpg

[Chigworthy]

I'm on it. This shit has got to stop.

[Melissa the Accountant]

Seriously, I think it was poison oak about 4 months ago. I scratch it in my sleep, when I'm driving, at home, etc. I've tried antibiotic ointment to heal it, but it's no match for my incessant picking. What is the underlying mental problem that is causing this?

I have thought a lot about this because I have this problem too. I call it scab picker personality type, although that isn't restricted to actual physical scabs. I kind of just have a personality where it's hard for me to leave things alone. Just like if I scrape my knee and can't seem to stop scratching at it (not always even consciously), I'm the same with other things in my life. Like if something is bothering me, I have to keep turning it over and over in my head, looking at it from every angle, and talking about it with others until I feel I have figured it out. When I left my last job I was trying to decide whether to report my boss to external audit for some questionable things he did, or whether to just leave it all alone and leave quietly, and I simply could not stop turning the whole thing over in my head or talking about it to my friends. It consumed me for weeks.

I suspect it is related to some kind of mild obsessive tendency. I know I'm not a serious clinical case because I'm not obsessively washing my hands constantly or anything like that, and it's not really interfering with my life to much extent. But I do realize it's not completely normal to fixate like this on things and to have to explore every single angle of them until the problem has subsided.

Because that's how my scabs usually go. I can't stop messing with them until they go away, and OH THE IRONY at how my picking keeps them from going away quickly!

[watson]

Seriously, I think it was poison oak about 4 months ago. I scratch it in my sleep, when I'm driving, at home, etc. I've tried antibiotic ointment to heal it, but it's no match for my incessant picking. What is the underlying mental problem that is causing this?

seek professional medical attention immediately

if it gets infected it could make you fez

in the mean time use mupirocin ointment and take a shot of bourbon

[Chigworthy]

I have thought a lot about this because I have this problem too. I call it scab picker personality type, although that isn't restricted to actual physical scabs. I kind of just have a personality where it's hard for me to leave things alone. Just like if I scrape my knee and can't seem to stop scratching at it (not always even consciously), I'm the same with other things in my life. Like if something is bothering me, I have to keep turning it over and over in my head, looking at it from every angle, and talking about it with others until I feel I have figured it out. When I left my last job I was trying to decide whether to report my boss to external audit for some questionable things he did, or whether to just leave it all alone and leave quietly, and I simply could not stop turning the whole thing over in my head or talking about it to my friends. It consumed me for weeks.

I suspect it is related to some kind of mild obsessive tendency. I know I'm not a serious clinical case because I'm not obsessively washing my hands constantly or anything like that, and it's not really interfering with my life to much extent. But I do realize it's not completely normal to fixate like this on things and to have to explore every single angle of them until the problem has subsided.

Because that's how my scabs usually go. I can't stop messing with them until they go away, and OH THE IRONY at how my picking keeps them from going away quickly!

I think, for me at least, there is a portion of self-indulgence mixed in. I mean the damn thing itches and when I pick at it, it feels good for a second. Then comes the blood and shame.

[Ritalin]

I have thought a lot about this because I have this problem too. I call it scab picker personality type, although that isn't restricted to actual physical scabs. I kind of just have a personality where it's hard for me to leave things alone. Just like if I scrape my knee and can't seem to stop scratching at it (not always even consciously), I'm the same with other things in my life. Like if something is bothering me, I have to keep turning it over and over in my head, looking at it from every angle, and talking about it with others until I feel I have figured it out. When I left my last job I was trying to decide whether to report my boss to external audit for some questionable things he did, or whether to just leave it all alone and leave quietly, and I simply could not stop turning the whole thing over in my head or talking about it to my friends. It consumed me for weeks.

I suspect it is related to some kind of mild obsessive tendency. I know I'm not a serious clinical case because I'm not obsessively washing my hands constantly or anything like that, and it's not really interfering with my life to much extent. But I do realize it's not completely normal to fixate like this on things and to have to explore every single angle of them until the problem has subsided.

Because that's how my scabs usually go. I can't stop messing with them until they go away, and OH THE IRONY at how my picking keeps them from going away quickly!

You sound pretty.

[Melissa the Accountant]

You sound pretty.

Better and better every day, buddy!

Comedy gold, by the way. I walked right into that one!

[topless_mike]

you are hoping it spreads to your junk so you can touch yourself and not necessarily be jackin it.

[Pitdoc]

the fibroblasts that are there to repair the area cause histamines to group, which causes the itchy sensation. Also,, some nerves near the area can be hyper-stimulated by the injury, which brings yo back to "Oh, I should be picking on that"
1% Hydorocortisone is what you should use, if not something stronger. a lot of formulations are 0.5%

[Chigworthy]

Cool, thanks everyone. Now, is Hydrocortisone an "embarassing" product to buy? I mean, do people put this on their naughty bits, or can I buy this without getting knowing sidelong glances from the checkers at the drug store? Or should I do a combo purchase and get some tampons for my wife at the same time, so they think it's for her?

[reeshy]

the fibroblasts that are there to repair the area cause histamines to group, which causes the itchy sensation. Also,, some nerves near the area can be hyper-stimulated by the injury, which brings yo back to "Oh, I should be picking on that"
1% Hydorocortisone is what you should use, if not something stronger. a lot of formulations are 0.5%


SO....put it on twice!!!!!!

[Chigworthy]

This cortisone works very good, I dub it "Jizz of the Gods".

[AngelAmy]

I have thought a lot about this because I have this problem too. I call it scab picker personality type, although that isn't restricted to actual physical scabs. I kind of just have a personality where it's hard for me to leave things alone. Just like if I scrape my knee and can't seem to stop scratching at it (not always even consciously), I'm the same with other things in my life. Like if something is bothering me, I have to keep turning it over and over in my head, looking at it from every angle, and talking about it with others until I feel I have figured it out. When I left my last job I was trying to decide whether to report my boss to external audit for some questionable things he did, or whether to just leave it all alone and leave quietly, and I simply could not stop turning the whole thing over in my head or talking about it to my friends. It consumed me for weeks.

I suspect it is related to some kind of mild obsessive tendency. I know I'm not a serious clinical case because I'm not obsessively washing my hands constantly or anything like that, and it's not really interfering with my life to much extent. But I do realize it's not completely normal to fixate like this on things and to have to explore every single angle of them until the problem has subsided.

Because that's how my scabs usually go. I can't stop messing with them until they go away, and OH THE IRONY at how my picking keeps them from going away quickly!

This sounds exactly like me

[KingGeno]

Remember.....Opie has similar issues with a scar/scab on his hand. He ended up going to the doctor, and they gave him shots of steroids directly into the scab.

It could also be a nervous tick.

I would get it checked out by a doctor though. Don't wanna end up getting a staph infection.

[KC2OSO]

I think, for me at least, there is a portion of self-indulgence mixed in. I mean the damn thing itches and when I pick at it, it feels good for a second. Then comes the blood and shame.

Sounds like me during my "alone time".

[Chigworthy]

Who needs doctors when I have Jizz of the Gods?

[MadMatt]

Once you have the itching under control, you may want to use Liquid Bandage, Band-Aid Ultra Strips, or an Activ-Flex or Water Block Plus Band-Aid. It kind of depends on how large your cut/abrasion/scratch is and how active you are.

and I am not a shill for Band-Aid; I have just used a lot of the products. My wife works for a Johnson & Johnson affiliate so we get good prices on the name brand stuff. :clap:

You can get more info here (http://www.band-aid.com).

[Chigworthy]

Yeah, I'm a big fan of the liquid bandage products. At the beginning of a 2 week Mexico vacation, I dropped a beer bottle right next to my foot. A shard of glass jagged into me foot, leaving a good half-inch gash. Visions of staph-ridden amputations at nightmarish proximity to the equator flooded my head, but I just used the liquid bandage stuff religiously, along with fervant hygiene and antibiotic ointment usage. We spent about 80% of the time there in various watery bodies of varying degrees of stagnation, and I still have my foot.

[Friday]

Scab picking, especially subconsciously as you describe while driving, etc.... can be an externalized way of dealing with anxiety. it may not necessarily be that you have a full blown anxiety disorder, but it is considered to be a mild form of therapeutic self-mutilation (like cutting, pulling out your hair....).

if you can get it to heal and the habit is not recurring then don't worry about it.
you probably are just bored... heh

but this is actually something i have dealt with/deal with from time to time and i know it to be an occassional symptom of my anxiety... http://www.wackbag.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

Good Luck!