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Behaviour/development

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Original poster

Help: DS MUST stop sucking his thumb

21 replies

AussieSim · 29/01/2004 14:16

My 1yo DS has quite bad eczema and his thumbs suffer very badly (and I mean red raw and weeping) as he likes to suck them when he is sleeping mainly, or just when he is tired, or to assist in his enjoyment of his meal. At the moment they hurt him so much when he tries to suck them in the night that he wakes up and I have to breastfeed him back to sleep - which I haven't had to do wince he was 4mths old.

I saw a new Doctor today and he said I absolutely had to get him to stop, otherwise his thumbs would never heal. I've tried giving him a dummy, but he just thinks it is a toy and cries if I try and put it in his mouth. He is breastfed and takes his water and juice very nicely from a cup and hasn't seen a bottle since he was a couple of weeks old.

Any ideas for getting him to stop or transferring his attention to a dummy (something I was previously glad he didn't have), would be very very gratefully received. I am going to have to put gloves or bandages on him, but that is really going to interfere with his sleeping.

Thanks in advance for your help.

OP posts:

lydialemon · 29/01/2004 14:27

As a 32 yr old thumbsucker I can tell you it's hard to quit - and they don't do patches

Long socks on his hands might work better, harder to get off, or you can buy this foul tasing stuff to paint on his nails. I don't know what age its suitable from though. My Dad tried mustard, hot pepper sauce, curry powder etc but I was older, I wouldn't recommend it for a baby!

HTH and good luck!

LIZS · 29/01/2004 14:34

Sympathies. Does he suck one more than the other or both, could you bandage one at a time ? We had a problem like this when dd gnawed her thumb through to soft tissue and it got infected. We had to bandage it up for several days and I remember panicing on her 1st birthday because it came off in her cot and I thought she'd swallowed it. Even so it did not cure her thumb sucking.and she also would not take a dummy instead. The strong pro-dummy/anti-thumb theory seems very typically European.

Friends dd who is almost 3 also suffers badly from eczema around her thumb but she is at least old enough to understand to transfer her sucking to other thumb or not at all. Sorry I don't have any magic cures and you can't even use the most potent creams there in case they swallow it

Hope you find a solution ,

aloha · 29/01/2004 14:39

If he's really desperate to suck, could you put something sweet on the dummy to encourage sucking? Obviously I don't mean routinely, but just a few times to get him to suck it (and yes, brush his teeth afterwards!). I don't know what else to suggest! Thumbs are worse for teeth than dummies and all that.

Thomcat · 29/01/2004 14:51

Oh the poor little thing.
When I read the title of the post I thought - yeah - stick marmite all over his thumbs but that was an evil thought!
All I can think is that the bandages might be the only option and he'll get used to not being able to suck his thumb and might suck the bandage and therefore transfer to a child who enjoys sucking on a bit of fabric? My 30 year old friend still likes to sleep with a strip of velvet fabric across her lips!!

steppemum · 29/01/2004 16:02

Poor you, it is very hard to get a thumb sucker to stop isn't it? But please do, I sucked mine until I was 13, and it was often cracked red and bleeding. One of my long time friends has admitted she was scared of my thumb when we were kids! The point is mine is permanently a different shape and colour than the other one, and it would look better the same. I also ruined my front teeth and had to have loads of braces etc

The only help I can give is that when I did finally stop, it only took a few nights of learning to get off to sleep without it before the habit broke. Perhaps bandages, or long socks. My ds is very sucky, he loves his dummy and really needs something to suck on to go to sleep, (I wasn't at all keen either, but i reason that at least I can throw it away at some point) so my guess would be that your ds will need to suck on something. Keep persevering with the dummy, he'll probably get it eventually.

Sorry, not much help, but lots of sympathy, hope the situation improves soon.

deegward · 29/01/2004 18:21

An even older (38) thumb sucker here, and yes my parents tried everything to get me to stop, but to no avail. Your son is too young to reason, and it is a habit which although will cause lots of tears to break it should only take a week (what am I saying!, although I am basing this on sleep training).

Good luck, I've always felt that a thumb is better than a dummy, but heh I'm biased, and both my ds have used dummies.

aloha · 29/01/2004 19:08

Thomcat! Your friend! What DO her boyfriends/husband think???? It sounds positively pervy. Though I'm sure she is a very nice person! I'm terrified Ds will meet a really nice girl, date a bit, fall in love, lose his virginity to her and then roll over and pop in his dummy! No, no, it can't come to that...

bobthebaby · 29/01/2004 19:22

If you put the cream on his thumbs and then gloves (which doctor should be able to prescribe?) and then give him a sedative such as phenergan (spelling?) for a couple of nights, would that help? It sounds awful for both of you.

Original poster

AussieSim · 29/01/2004 20:14

Thanks everyone. I've put him to bed with a pair of, not so thick, winter mittens - without thumbs, on his hands after I creamed them. They have the string attaching them together, which I threaded through his PJ's, shortening it to make it harder for him to pull them off. That was 2 hours ago and so far no drama (mind you he did drop off on the breast). I have a new dummy on standby too. I don't know how tough I will be if he wakes up.

I don't think I could put anything bad tasting on his thumb - not in its current conditon certainly. The Dr wouldn't prescribe antihistamines - they are so damned conservative in this country. The doctor also said to put something sweet on his dummy - not honey surely, what about jam? Any other ideas?

I think I read a thing before about some device a dentist could rig up, but I would think he was definitely too young for that. I was just hoping before this he would give it up before he went to school.

LIZS he used to only suck one thumb, but then it got so sore he swapped to the other and now they are both so sore he is starting on his fingers.

He woke 4 times last night - one time for 2 hours, so I'm just hoping for a little improvement and maybe seeing his little thumbs start to heal up. I'll update tomorrow.

In the meantime, keep them rolling in.

OP posts:

aloha · 29/01/2004 20:46

At one honey is fine. I love it!

JJ · 29/01/2004 20:56

AussieSim, I used to suck my thumbs and what worked for me (at age 8) was Ace bandages (those elastic bandages used for sore ankles and such) wrapped around my elbow so that I couldn't move my hand to my mouth. It didn't hurt, at all.

Hope the mittens do it, though!

SofiaAmes · 29/01/2004 22:04

Just a thought, but what size dummy do you have? Both my ds and dd had dummies from day one, but both shunned the teensy newborn ones and started straight off on the 18mo+ ones. They were both bf and I have big nipples and I think the big dummies were most like my nipples. Maybe your ds needs a dummy that is similar in size to his thumb? Also, I used the Italian dummies (i've never seen them sold anywhere else) which are all soft rubber (no hard plastic bits) and therefore much nicer for sleeping on/with.

Bron · 30/01/2004 09:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

dinosaur · 30/01/2004 10:17

What about those eczema pyjamas with built in mittens? Available from Cotton Comfort, see the website www.eczemaclothing.com.

Philly · 30/01/2004 22:53

Same problem but with older child,can anyone help.Have ds just turned 7 but more like just turned 6 who sucks thumb a lot.After school as soon as we are in the car the thumb is in ,watching telly;thumb in and of course at bed time.I am really worried about the effect on his second teeth,does anyone have any suggestions.
He is small for his age and also finds a school a real struggle,in the last 6 months he really seems to be gaining his confidence and starting to be more comfortable with himself so I don't want to upset him too much if possible

suedonim · 31/01/2004 12:39

I'd be pleased to hear of a cure for thumb-sucking in a 7yo, too. Dd didn't start until she was 18mths but I think she'll be doing it forever. We've used that anti-nail biting liquid but as soon as it wears off she starts again!

Batters · 31/01/2004 13:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

AussieSim · 31/01/2004 16:49

I've had mittens on DS the last two nights. I'm not sure if they contributed to him waking 3 times the first night, or if one coming off during the night was connected to him only waking once.

He never sucked much during the day, except at meals when he is tired and I get him to let go of his thumb by pinching his nose closed and then I shove the spoon in.

I'm hoping if I can stop it enough to let his thumbs heal, that he can resume some thumb sucking. No luck with the dummy - even, or especially with honey.

OP posts:

Carla · 31/01/2004 17:20

Ashamedly, had my 'doff' (cloth) till I was 17. Let that be a warning to you all! (Still remember hating it being washed hated Mum for washing it - loved it smelly!) PS ..... lost my virginity with it!!!! Shame!

Carla · 31/01/2004 17:22

Oooogh - so glad no-one knows who I am!!

Bron · 15/02/2004 10:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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