Need to stop finger sucking

[ItchyFoot]

My dd is 2.4 and sucks the middle three fingers of her right hand. We've been fine with this and figure she'll grow out of it. The problem is it's suddenly started to create sores between her fingers so we need to keep them dry. She uses the sucking as a comfort and security blanket and always has done and prying them away from her is breaking my heart. We've tried reasoning with her (ha!) and sometimes have success by making a game of drying them but this morning she just sobbed and sobbed. It's breaking my heart.
She's starting nursery next week and I really don't want her to go without her comfort. Any tips on getting her to stop? Ideally I wouldn't mind just keeping them out this week and hoping they heal. We haven't been able to put anything on them as we're worried she'll ingest it.

My DD sucked her thumb and I regret not being firmer as it eventually affected her teeth and she needs braces now.

Just keep on removing the fingers...do it in a detached fashion and immediately distract with a funny noise/song/cuddle or whatever works at the time.

Thanks for answering. I'm trying just removing it calmly. Not much I can do at bedtime. I'm 30 weeks pregnant so seeing her upset is making me a bit of an emotional wreck but I suppose it's better for her in the long run.

Probably not one for you yet, but my DD was a committed thumb sucker until a look at her crooked little teeth when she was 4 spurred me into action and I got her one of these. It probably took 6 weeks to break the habit but did the job. It was in the end a lot kinder than asking her to refrain from sucking, which she simply couldn't do (it was a comfort to her, and she would suck her thumb without realising, then become aware of what she was doing and get upset that she couldn't stop). The first night was hard - so not to be attempted when 30 weeks pregnant!- but after that it was much easier.

Oh and in the meantime if there are times she is less likely to suck (eg when out at the shops, when she's not tired) I'd slather on some epaderm or similar to protect the skin a bit. Or Vaseline maybe (people put it on their lips so prob OK to ingest a bit).