Does anyone else pick the bits of skin off the side of their fingernails and pull and fiddle at them until they rip down in a satisfying and bloody mess?

[FrannyandZooey]

and could you kindly suggest to me that I STOP DOING IT as I fear I may lose a finger or two at this rate

I have no idea why I am indulging this bad habit so much this week. I have 3 on the go and it ruddy hurts tbh

it's not so bad as soon as you have done it, but the next day when you wake up and it is all swollen

apologies to the squeamish btw
thank god for 'hide this thread'

infected finger up perforated nasal septum picture coming up

am starting to find my own thread offensive

ROFL at the misbegotten nose-pickers. there was a boy in my class called Malcolm who had his hand up there constantly. we thought his mother was a witch because she had stringy grey hair. i bet he spends a coupla hours a day nose-picking by now.

I suppose once your septum had collapsed it would in fact save time?

re the mothers noticing btw. i have just realised my mother did it too and it was my dad who said it was vile. gawd, that makes me feel like i should stop before dd starts...

erk yes
I wouldn't like it if ds did it

Oh, still not read every post, but......... has anyone confessed to then chewing the chewed off skin then flicking it afterwards?? I dont do it of course....

flicking it?
flicking it where?

I read half of this last night but I do it too.
I've just posted my own thread but my mouth is a mess, I eat it more than food!
I also bite the skin around my fingers although not till it bleeds, I worry that will make me sick and I'm scared of that so I get the cuticle scissors out.
Wow, that makes me sound normal bites mouth

ok.

1. I was not 'slightly joking'. I was completely joking. Close family members have this habit. (And there have been threads about offensive swearing in titles so I thought I'd swear while saying it.)

1. Re winky minimalism. Yes, I am aware of this problem I sometimes have.

1. I really can't get at all worked up or apologetic about this one.

1. Of course you've got to get a cat before you can sort out your life.

I have had great problems with winky minimalism
I see someone being all cool and non-winky and I think 'I can do that', I can express myself with words alone

I end up in a row every time

ROFL - just thought Id up the gore/disgust stakes! I do chew the skin and I didnt realise what I did with it..... till tonight, and I truly do flick it on the floor. If its a really massive bit, I put it in a tissue after Ive chewed it to smitherines.

But for Lord in heavens sake, purlleeaazzze tell me Im not the only one! No one will EVER EVER speak to me on MN again. EVER

I have a plaster on my left thumb for this erason as I type!

I do it too!

Awful bloody habit.

I pick anything that has a slightly jagged edge.

i think that's what i do too, ggirl. if it's fraying it ain't staying...

sometimes i file the hard bits off with an emery board, though that does make the skin harder again

I don't know what 'winky minimalism' is, but it sounds offensive.

No, it's those hard side bits along the nail bed that I go for. Then it gets sore, throbs, and then the nail bed or skin at the side herniates out a bit. Which I think have to chop off with a fingernail, or scrape away with a fingernail....

What ends up happening is that this picking at the side extends as I pull new, loose bits of skin. I end up with sore bits on the pads of my thumbs in particular, or down to the first knuckle because it's scabbed further and further around.

VVV - You describe me. Except for the nail clipper.

Oh if my parents could meet you. (All of you!) They firmly believe I am one of a kind.

LOL!

The nail clipper comes in to try and prevent me from picking and tearing. Unfortunately, it seems to end up with me hacking off bits of dry skin as and where i find it.

My mum does this - well, she does it with the skin on the heels of her feet. It used to revolt me as a child, but, I now do it myself. My dad also bites his nails.

DH doesnt get it at all. He also has very beautiful hands and feet.

I looked at my heels last night, to try and see what you people find there to pick. I couldn't see anything. But if I did, I would have joined you there as well, the compulsive weirdo that I am

The picking normally starts with a blister, or a bit of old skin. Once you have been picking, there are always loads of edges to work on, iyswim.

I guess in some ways, picking is easier to quit than, say, nail biting, because the less you bite your nails, the more there is to bite. But if you stop picking, faster than you think, the soles of your feet are smooth.