I EAT MY OWN SKIN! PLEASE HElP!!!!!!!!!!?

Question

i have an ultra sick habit. i eat my own skin. no wisecracks then. i started by eating my nails, then the shin around my fingers, then i moved to other thick parts of skin around my body. does anyone know what this is? i call it self-cannabalizm, but is their a medical term for this? does anyone know how to stop it! please, no wisecracks! i have done this since i was eight! im now 16! someone help!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

Im really sry i dont know how to help but u sound sick so u hope u get some help!

Answer 2

I also can not help completely , but I have also eaten skin off of my fingers. I tear off around the nails and were ever there is a joint. I recently started to go down to my palm so I decided to look it up. From this forum I would agree with the bad habit idea. I wish I knew a way to completely stop it. Although I stopped for nearly 3 months. During a 5 day weekend from school I placed band aids on the spots I bite so when ever I true to bite I ripped the cushioning of the band aid out instead. I have not tried this again since and now that I just got out of school I will be. I have also spread deodorant all over my hands because it tastes bad and gives a weird sensation to the tongue that I hate. My final attempt was awareness, this is simple I asked my dad to tell me when I'm doing I'd. He tells me then I sit on my hands.

Answer 3

I do the exact same thing, in fact, It's really been bugging me today and that's why I searched for it on Google and found your question. I've been doing it since I was about 9, and I'm 16 now. I started on my feet, but then I stopped for a while. It didn't last very long, and I started biting my fingers instead. Now when things get really bad, I end up biting both, and I have to wear band aids a lot.
And to the people that said you need to see help: I think that if it's interfering with your daily life then yes, you should do something about it. For me, it goes in cycles. Sometimes it's bad, sometimes I don't do it at all. It's probably just a bad habit. My mom is practically a psychologist, and she hasn't seemed to alarmed, she just told me I shouldn't do it.
I'm sorry I can't give you much advice, I don't know why I do it myself, except when I'm stressed, but that's not the only time I do it.
I don't really know if there's a name for it either; it probably fits into the category of self-cannibalism, though. Good luck!

Answer 4

I'm sitting on my couch right now pulling skin off my shoulders and chest that are peeling off from a sunburn I got last weekend, and I'm just chowing down like it's a delicious dessert. It actually tastes pretty good cuz I earlier put on a natural lotion with almond oil and coconut oil. Usually I chew on my fingers, and I like to eat my scabs. I dont think it's a "bad habit" because it's not hurting anything. I'm weird, but I don't do it in public so IDGAF. :D

Answer 5

Dermatophagia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

try reading this. I started about the same age as you but now I am 60 I am getting patches of dry skin on my
body. So relieved to know it is a medical condition. All my life I have lived on my nerves and though I am on medication I still do it. (Tastes better than some of hubby's cooking though...........lol) I asked a friend a short while ago and he said his wife picked her skin (he didn't tell me if she ate it as well) and said it is a medical condition. Like me she has pressure sores. Hope this helps. My husband is driven round the bend like it. Stopped biting my hair years ago but I don't know how. Many friends have tried to stop me biting my nails
in several ways but I still do.

All the best

Answer 6

sounds like you have a big challenge ahead of you.

if you are to be successful, you have to tackle this problem one area at a time.

start with one area - your fingers - first.
here is a link for some nail biting solutions.
http://www.folica.com/Nail_Bitin_291_1.html?s_cid=gg_kwd9991

you may want to put on some moisturizers on those areas on the rest of your body. it will help them heal and put a nasty taste on the skin...

you may want to look into stress relievers, as most nail biting starts from nervousness and stress...

try chewing/sucking on something the whole day. gum, toothpicks...

good luck!

Answer 7

If this is genuine then i would suggest you go to your doctor and get him to write you a referral to see a psychiatrist. There are conditions like this, although rare, and i would advise you to seek professional help.

I'm surprised that no-one around you has noticed the missing skin. Good luck with it. :)