My 13mth old sucks her thumb bad, she busts the skin on her thumb and gets infections in the sores, any help?

Question

I know I should not worry about the thumb sucking but it is hurting her and it is her comfort and she gets very fussy. I tried Thum but that doesn't work on her, neither does hot sauce. I am trying to keep it wrapped until up the sores heal up. Any suggestions will help.

Answer 1

wow, I would be trying to break her of that habit, too. I would look at when she does it: bedtime? Eating time? Just to do it?

If she does it at bedtime, I would rock her, give her a pacifier, bottle, anything to suck on and rock her until she is asleep so she is comforted by YOU instead of her thumb

Eating time, give her a snack, like frozen peas, cheerios, or a teething biscuit.

The key is to distract her and let her use you or a favorite toy/blanket for comfort. Have you tried a pacifier? I know my daughter hates pacifiers, but sometimes they are a good alternative. I know it is trading one addiction for another, but at that age, it isn't anything to worry about. also, have you tried gloves? Even if she sucks on it, at least it is not her thumb directly.

Good luck.

Answer 2

It is really hard to break a child from sucking their thumb. When my daughter was born she put her thumb into her mouth right away, which was a surprise, so we really had it rough. You just have to keep at it, no stopping until you have stopped her from sucking her thumb. I think I tried everything and nothing in particular worked, just keep taking her thumb out of her mouth when you see her doing it. It is not good and is bad for her tooth structure, bucked teeth you know. Hug her a lot so she won't be doing it from lack of love. The hot stuff is only a form of torture. Maybe get some pretty bandages and then she won't want to take them off. Put some pretty temporary tattoos on it. Anything you can think if and it should work eventually. Good luck. Bad habits are hard to break.

Answer 3

i know that any good pediatrician would probably disagree, but as a mom i feel for you and your little one...i would say try the binky! and if that doesn't work and you just can't get her to break the sucking habit yet (she's just 13 months still!) I know that lanolin, that think yellow cream used for sore nipples when breastfeeding, can be used on her thumb to keep it from getting so raw and sore. It is safe and will not make her sick...think about it... mom's use it on their nipples when baby's breastfeed! (medela sells it in a purple tube, ask the pharmacy but it is an over the counter.) good luck!

Answer 4

Ouch, I have a similar problem with my son.

He doesn't actually suck his thumb, but he chews on it from time to time because he's teething for his molars right now (14 months old). He has eczema, so his thumbs and forefingers crack and look awful. I have an ointment I can put on his fingers while he's sleeping that seems to help, but it doesn't fix it entirely. You might not be able to use it if your daughter is sucking on her thumb at night, but it's worth a try if you want to ask your doctor. It's called Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment USP, 0.1%.

Good luck!

Answer 5

it is hard to break your own habits let alone someone elses for them and man is it cute when they are babies and they find there tumb and it turns it too thiere best friend no matter what their thumb is there to comfort them but thumb sucking is a bad habit and should be stoped but i say slowly ease her from it try keeping her hands busy and let her suck her thumb at nap and bed time only.. my cousins little girl learned sign langue it keept her hands busy from thumb sucking, picking up things that shouldn`t be, and helped her explain things she couldn`t. or you could try letting her help you do laundry, make lunch, paint her nails keep her mind off her thumb.. and discourgage it as much as possibly tell her she is too big or that it is yucky... try playing patty cake, itsy bitsy spider, and then reward her for keeping it out her mouth give her a new comfort let her pick it out maybe a blanky, doll, a teddy, or a puppet to go on the thumb sucking hand.... try vinager, rub onions on it, dip it in sardines or maybe some lemon juice... good luck..

Answer 6

My son used to get the thumb-sucking booboos as we called them. He'd have a big bump on his thumb where he sucked it with a gash in the middle. We ended up putting Lansinoh on it, the thick sticky goopy stuff used to prevent cracking and bleeding when nursing. It stayed on his thumb and he didn't try to suck it because tht would just be nasty. I didn't want to put a bandaid on because I was afraid he'd suck it off and swallow it.

Answer 7

a friend of mine had this same problem with her son- the dr suggested rubbing some neosporin in and putting a fitted tube sock on his hand to cover it so he couldn't get to it. this will help it have some time to heal in between her thumb sucking times

Answer 8

hmm, if i were you i would keep it rapped until it heals. Make sure you give a timeout if she continues sucking it. Maybe try a pacifier. This sounds bad but maybe if you try painting her nail with clear nailpolish, she might not like that taste too much. Good luck. But nip it in the butt now or it will get worse as time goes on

Answer 9

Find this stuff called Lanolin, breastfeeding mothers put it on their nipples to heal them and this stuff is safe to swallow. Put it on her thumbs like 4-6 times a day to heal them up. It really works!! Good Luck!!!

Answer 10

try this prduct called 'stop and grow' its used to help ppl stop biting their nails it tastes FOUL but is tottally non-toxic, just paint it on the thumb nail and wen ever she puts her thumb in her mouth she'll get a yucky taste soon break the habbit!