This might seem like an odd topic…

…but it is one I am uniquely qualified to address. Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am just someone with many years of experience dealing with this habit. For me picking the skin around my fingers can be conscious and unconscious. It can be a torture and a relief all at the same time. It becomes a cycle once started leading to more and the OCD merry go round continues. I have experienced changing the way I do things to hide my hands because I don’t want people to see them. I don’t get manicures because of the way my fingers look when they are soaked in water. GROSS. Has the biometric access on your phone ever stopped reading your thumbprint because you altered it, um…(by eating it?) Heh, me neither.

So why would I bring this up? Well, it seems to be a common habit among the young adults we work with and it can and does impact work. It is very uncomfortable to work with wounded fingers. These wounds are not only painful and unsightly, they are at risk of infection. At any workplace, but especially in a hospital setting like where our interns gain job skills, no one should be putting their fingers in their mouth! (Mmm tasty bacteria and viruses.)

I have some creds on this one because I’ve tried a LOT of different things like:

These Tips May Help

The first two are the most important.

1. Pray for help. You do not have to nor should you do this alone. Your prayers are heard by your Maker who loves you and cares for you, personally.
2. Know you can. Know you can stop this habit. Yes it may take trial and error. You may have setbacks and need to start again. However, if you are determined and persistent in your effort you will succeed.
3. This stuff: Jiu-Jitsu finger tape. It’s made to stick to your skin without leaving any residue. It also breathes so you don’t get the gross swollen pruney skin like after removing a bandage. It comes in different widths and different colors. It sticks better to skin than to itself, so you’ll need to experiment with how you want to wrap your own fingers. I find it’s easiest to cut a length of tape 2.5 inches or so first and then wrap.

A few more thoughts

You will need to keep the tape with you and be prepared to re-tape throughout the day. You probably know when your worst times for biting/ picking are. My worst time is when I'm driving so this is the time I need to make sure my most delish fingers are covered. When I feel the smooth tape and not the rough patches of uneven skin my desire to bite is lessened.

In two short weeks you are going to see a marvelous change in your skin. For me after a month I had normal fingers. My hands never looked so good. Eventually I didn't need tape anymore. Then... I don't even remember what, but something stressful happened and I started the habit back up again. So be warned, if you break this habit, (I know you can,) don't be naive like me. Keep your tape and be mindful and quick to intervene if you start back picking and biting. 

I hope this helps you!