My Son Won't Stop Picking

I would make him disinfect it with antibacterial or an alcohol swab. Explain to him how his body was made to take care of cuts on its own and the process it goes through is scabbing. If he can't let his body do what it's suppose to do then help him along. A picked scab hurts more than a covered scab. Put alcohol on it and then antibiotic cream, cover it for a day and then remove the bandage. If he picks on it, start all over. I'm a mother of six and I have several kids that went through this in the past. When they realize how much alcohol hurts they stop picking on it.

bandaid loosely on it so air gets thru and it can scab up. keep on putting the bandaids on even after it scabs until it completely heals. then after it comeptely heals cover it with sunscreen (or a moisurizer with sunscreen, as well as his entire face) every morning and afternoon for at least a year. Since that spot will be lighter in pigment than his normal skin color it will be prone to sunburning very very quickly and can become permanently sun damaged if left exposed, even if it looks normal. Since you live in arizona it is important to sunscreen his entire body, head to toes, it is a good routine to do it every morning before he dresses every day.

I was also going to mention using the tattoo bandaids. Those suckers stick good!! I have to get them wet to get them off. Another suggestion is to use reverse psychology on him. Maybe it was a subconscious thing at first, but now with all of your attention telling him not to pick it all the time is causing him to focus on it more when you're not around. Try telling him to pick it so it can be all bloody and yucky and see if that helps curb the habit. : ) Good luck!

I know how frustrating this is because our son (will be 3 in May) went through this same issue. He does have a scar on his cheek and it was awful getting him to stop. We tried putting bandaids on the area, but he pick those off, too. We tried liquid bandaid, which seemed to help (it looks like dried clear nail polish). We tried keeping the area clean and dry so it wouldn't get goopy in the bath. I think what finally helped was that we would put a bandaid on his hand and tried to get him to focus on a different area. I think the liquid bandaid helped heal it fast enough. Needless to say, we didn't have any portraits taken of him for quite awhile. He still is a picker especially if he notices a scab. So I try to keep them covered with bandaids, even at bedtime, so they can heal. I think the ointment kept making them too goopy and didn't heal fast enough. Good luck. I have another child that is also a scab picker and it's so gross.

I suggest the Nexcare brand of bandages. The "tattoo" type they have for kids seal all the way around the edge. They are super thin too, so he'll have a much harder time getting it off--my three year old really has to pick to get the edge up.

I don't know if he'll keep it on, but a band-aid might do the trick while he is getting ready to sleep. Our oldest always takes them off, but our youngest leaves them on pretty well.

Good luck!