Jump to content
ACN Latitudes Forums

Thumb sucking?


Recommended Posts

No thumb sucking, but nail biting started out of the blue for DD at almost 10 years old. Those two are somewhat related soothing techniques for anxiety.

 

We are trying the product "Thum" which is a bittering agent in a clear nail polish, plus discussing the health risks of nail biting. I am trying to recommend alternative soothing behaviours as well.

Edited by Mayzoo
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 14 year old started putting his fingers in his mouth when he had P...something he never did before.

When the P symptoms went away, so did the fingers in his mouth.

 

Mayzoo...does the nail polish do a good job of keeping fingers out of the mouth? My son with autism

has been chewing his nails since his dose of depakote was increased.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My son chewed the front of his shirt constantly and put holes in them or sometimes sucked/licked or chewed his fingers for months. When he went into remission I asked him why he did it and he said he didn't know. I think it was anxiety based.

 

My other son watches tv upside down, we don't know why, I think its less scary for him from what I can tell. He doesn't know why he has to do it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 14 year old started putting his fingers in his mouth when he had P...something he never did before.

When the P symptoms went away, so did the fingers in his mouth.

 

Mayzoo...does the nail polish do a good job of keeping fingers out of the mouth? My son with autism

has been chewing his nails since his dose of depakote was increased.

 

Yes, it works well. I got it off amazon.com (My link) It does have to put on 2-3 times a day, and it can burn a little if they have an open area from the biting. I use application times to positively reinforce why she should stop nail biting. I just list the benefits of not biting and mention all the germies on her fingers that I know she does not want in her mouth (we do not have germ fears as part of the OCD and seem to be dealing more with vocal tics and compulsions). If she says it burns a little, all I say in an upbeat voice is that it will not burn anymore when she stops biting the nails/areas. I tried it on one of my open wounds first, and it is only a pretty mild stinging sensation. We are having a hard time getting rid of strep right now and I suspect this plays at least a minor role.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...