Do the scabs itch??If this is why your picking them maybe you could get some cream which stops the itching,also if it is a infection on your skin you could get a short course of steroids to make them go away

yea they itch but for 30 years i need more than cream ta any way

You should go to a dermatologist the gp can refer you as this sounds like you have a skin problem,why did you leve it so long to get help???

The problem is anxiety-which shows itself via obsessive compulsive actions. After a dermatologist, get into therapy to deal with stress or causes. My dau picks so bad that major open sores apprear, and scabs picked again=scars on face and hairline. I did the same for over 40 years, and antidepressant helped only a little. MY dau is also adhd like me-so if not picking we are squirming or moving or picking cuticle etc. She is not aware when she is picking. You can't just stop ocd! She has been doing it one year-now she is 12 1/2. She has never seen me pick (adopted also)...so not genetic. puberty is very stressful. She is on honor roll and many sports, and very confident. I think maybe perfectionist & peer pressure triggers it. I have white spots on my arms , so know it will cause permanent scars! Maybe we pick while others drink or have other vice to cope with anxiety????

For Humor sake only...You might think about picking up a guitar! (Just kidding folks-please dont hate on me):) +4

Scab picking is a form of excoriation, just as picking at the skin is. When picking scabs, however, the picker will pick at scabs that have been caused from any trauma, be it accident or result of earlier picking episodes. Picking scabs is a remarkably self-perpetuating way to act out obsessive-compulsive tendencies that often signal an underlying, often as-yet-undiagnosed mood or anxiety disorder. Patients often describe the experience as comforting even though painful. And very unsightly. A common symptom of scab picking is eating the scabs after picking. This form of skin picking disorder can be difficult to spot from the observer’s perspective. The person experiencing the scab picking behavior knows the results are unsightly and repulsive to others. For this reason, he or, usually, she will limit picking scabs to just the areas of the body that are most often hidden under clothing. Repeated infections at the scab picking sites become problems that can have significant consequences. Permanent scarring is almost always a result of the behavior and sometimes the scarring can be profound and disfiguring. There seems to be a great deal of shame associated with this obsessive-compulsive skin picking behavior, even more so than in other types of skin picking. Many people who suffer with this compulsion know they are doing something that is considered undesirable, even disgusting (to others), but they find it almost impossible to stop nevertheless. What causes scab picking? Habitual picking of scabs is classified in the group of psychological disorders associated with self-harm, such as deliberate skin cutting, head banging, and burning oneself. These actions are more often associated with girls than with boys and scab picking often starts when the subject is age 13 or 14. Psychological symptoms that are often associated with picking scabs are depression, low self-esteem, addiction, eating disorders, and anxiety. A history of trauma or some sort of abuse is almost always involved. Quite often the habit gets started as a way to relieve the pent-up frustrations or fears when other ways of dealing with conflict are not effective. Feeling that verbal communications are ineffective leave the scab picker feeling there is no other way to express the emotional turmoil going on inside. Most people will pick a scab from time to time with no significant harm done. It’s when the act of picking the scab brings on emotional relief, desired pain, or pleasure that medical intervention is advised. The Skin Picking Disorder - Unleashed The summer of 1994 produced one of the most grisly and well-publicized double murders in the history of the United States of America. Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, were brutally butchered on the front lawn of her elegant, expensive condominium just miles from the world-famous glitz and glamor of Hollywood, California. Although accused in both criminal and civil trials for the double murder, Simpson’s husband, one-time football great and actor, OJ Simpson was acquitted of criminal charges but was found responsible for their deaths in civil court. While the entire country remained enthralled by the legal twists and turns that came about during the two trials, one of the biggest surprises came with the revelation that the beautiful, charming Mrs. Simpson was apparently living a tormented life replete with self-doubt, insecurities, and domestic abuse that included violence running the gamut from physical to verbal to emotional. In the aftermath, it’s become clear that Mrs. Simpson was silently broadcasting her fears to the world with almost every public appearance she made. Looking back on photos of the lovely Mrs. Simpson, it's evident that she was a habitual skin picker. Unfortunately, no one got the message. It is almost tragic to think that, if the general public were more aware of the problem of facial picking as a sign of emotional anguish, her frantic calls to 911 and other signals of distress might have been taken more seriously. Mrs. Simpson had developed a compulsive skin picking disorder that was considered merely a bad habit, a girl thing, at the time. Today, however, after more serious attention has been paid to this almost-irresistible skin picking habit, conversation is more open. People now are more willing to acknowledge they share the same skin picking disorder as did Mrs. Simpson. In fact, now they are able to give a name to the “bad habit” when, before, it was something just not worth mentioning, as far as most people were concerned. Picking at skin - a disease? And doctors, particularly those specializing in mental health issues and dermatology, acknowledge that this compulsion for picking at skin on the face, and anywhere else on the body, is an issue that is dangerous in and of itself but is also a sign of deeper emotional turmoil that may require in-depth intervention. In fact, compulsive skin picking is now classified as one of a cluster of compulsive behaviors that fall under the diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Other behaviors that may accompany skin picking are nail biting and hair pulling. Still others may be more severe, even life threatening. In the spectrum of behaviors falling under the OCD diagnosis, compulsive skin picking is linked to anorexia nervosa, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, and Munchhausen Disease. Complicating diagnosis of the skin picking disorder are the circumstances under which different people feel compelled to pick. Stress-provoking situations are the trigger that leads some people to begin or resume aggressive skin picking. Others seem to be unconscious of their picking, as it often occurs as a passive activity while mentally occupied with other relaxing activities, such as watching TV, reading, even driving. Another mystifying aspect of the diagnosis is the underlying reason to begin picking at skin in the first place. Many people suffering from compulsive skin picking do so as a defense mechanism against bullying from other people in their lives, such as classmates, parents, or spouses. Others experience the skin picking disorder as an act of aggression against themselves. It is often difficult to determine if the patient is victim or aggressor. Fortunately, there is a growing interest in understanding and treating the disorder. Several skin picking treatment options are becoming available but there is still much more being left unsaid, even undiscovered as yet, about this disfiguring and dangerous obsession.