Is skin picking part of/common to autism?

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Hi everyone,

First of all, pardon me if I'm ignorant. I just have a question. My partner is an Aspie and I'm NT. We're just starting to understand how AS plays out in his life, and I'm curious about something. I noticed a while back that he picks his skin all the time. He'll use nail clippers every day to pick at the skin around his fingernails and toenails. He also picks with his fingers as well. This may have absolutely nothing to do with Asperger's, but I was curious about if this is common to autism in general or if this might be a separate issue?

Any advice is appreciated!

Sorry, I have no idea if there is any actual scientific or medical relation between the two, but I have the same habit as your partner and I strongly suspect I am an Aspie. I used to also bite my nails a lot when I was younger, and peeling the skin off my fingers was really bad as well, but the habit has declined as I got older, mainly because I realised how awful my fingers looked compared to other people's. I still lapse into picking my skin now and again, especially if I am stressed or have a lot on my mind... It happens fairly unconsciously.

My partner is NT (I think) and he sometimes picks the skin around his fingers so maybe the issue is purely coincidental. People have different ways of expressing nervousness, frustration etc. And people with AS do battle with such feelings a lot so it is no surprise that it can be manifested in various ways and differs from person to person.

I have seen skin picking listed as a behavior common amongst autistic people. I am a skin picker. I love to do it. It feels great to do it. Picking at the skin on either side of my fingernails, the little pieces of skin that naturally pop up away from the nail, and I pick them until my fingers bleed. It's something that I enjoy doing as a leisure activity. It got out of control for awhile when I was around 12, but it's not a big deal anymore.

It's not exclusive to aspies, but there is definitely a neurological cause. I have the same habit. I do it because my brain doesn't feel like certain things "belong." If you've ever had something stuck in your teeth, that's a similar experience. You become obsessed with extracting that little insignificant piece of food. As insignificant and painless as it is, it's hard to filter out that sensory information. Skin picking is sort of the same thing. Actually alot of autistic kids will pick their nose. It's a bit gross, but it's also a nervous habit that is rooted in an inability to filter sensory information.

I can't speak for other autistic people, but I really enjoy picking at my skin. I notice that I mostly do it when I feel stressed out. I pop zits and keep picking at the scabs that form afterwards. I have never cared too much about my appearance, so it doesn't bother me that my face always has sores on it. Once I got an infection from doing it, but that doesn't stop me. My mom and psychiatrist both wonder why I do it, but I can't give them an answer. It feels good physically, it makes me feel better emotionally, and I can't stop doing it. There must be some deeper reason why I feel compelled to do it, but I don't know what it could be.

I used to pick scabs all the time as a kid if that counts. But I don't want to get scares so I started to put band aids over them so I'd leave them alone. I also pop pimples if that also counts and if I have a piece of skin or whatever those white things are that stick out of my finger next to my finger nails, I pick and bite at it. I don't like it because it pokes or or scratches when it touches something. I also pull hair out from under my arms and pelvis area.

I do most of what was mentioned, even at 38. Nail bitting, bitting the skin at my fingertips, nose picking, sometimes pulling out hair on my fingers with my teeth. I do it when I'm alone (home, toilet), but in the past I used to do a lot of it in public. In my teens, when I had to concentrate (e.g. maths and physics competitions), I used to bite off the hair form half of my wrists completely. Now I only grab that hair sometimes with my teeth / lips but don't pull them out, I touch my forearms, wrists, fingers with my lips, nose, and smell them (this is also a stim).

I peel my fingernails, skin on my fingers, and skin on my lips. I especially like peeling the skin off my lips because it hurts in a unique way that feels strangely nice.

I pick at fingernails, toenails, and skin around those areas, I know it's bad but I can't seem to completely stop. I pop pimples though I try and wait until they're ready (pus all drained into the head but i'm usually wrong about that) and scratch my head and pick scabs off of it. I don't know what that means, but I do it.

Anxiety related I've found, but it's supposedly an "impulse control disorder".

They say people who do such do do it when more stressed/anxious, so that points to anxiety. People with ASDs are often quite anxious (for obvious reasons).

So, 1 plus the other, will equal 2. Enter skin picking.

It has a scientific name: Derma-something.

My fingers are all messed up. I like to peel them until they start bleeding, because I just can't stand having a piece of skin that doesn't ...belong??

I can't help myself with sunburn peels

I did some brief research, seems like it is correlated to some of asd comorbids.

I'm another skin picker - quite extreme with a bit of scarring on my forearms. I've been trying to stop it for years and spent a fortune on lotions and potions to improve my skin's appearance. I don't have body dysmorphia or anything like that, the skin appearance is really that bad. It started with keratosis pilarisis and associated ingrown hairs, but I've always picked at hangnails, etc and used to chew my hair when I was younger.