how to stop nose picking?

[danxp]

my 9yr old aspie son cannot stop picking his nose... help!!

it's so embarrassing but he doesn't feel a bit of shame... he'll do it in public and the classroom without giving it a second thought... i try to tell/force him to stop but he won't listen... i tell him to blow his nose and he says that won't get the solid stuff out and it bothers him too much... i even tell him if he has to do it in public to go to a private area and pick away... he can't help himself... i think he enjoys it too...

at least he doesn't eat it... anymore...

 

[Turanga Veela]

I've had the same problem with my son! Honestly, I think it was only peer pressure that made him recently quit (he's almost twelve now), because not a thing I said ever worked.

Unfortunately, his younger brother (not ASD), who emulates everything big brother does, has picked (picked!) up the habit...

 

[danxp]

mostly i worry about him getting bullied from the other kids... i fear his nickname at school will become 'booger'

 

[Warmheart]

Step one, is to have a light, upbeat, but firm discussion about how nose picking makes others feel.
If there's anything that absolutely disgusts him, a short discussion referencing that... Then noting his feelings during the discussion of said icky subject, can help him understand how the behavior effects others.

Step two would be that when you see him begin to do this, hand him a tissue.
Have him blow his nose.
Have him wash his hands.
(Repetition over time is key)

Buy a few Tangles. They're pretty cheap. Tangles are fantastic stim toys. I have several.
After his hands are washed, give him a Tangle. (redirecting that fidgety energy)

When he's in situations that he tends to nose-pick, give him his Tangle FIRST. (preventative)

You really are a super Dad, and you're doing a great job with your dear son. Best of luck to you and your wonderful boy!

 

[Turanga Veela]

Ooh, we hadn't tried using the stim toys after or preventatively here.

 

[watersprite]

No offense intended: just ignore it, it's not all that important. It is possible to get too focused on what your emotions tell you are the negative aspects of your offspring and be a sort of paparazzi for your kids.

 

[tree]

danxp

Is he allergic to any/many things, that you know of?
Does his nose ever bleed?
Is he gouging out wet material mostly? Or dry?

Do you live in an area of either high or low humidity?

If he is saying that having a noseful of...whatever you
want to call it....bothers him, how is it bothering him?

It sounds like he is saying that the process of breathing
is more pleasant after he gouges out the dry material.
That would be a relief and naturally he would enjoy that.
It feels better to breathe through clean, moist nostrils
that crusty ones.

Have you noticed looks or remarks of revulsion from
other children, regarding your son's nose picking?

He will eventually encounter negative responses if he
is a finker [of dry snot] or a slimer [rubbing wet mucus
between his fingers or putting it on desks/walls etc.]

 

[Mr Allen]

I used to do that as well, and eat it! Bogey sandwiches! YUCK!

I remember once at a Karate lesson I was stood in the line scratching my nose and made it bleed, they thought I'd been smacked, but I'm good at blocking punches, even from the black belts who were loads taller than me.

 

[tree]

I used to do that as well, and eat it!...YUCK!

It sounds like this is in your past.
Why did you quit?

 

[EndSerenading]

Put something unpleasant/bitter (but not toxic or harmful) on his fingers, then when he shoves one up there he will associate picking his nose with the nasty smell and stop doing it.


(jk don't actually do this unless you want a visit from social services)

 

[danxp]

danxp

Is he allergic to any/many things, that you know of?
Does his nose ever bleed?
Is he gouging out wet material mostly? Or dry?

Do you live in an area of either high or low humidity?

If he is saying that having a noseful of...whatever you
want to call it....bothers him, how is it bothering him?

It sounds like he is saying that the process of breathing
is more pleasant after he gouges out the dry material.
That would be a relief and naturally he would enjoy that.
It feels better to breathe through clean, moist nostrils
that crusty ones.

Have you noticed looks or remarks of revulsion from
other children, regarding your son's nose picking?

He will eventually encounter negative responses if he
is a finker [of dry snot] or a slimer [rubbing wet mucus
between his fingers or putting it on desks/walls etc.]

he's not allergic to anything we know of... his nose bleeds on occasion due to the picking... he gouges out mostly harder stuff that's the consistency of play doh (yuk)... we live in nj so it can get pretty humid during the summer...

i try to tell him how gross and embarrassing it is and that he should blow his nose but he says that can't get the bothersome stuff out...

i may have to just listen to the advice of kestrel and ignore it... nothing i do makes him stop...

 

[Mr Allen]

It sounds like this is in your past.
Why did you quit?

I didn't, I still pick my nose, just not to the extent where I cause a nose bleed like I used to, but I'm like my Dad for being prone to nose bleeds anyway, although having said that I've not had one for ages touch wood.

 

[tree]

I didn't, I still pick my nose, just not to the extent where I cause a nose bleed like I used to, but I'm like my Dad for being prone to nose bleeds anyway, although having said that I've not had one for ages touch wood.

It was the eating part I was
referring to as being in your
past.

In Post #8 you said:
"I used to do that as well, and eat it!...YUCK!"

So I assumed that you no longer picked your
nose & ate it. Whether you pick your nose or
not at this stage in your life is not a concern to
me.

I wondered how you happened to get over
the habit of eating it; whether it was remarks
from other people/discipline or just grew out
of caring to do that..

Or are you saying that you
still do both?

 

[23andaspie]

Is it bad if I pick my nose still? I mean, I never do it in the outright public, but usually afterwords I feel like I can breathe a whole lot better. And breathing is definitely a good thing.

 

[Liambruno]

Is it bad if I pick my nose still? I mean, I never do it in the outright public, but usually afterwords I feel like I can breathe a whole lot better. And breathing is definitely a good thing.

Hard to see how it's bad if you're not doing it in public. Unless you're bothered by it, of course. Nose picking carries a minor risk of nosebleeds and infections, but I'm not aware of any moral or legal prohibition for cleaning one's nostrils using one's preferred method.
If you're prone to sinus blockage and can tolerate a hot pepper, a single chili pepper can open your head nicely.
If you're like me, it will also increase your water intake dramatically. And yes, I have figured out that water doesn't work.

 

[thom&bonnie]

I was about to start a new thread on this ("Is nose picking and eating a manifestation of stimming?"), but decided to do a search first and found this thread (topic). I am new to my knowledge of my own ASD at 58 years. Diagnosed with ADHD at age 5 in 1964 I had long thought that was the final explanation for my eccentricity, though seemingly incomplete. Now I can clearly see that I am an Aspie as well. My curiosity regarding nose picking was whether this too may be stimming. I may well start a new thread, but I thought that I may as well share here as well.

I have picked my nose and eaten the resultant "findings" in private (as far as I know) since I can remember. I am a natural-born scientist (the experimental method and/or extensive research regarding others' experiments my approach to everything, including everyday life) and so when questioning the healthiness of booger eating as a young boy I came upon a few facts that may be of interest:

The mucus that is produced and excreted in the nostrils of primates such as ourselves has several distinct advantages that have been evolutionary selected for:

• It prevents the drying of the walls of the nostrils, important considering that -
• It, along with the hairs that grow in the nostrils filters particulate matter from air as it is drawn in, thus preventing most of the aforementioned particulates from reaching the delicate tissues of the lungs.
  
• It prevents particulate matter from directly contacting (in uncontrolled amounts) and thus burning/irritating/infecting the wall of the nostril.
• The mucus itself, as a viscous boundary, allows small amounts of substances having been captured to be sensed by the nerves contained within the nostril walls, thus allowing a biochemical analysis that is interpreted by the brain as a "taste" or "smell".
• As well, the mucus, as a viscous liquid allows for the expulsion of variously dilute potential pathogens from the nasal passages via sneezing, blowing or picking, or...
  
• ... allows, when dried, for large clumps of the aforementioned "pollutants" to be similarly expelled.

The picking and eating of boogers is not (usually) a health threat at all, but only a questionably valid social faux pas (social blunder) as the mouth, esophagus, stomach and gastrointestinal system are not likely to be adversely affected by the minute amounts of contaminants consumed during a normal lifespan if those contaminants' presence in the nostrils caused no damage to the sensitive tissues from which they were originally in intimate contact and then extracted.

One more point. Homo sapiens sapiens (the humans species/genus) is the only primate (much less any mammal) that is inhibited in regards to nose picking and booger eating. Every other animal that can, does. Ask any primate ethologist or zookeeper.

So, in regard to my original question,"Is nose picking and eating a manifestation of stimming?": I would say that it is probably usually not, but I think that it may still perhaps have much to do with ASD in the sense of our common disregard and/or lack of perception for the common social and cultural conventions that neurotypicals are epigenetically programmed to innately interpret and observe.

I think that because of the bad publicity that nose picking (and booger eating) has received of late (at least since 1959 when I was born and perhaps, depending upon region and culture for the last several millennia) that I will "come out of the closet" here on Aspiescentral with a thread entitled exactly that: "Is nose picking and eating a manifestation of stimming?" and paste my response here as the intro.

I thank you for bringing this topic up. Simply by attempting to add my own perspective I feel that I have begun to answer my own question. As well, I think that you may have helped quite a few people here by your courage in speaking of something that is generally considered taboo.

 

[fairy_girl]

I'd let him do it till he has a nosebleed if he hates seeing blood. It worked for me because I used to get bored and pick my nose constantly till it bled. I would let him choose another fidget thing instead of nose picking on his own if he gets bored of it but try not to make it be a huge thing.

 

[hutchie]

I don't drink or smoke, this I enjoy, good when I get a result

 

[the_tortoise]

i tell him to blow his nose and he says that won't get the solid stuff out and it bothers him too much...

It can be a terrible sensation having hard, dry crusts of mucus inside your nose -- especially when they impeded airflow as you breathe.

Get him to blow his nose after he bathes/showers and then put a little bit of vegetable oil or vaseline on the inside of his nostrils ....might help keep the mucus from drying out to the point where it is bothersome.

And yes, I have figured out that water doesn't work.

Milk works.

 

[bbc-bananasplit]

I have these remedies to offer:

A. Tie hands to ankles - or to waist - with rope so as it is just short enough not to reach nose.

B. Thick gloves - like for winter - so that the finger's diameter exceeds the nose hole's diameter.

C. The safest way: First you must discover which is his favorite picking finger, and you do so by careful observation (hiding in a secret lookout point) or by following him around disguised as a plant. If you have discovered the digitus particularis, you must secretly apply the strongest and most illegal pepper spray you can lay your hands on. Garantueed: It'll be one last hellfiery nosepick and thereafter no more.