how to stop nose picking?

[Jana Delaney]

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...

Isn't it hypocritical to have a problem with someone doing something that we all know fine and well every human being on the planet has done at least a few times, just because he is natural and honest enough to do it in front of people? This issue is actually a non-issue. We are all covered in bacteria, permanently. And besides, he is fundamentally correct in saying that blowing your nose is less efficient in removing mucus than picking it. The mucus in people's noses carries small parasites too, which he is effectively removing. As an autistic person who was diagnosed late, I was unaware of why I was different, and so naturally succumbed to certain social pressures. So nowadays I pick my nose in the comfort of my own space - just like billions of other human beings on the planet. The fact that he has not yet learned how to be a fake is hardly problematic. I am sure his non-autistic peers will bully him into acquiescence eventually.

 

[ACJ]

It isn't always about not doing this in public. Believe it or not, I stumbled upon this thread because I am trying to get my child on the spectrum to stop as well. In my case, I'm not even that bothered by her doing it in public, or doing it at all. My main problem with it is that my daughter cannot stop doing it before she causes heavy nose bleeds. The first time she started doing it, around 3, we almost ended up taking her to the emergency room, because we hadn't quite caught on to what was actually happening, and we thought she might be really, really sick. Knowing it is just her picking her nose doesn't make it any easier, because what parent loves their kid doing something that is actually eventually self-harm???

Four years later, the problem has come and gone many times. She will be doing just fine for weeks or months, until all of a sudden she decides to do it again. Sometimes it's that she's bored. Sometimes she does have a cold. Sometimes it's anyone's guess what prompts it. The result is the same. She starts picking out in public, and keeps going until she goes too far with it.Then she has a nose bleed, freaks out, and keeps picking at it after we've cleaned her up, until the blood flow starts again. This can happen 3-4 times a day until I basically threaten her with punishments (loss of privileges, loss of toys, etc.)

I have tried to very logically explain that she either shouldn't start, or should try to figure out a way to stop before she bleeds. She can't feel the damage she's causing her nostrils. Blood gushing is the only thing that alerts her to having gone too far with it. I explain she will hurt herself if she keeps doing it, but it only maybe works for a few minutes. Then she's at it again. I taught her how to irrigate her nose with saline solution, and she said it helped, except of course she's not doing it anymore. I've asked her if this is something she feels she needs to do to herself, and if so if she could explain the kind of sensation that makes it pleasurable, at least initially, so we could find something else that wouldn't cause nosebleeds.

I agree that I wouldn't judge or shame a kid for doing something openly and honestly that many adults do privately. But the nose picking issue isn't always about wanting a kid to act in socially appropriate ways, it can be more about figuring out ways to provide alternatives if it is a stimming issue.

 

[Progster]

@ACJ That sounds like a stim to me. Stims are often involuntary and not performed consciously. Threatening with punishments won't help, and psychologically might be damaging, because she might want to stop but can't. Autistic people can be extremely sensitive, and we can feel small amounts of dried, hard mucus in our nostrils, and it iritates, or just feels good to pull it out. I agree that it is not good for her to do it, since she is hurting herself and it's also not hygienic, but in order for her not to do it, you would need to replace it with something else less destructive, or use nosedrops or something that would clear her nose so she can't feel it and isn't constantly aware of it, but supervise this - if she's not doing it, she might just need to be reminded to do it, or establish a routine that she does it certain set times of the day, like taking a medicine.

 

[Homebrand]

I would say DON'T.

Nose picking it one of if not the actual longest running and earliest of my stims.
Free the stim!!!
As he gets older I'm sure he'll learn to keep this one to himself.

 

[Lady Lucifer]

I've had the same problem with my son! Honestly, I think it was only peer pressure that made him recently quit

I was one of those kids. My whole table in 5th grade saw me doing it and they made fun of me and wouldn't stop. Its traumatic, but they helped me conquer a bad habbit. And taught me good hygiene!

That sounds like a stim to me. Stims are often involuntary and not performed consciously. Threatening with punishments won't help, and psychologically might be damaging, because she might want to stop but can't. Autistic people can be extremely sensitive, and we can feel small amounts of dried, hard mucus in our nostrils, and it iritates, or just feels good to pull it out.]

Agreed, when I did it I wasn't physically aware all the time. Though I must admit, blowing your nose dosen't have the same affect. Cold boogers are a bit different than healthy boogers as they are looser. But healthy boogers are sticky. So I would puff and puff and it wouldn't come out. I'm not sure how meds would help either. Aren't boogers needed to rid of bad bacteria? (Like ear wax?)

 

[Bella Pines]

my 9yr old aspie son cannot stop picking his nose

This sounds very much like your problem and not his.

Aspie stimming can take all forms from pulling out hair to picking skin off in strips.

You should feel relief that he has chosen such a non invasive stim.

However, I can see that for some reason you are suffering for it. Have you considered seeking professional help? There are many really good therapists out there that might be able to help you through come to terms with your issues.

 

[Raisedbywolves]

It is my stim I have come to realise. I have done it as long as I can remember, and it's involuntary. I don't even realise I'm doing it.

As a kid I got yelled at, slapped, made fun of, had bitrex on my fingers, etc and it never stopped. As an adult, I'm totally humiliated by it, but i still do it without realising.

I have other stims, but this is the one i hate cos i do it the most and don't realise it.

If it's a stim, it might be life long

 

[tducey]

I have this habit, people have told me about it but I still do it. I guess it's just a trait for people with Autism.

 

[Joshua the Writer]

To be honest, I also have this habit.

 

[Gracey]

Are his sinuses okay ?

A pocket tissue (4 ply) over the end of his finger would still allow him to scrape out the build up of matter in a more hygienic and perhaps socially acceptable way ?

Watching someone clean out their nose with a tissue may be preferable to watching someone use their finger to achieve the same.

Maybe less likely to eat it from a tissue?
There maybe a urge to remove matter from finger by any means.
Mouth, wiping it on nearest surface etc.

If matter is on a tissue,
nerve endings in finger won’t register there’s something to be removed ?

 

[asperagus]

Encourage an alternative behaviour.

 

[tlc]

If you've told him about the possibility of being bullied due to nose picking in public, I say that's about all you can do. If he does end up getting bullied over it, or the teachers talk to him, maybe he will start listening better.

That and the possibility of a severe nosebleed. If there's junk that won't blow out, I'll dig it out in private. I hate having restriction in my nose that won't come out. But once I hit a blood vessel just right and blood just started pouring out like a faucet. Then I started to black out and just about passed out due to sudden blood loss to my brain. It was in my private office at work, and when someone found out they made me go to the ER. I'm very careful now and I know the spot that I have to leave alone or it will happen again.

I don't see anything wrong with it if done in private. If a tissue is used. There is at least one guy at work who wipes boogers on the bathroom stall walls. The owner brought it up in a meeting but nothing has changed.

Ever seen National Lampoon's Vacation? Don't pick your nose in a car either.

 

[Nick12]

MABY TRY A STICKER CHART