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drkathy Asked July 2013

Mom has started picking her face. Does anyone have any advice?

My Mom has picked her face for a long time, but with very little damage. She's 89 and has started to see things on her face and has increased the picking so that she has some areas that are raw. She says she picks them because they itch. They itch because they're trying to heal. She had a biopsy on a patch above her eyebrow that she had picked on until it showed abnormal cells. No cancer, but 6 months after the surgery, she still thinks she's pulling out stitch material from the area and has picked it raw again. Can anyone give me any advice please?

CoolGranny Jul 2013
Lexapro 20 mg. She started out on 10 mg. 18 months ago. The doc seems to think the scratching is caused from anxiety/natural progression of dementia. We shall see!

drkathy Jul 2013
Thanks for the info. What type of anxiety meds does your Mom take? Do they make her groggy?

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CoolGranny Jul 2013
We are experiencing the same exact thing with picking of the face above the eyebrow. (mother with dementia) Nearly has her entire eyebrow scratched off and two wounds where she has dug. So far we have tried the lotions, anti-itch plenty of water, cutting her nails all the way down, and covering with bandaids. Our attempt with bandaids was a disaster. She picked them off four times in one evening. We have just upped her anxiety meds. I will post when Or if we see any improvement.

ladee1 Jul 2013
drkathy.... I had a charge that did this too.. she would scratch until she had sores on her face, scratch until she was bleeding... as I am a paid caregiver, my hands were tied... but I did notice if she was anxious it was a lot worse... possible her Dr. can start her on some anxiety meds.... try to make sure she is hydrated, and do you know if any of her meds might have this side effect.... it's just a crap shoot really.... we tried everything... lotions, unscented, with the most pure ingredients we could find. Nothing helped... but they never did try meds for anxiety.... if you do find a solution,please share.... this is something that is baffling and hard to treat.... thanks for asking the question, maybe some one on here has an answer... good luck to you..

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