Wife constantly picks at scabs. As soon as a wound of any kind heals over with a scab, or even dry skin, she starts picking at it. Advice?

I am unable to answer all of your replies as I am busy with my wife almost non stop, except for her nap time and nighttime sleep.

Yes, all of her doctors are well aware of this. as this is not something new but has been going on as long as we have been married, 37 years last month,

I alternate A & D ointment with another petroleum jelly product. If the areas become inflamed, I also add an antibiotic ointment.

She is not delusional as yet, but with vascular dementia that may well be in the future.

She has been being treated by a psychiatrist since our second year of marriage and is on several Psych meds for her depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

I have tried many different fiidget blankets, dolls, stuffed animals, and other homemade items.

Different types of dressings have not proved to be a long lasting solution. She usually pulls them off within 2 to 4 hours.

OCD seems like a solid diagnoses brought on by anxiety.

Reminding her or posting notes only makes her mad and increases the problems.

I am not trying to put down all of your suggestions and as you can see, I have tried most if not all. I will continue to see if someone has anything that I have not tried.

Thanks for all of you great replies. Although you have not been able to help me, you may well have helped others who visit the site regularly but never post questions or answers.

We are talking about a woman, who with only one hand, non-dominate, has pulled her catheter loose from the bag at least 5 times.

Also many nights she tears her diaper and/or disposal pads apart to the point that the floor looks like it snowed during the night.

Twiddle blanket? - i.e., something else for her to pick at. Try also: bubble wrap, BluTac, worry beads, stress ball etc.
White cotton gloves? - though I expect she'll just take them off, won't she.

No, you can't tie her hands up. Tempting; but not so much "unorthodox" as "will have APS on your doorstep before you've finished the second knot."

My mother also is doing this. Her face, chest, and back are often bleeding and her skin looks like it has been burned. She has been on topical antibiotics, oral antibiotics, and steroid creams. Unfortunately, they can't heal if she keeps picking at them. She goes through tubes of Neosporin and boxes of bandaids thinking this will help. The most effective I have found is Silvadene cream. You can get this over the counter.
My next step is to take her to the doctor for perhaps some anti-anxiety medicine.

YOU can't stop this. Nothing will remain - it will be pulled off over and over again. While my thought is highly unorthodox and unusual and will be rebelled at, you may have to take her hands and somehow keep them "tied" with some freedom but not enough to reach and pick. I don't know what else to suggest.

My aunt had Alzheimer's & picked at her scalp non-stop while she was awake. Nothing stopped her. Nothing. No medications, no fidget blankets, nothing. It's part & parcel of dementia in general, which you say your wife suffers from in your profile. My mother has skin lesions on her face that she picks at as well; so far, nothing has stopped her either (pretty advanced dementia in her case). The dermatologist can remove the lesions, but that's all they can do. Will she still pick at her skin? Probably.

You can buy your wife a fidget blanket on Amazon here & hope for the best:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=alzheimers+fidget+blanket&ref=nb_sb_noss

"Keep their skin well moisturized and hydrated by ensuring a adequate water intake. Applying tissue oils not only facilitates healing, it also makes it difficult to pick or scratch because it makes the skin slippery. Keep their nails short."

Here is an article on the subject with suggestions for distracting activities to keep her from picking:

https://www.mind-start.com/When-Picking-at-Things-Becomes-an-Issue-with-Alzheimers_b_158.html

Asking your wife questions about why she's doing what she's doing isn't going to get you a reasonable answer. The ability to use logic & reason is gone when a person is suffering from dementia, so all you can do is try to distract her. Call the doctor for advice as well, naturally, but I've never found much help from my mother's group, to be honest.

Good luck!

Imho, what she is exhibiting is known as a tic and she needs to be seen by the proper specialist.

Talk to her. As many times you have to.
I Usually write big notes 4 of more, stating
Mom Do not pick at your wounds or skin, etc etc,
Then I tape it or frame it to the walls, I know it sounds crazy But believe me it works most of the time.
Good luck:

It may be anxiety. Perhaps she needs medication.
Sounds like she needs more supervised care.

This is a symptom of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which is often treated with anti-depressants. IMHO, we are hard-wired to pick at our skin, and learn to repress the compulsion as children. We pick as a result of social anxiety. Make sure she has a tube of neosporin to apply by herself.

Skin/scab picking is a very common symptom with dementia. It may be due to some underlying condition, noted by others, but generally it is a nervous habit, perhaps driven initially by anxiety and becomes a daily habit.

While some kind of gloves might prevent the skin/scab picking, the catheter is a different story. If you search for the following, there are special "mitts" that would prevent or limit her ability to mess with either:

gloves to prevent dementia skin picking

I have a tendency to scrape off scabs as well... What I found works best with SMALL areas is actually chapstick. Various lotions and bacitracin initially seem to help, but despite reapplication as needed, it still forms more of a dried skin/scab. The chapstick doesn't - I still have to reapply it several times, but it works so much better! Again, this would only work on small areas. For larger areas lotions and a covering along with the special mitts might help with your wife.

Excoriation is an OCD behavior and I'm pretty sure it is relatively common with dementia. But it is a frustrating thing to constantly try and solve and discourage! I'm not sure what helps other than the aforementioned skin moisturizing, anti-anxiety meds, and the distraction of various fidget items. Best of luck to you. Hugs and prayers to ALL caregivers!!

Lotion up her skin. Healing skin and older skin can be dry and itchy. Use soap that is pH balanced and is moisturizing. I like the St. Ive's oatmeal with shea butter. Apply a high fat/oil content moisturizer afterwards.

As others have mentioned, find something she can do with her hands to divert her attention.

Bubble wrap. My mom pops them instead of picking at her sores on her forearms. Not a perfect solution but it works while we visit.

is there any special kind of gloves that she cannot get off so that whenever she is done eating, etc, you can put the gloves on and then she can't get them off? i never tried "liquid bandage" but not sure how that would work. maybe a nurse would know how to keep her from picking at the stat loc. wishing you luck.

GI've her a fidget blanket.
Just make one using a small piece of matetial or a baby blanket and sew/ attach things in it that she can touch, feel, full with.

As far as scabs. Just keep the sore creamed up and it will heel without being scabed over.

-if your wife does feel itching I agree with caroli1-antibiotic ointment isn't for longterm use, nor just as an emollient. better to use a skin cream, maybe A&D or Eucerin cream gently applied in a few of times a day. If someone has time to sit with your wife, maybe try create an activity, a game with picture cards, clapping games, singing and keeping time, just holding hands. Clearly this cant be for too long at a time, but might help some, to distract her. If she has an aide a few hours a day, she might help engage her. But first clear this with your wife's doctor, to be sure it's not an indicator of anything larger. But lots of people pick at scabs. With less to do, a less busy life to distract us, it can become an activity.
I hope your wife feels more comfortable, very soon.

You might want to give her a fidget blanket. It is a lap type quilt/blanket that gives her hands something to do. That coupled with some of the other ideas will hopefully provide a solution for you. Good luck.

Has she always done this or is it new behaviour?
I only ask because it sounds a lot like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
If this is the case, a visit with a qualified mental health professional might be in order.

picking at scabs can increase her risk of developing a skin infection and scarring.
Just a guess, but it is possible she may be suffering a neurosis called dermatillomania, a condition that's somewhat similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder and it would be highly advised you seek medical help. If a physical cause has been ruled out by her doctor, she may need to see a therapist. One such intervention is behavior therapy such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

She picks because it’s itchy. As the wounds heal the skin around them tightens and opening them up again may hurt, but it also relieves the discomfort of the tightness.

Scratching leads to more scratching. It gets itchier and itchier until it become addictive.

The picking may also be somewhat instinctive, especially if she has a hard time healing. When wounds are in a non-healing cycle, sometimes the medical treatment is actually having a nurse or doctor pick the scab for you— this is wound debridement.

So to address of these causes, before bed, put pure bacitracin on her wounds. It is greasy like petroleum jelly so it will relieve the pulling skin tightness and discomfort. It works better than neosporin and is less expensive. It will also aid in healing while she sleeps so it may get her farther along the not-yet-healing/picking cycle. Cover with a bandaid to prevent it from all ending up on the sheets.

Doing the day, give her tasks that keep her hands busy. Painting something, sorting something, drawing or coloring, folding laundry. You have to “retrain” her from going back to the scratching as entertainment.

Does she think there are creatures or bugs under her skin? Is she delusional about why she is picking? If so, she may have a rare and devastating condition known as delusional parasitosis. My husband suffered with it for a year before a Psychiatrist recognized it and prescribed a antipsychotic. He was bleeding & bruised from head to toe trying in vain to get the “little engineers”
out of his body. Just an idea. Good luck!

Another option in the mean time keep the area moist with neosporin ointment or vitamins E oil. This will allow the wound to heal without the scab

Have you talked to her doctor? There meds that might help