I also chew, eat, and swallow dead skin from my fingers and feet and find it strangely gratifying. I also consume various secretions (zits, sleep [look it up], scabs...) of my own and have observed others doing the same.
This behavior straddles the line of 'normal', most everyone has done it, a good portion continue to do it, and a smaller portion of us truly enjoy it. I am also guilty of chewing/eating those weird things that grow on the edge of your fingernails, then going too far, and having bloody and sore fingers for a few days... If you are bleeding or sore after picking or biting, you are going too far.
Nutritionally... I think of it as recycling. I actually have eczema, and I started by biting off the dead flaky skin I naturally have. No.... I used to bite (and eat) my nails, blisters, calluses. For me, it was also gratifying, though I can't say why exactly.
I'm glad I found your post, just wanted to chime in, let you know that eating your pieces, while perhaps not socially acceptable, is not that strange. If you are not damaging yourself, this behavior is harmless. If you are, it is a problem.
I pull the skin off my feet compulsively
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I also chew, eat, and swallow dead skin from my fingers and feet and find it strangely gratifying. I also consume various secretions (zits, sleep [look it up], scabs...) of my own and have observed others doing the same.
This behavior straddles the line of 'normal', most everyone has done it, a good portion continue to do it, and a smaller portion of us truly enjoy it. I am also guilty of chewing/eating those weird things that grow on the edge of your fingernails, then going too far, and having bloody and sore fingers for a few days... If you are bleeding or sore after picking or biting, you are going too far.
Nutritionally... I think of it as recycling. I actually have eczema, and I started by biting off the dead flaky skin I naturally have. No.... I used to bite (and eat) my nails, blisters, calluses. For me, it was also gratifying, though I can't say why exactly.
I'm glad I found your post, just wanted to chime in, let you know that eating your pieces, while perhaps not socially acceptable, is not that strange. If you are not damaging yourself, this behavior is harmless. If you are, it is a problem.