Self-Injury Support Group
Whether you or someone you know or love struggles with self-injury, this is the community to discuss your experience, find support, meet others going through the same, and get advice on how to stop. Working together, we can help find alternative coping skills to reduce the urge to self-harm.
I've been scratching my back and scalp until it bleeds. A few months ago when I did this on my back, I got an infection called impetigo. It was extremely painful, and I had to take antibiotics for 5 days. I want to avoid this, and I want to stop scratching. Does any one have advice that would help me? I would greatly appreciate it!
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Hi All.... It's great to see all of the new people joining the site... I'm loving it!!...smileI'm not sure if people are aware that if you don't have Bipolar Disorder but have a loved one who has the disorder we do have a board for people to go to in order to share their experiences and seek friendship, support or adviseIt's the Friends and Family of Bipolar Board.... I hope you'll take a...
As for the scratching and infection. One of the dirtiest parts on the body is your fingernails, they pick up all kinds of nasty germs throughout the day and you'll continue to get infections if you keep scratching, so if you just can't stop the urge, I'd advise you to buy some rubber gloves, like Dr.'s/nurses use and wear them when you scratch, otherwise you're going to keep getting infections and they can get much worse. MRSA is about the worst and can be deadly, this little germ can live on hard surfaces for 3 months....so you can pick it up from any number of places. Impetigo can also be very serious and lead to amputation of limbs. I'm not trying to be the "scare police" but these infections from scratching can be really serious, its something you need to think about when you get the urge to do so, think whether the "good feeling" you get is worth the possible risk.