Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Forum for parents of injured who are seeking information from other parents or people living with the injury. All welcome
angelsmom
Posts: 143
Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:53 pm

Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by angelsmom »

I know this was "normal" after our daughter surgry, when she was still getting the feeling back in her hand and arm. Angelina quit after 3 monthes of it, that was over 2 years ago now she is 4yrs old complaining of her arm hurts
and bugs in it it (yuky)so she went back to biting chunks of her finger and thumb off! We let it go for about a month trying to get her to quite & still she is doing it.
Our reg. family doc.(our family doc. knows nothing on bp) had her do and x-ray and now has her set up to do an MRI.(we just have to find on to put her to sleep the frist one didn't work from all her crying.
What's wrong with her?? any ideas?? or are we on the right track??
claudia
Posts: 1241
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2001 12:21 pm

Re: Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by claudia »

Are the xray and MRI for the finger biting? Or the arm pain?

As for the "bugs" in the arm, that is a classic neurologic pain symptom. Unfortunately, many kids go thru stages of finger biting and chewing. The healing curve on bpi, especially after surgery, is quite a bit longer than we can anticipate. Some kids will have arm pain and weird sensations when going thru a growth spurt. Juliana went thru a banging phase with her arm--she would bang it on the wall or the edge of her toddler bed. I found that "deep" (that is: as deep as I could do, I am no massage therapist!) massage helped a lot. I would put cream on her arm and massage for a long time. She will still ask me to do that when her arm is bothering her.

If her function hasn't changed and she has such a negative reaction to the tests, perhaps you can wait. Have you called a bpi specialist? The surgeon you used? Four years old is a lot of growing and there could be some new nerve growth as well.

People have tried bitter apple and clove oil to make the fingers less "tasty".

I think a call to the specialist is in order.

good luck,
claudia
tylergsmom
Posts: 282
Joined: Thu Jan 29, 2004 6:56 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: Hi! I am Laura, the mom of Tyler, who has a ROBPI. I've been a member of this site since 1998 and owe a great deal to the wonderful people in the UBPN community who have helped us along the way get what we needed to get done for Tyler. Tyler is now 14 years old and in the 9th grade. He's a super bright kid and loves his video games. Tyler had the mod quad surgery with Dr. Shenaq shortly before he passed. That was his first and only surgery. Now that he is older he is requesting additional surgery. He'd like to be able to supinate. Our goal is for Summer 2013.
Location: Gulf Breeze, FL

Re: Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by tylergsmom »

try putting Clove oil on the tips of her fingers. It's nasty tasting and it helps heal the fingers. My son was really bad about bitting his fingers for a while and someone on here years ago suggested the clove oil and it worked. I'd put it on in the morning, and then at night. You can usually find it at specialty food stores.

Good Luck!

Laura
Laura LeNoir, Mom of Tyler, Age 14, ROBPI
angelsmom
Posts: 143
Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:53 pm

Re: Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by angelsmom »

Thanks for the info, I 'll call doc. Park's office and see what they think. The making the fingers less tastey,...lol...Angel will just go wash her hands, so already know that doesn't work :) I just hate to put her under for an MRI without knowing for sure that it's not just a "growth spurt".
User avatar
hope16_05
Posts: 1670
Joined: Tue Jul 01, 2003 11:33 am
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: 28 years old with a right obstetrical brachial plexus injury. 5 surgeries to date with pretty decent results. Last surgery resolved years of pain in my right arm however, I am beginning my journey with overuse in my left arm
Location: Minnesota
Contact:

Re: Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by hope16_05 »

totally not nice but nail polish remover. You cant just wash that taste off. Its Nasty! I paint my toe nails from time to time and absolutey hate taking the old polish off because I have my hands up by my mouth a lot and no matter how many times I wash my hands, I cant get the nail polish remover taste off my hands. It has to wear off over the day

Just a thought,
Good Luck!
Amy 19 years old ROBPI from MN
Amy 28 years old ROBPI from MN
Carolyn J
Posts: 3424
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:22 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: LOBPI. I am 77 yrs old and never had a name for my injuries until 2004 when I found UBPN at age 66.

My injuries are: LOBPI on upper body and Cerebrael Palsy on the lower left extremities. The only intervention I've had is a tendon transplant from my left leg to my left foot to enable flexing t age 24 in 1962. Before that, my foot would freeze without notice on the side when wearing heels AND I always did wear them at work "to fit in" I also stuttered until around age 18-19...just outgrew it...no therapy for it. Also suffered from very very low self esteem; severe Depression and Anxiety attacks started at menopause. I stuffed emotions and over-compensated in every thing I did to "fit in" and be "invisible". My injuries were Never addressed or talked about until age 66. I am a late bloomer!!!!!

I welcome any and all questions about "My Journey".
There is NO SUCH THING AS A DUMB QUESTION.
Sharing helps to Heal. HUGS do too.
Location: Tacoma WA
Contact:

Re: Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by Carolyn J »

Massaging her arm AND hand is soooo sooothing in more ways than 1 especially when Mom does it. That weird sensation is all parrt ot the healing.
Carolyn J
Adult LOBPI
Carolyn J
Adult LOBPI
admin
Site Admin
Posts: 19873
Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:59 pm

Re: Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by admin »

My daughter is 6 years old and had her last surgery when she was 2.5. She still bites on her fingers and hand.
Carolyn J
Posts: 3424
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:22 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: LOBPI. I am 77 yrs old and never had a name for my injuries until 2004 when I found UBPN at age 66.

My injuries are: LOBPI on upper body and Cerebrael Palsy on the lower left extremities. The only intervention I've had is a tendon transplant from my left leg to my left foot to enable flexing t age 24 in 1962. Before that, my foot would freeze without notice on the side when wearing heels AND I always did wear them at work "to fit in" I also stuttered until around age 18-19...just outgrew it...no therapy for it. Also suffered from very very low self esteem; severe Depression and Anxiety attacks started at menopause. I stuffed emotions and over-compensated in every thing I did to "fit in" and be "invisible". My injuries were Never addressed or talked about until age 66. I am a late bloomer!!!!!

I welcome any and all questions about "My Journey".
There is NO SUCH THING AS A DUMB QUESTION.
Sharing helps to Heal. HUGS do too.
Location: Tacoma WA
Contact:

Re: Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by Carolyn J »

Tina,
Every person has his/her own inner "timeclock" for the healing. FYI, I, having had no BPI related surgery, damaged nerves on my LOBPI side grew weird and at 68 I still have neurological pains, varied places and at unexpected times, especially when stressed or over-tired.
Carolyn J
Adult LOBPI


Message was edited by: Carolyn J
Carolyn J
Adult LOBPI
User avatar
brandonsmom
Posts: 1401
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2004 4:43 pm

Re: Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by brandonsmom »

Tina,
Brandon is 8 last surgery at 14 months and he stills bites on that hand.....drives me crazy.....try pickling alum....it is bitter and in the spice aisle. Put it on her fingers and she won't bite anymore. GAYLE
angelsmom
Posts: 143
Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:53 pm

Re: Biteing fingers off ?!!?

Post by angelsmom »

All the ideas are great Thanks so much, so basicly there is nothing wrong with her she is still healing as she grows :) still not sure about the pain in her arm it comes and goes, will try messageing it. Sometimes she fakes it hurting..like when she has to pick up her toys or do something she says in a sing song voice "my arm hurts I can't"...lol....but I can tell the diffence in wine-crying :)
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