United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Sophie is 14 months and is really, really biting her right hand - breaking the skin (she started this in December and stopped for a while). We keep bandaging it up, trying different ways, taping, etc, but she always gets it off. She has open wounds on her fingers, and bite marks on her hand. She has also started scratching her neck area - making it all red. We ordered a neoprine splint for her hand from Benik that covers her thumb and index finger, but I really don't want to do anything to make her stop using her hand because it is behind. Her doctor thinks it is a sign of healing - tingling or numbness, calling it "advancing Tinel's sign." Any helpful suggestions or explanations???

hey sophie, my daughter did the same thing when she was younger while having bpi. She is 13 now the biting didn't last long but she still have scars on her hand and arm area from it. The doctor told me the same thing he said that it was some of her nerves starting to work from the nerve damange for bpi. and now today she still feel those pains or tingling feeling she says. Just stay strong!

Hi,My daughters have eczema. The youngest who has bpi scratches her neck and gnaws her injured hand but also other skin folds due to the dryness of the skin. Plus the winter makes it worst due to lack of moisture. Any hydrocortisone would stop the itching. BUT definitely check with her pediatrician for his opinion. Good luck.

Hi Sophie,
it's like your doctor said. When Wesley was doing so he was a little bit older but he had the same thing. We put some cream on the hand/fingers. He didn't like the taste of that. But don't worry it will pass. And it a sign that is healing inside.
Monique

Can I ask what kind of cream you put on, Monique? We are using an antibacterial cream that is okay to ingest. But now I am wondering about something they use to discourage thumb sucking - maybe if it tastes bad she will stop. I also wish I could find something else that will help her with the pain besides biting it.

This is a pretty regular question on the message boards, I have noticed that biting the hand appears to be fairly common.

My son also did this following his last surgery, like the above posts we considered it a good sign although the biting damage was terrible.

We used the self stick bandage tape (found it at Walgreens) to wrap his fingers, that really worked well for us. Finally he has stopped the biting, but it was pretty bad for awhile, we tried lots of stuff, the wrapping worked best for us.

Good luck,
Bridget

My daughter has done this for a couple of years too, and it was worse when she was a baby and didn't understand how bad she was biting her fingers. We'd be in the car and I'd turn around to check on her in her car seat and she'd have blood all over her mouth and face and her fingers were terrible. If I had to be alone with her in the car we used a velcro brace that made her keep her elbow straight (went from the wrist right up past her elbow) so she could not get her hand to her mouth. It was the only thing that worked for us, and I only used it if I had to for very short intervals, but depending on your child's injury, it may not be in their best interest to keep their arm straight, but it's just an idea! Our therapist gave us the brace, but my daughter didn't like to wear it! Now at 2 1/2, she bites her nails down until they bleed on her affected hand, but she stopped biting the tips of her finger off! Good luck.

My son did the same thing...I used pickling alum...found in the spicee aisle at the grocery store...it stopped almost instantly !!!!

My son is 15 months and has been doing the same thing for the last 4 months. He is now on an antibiotic for the third time as a result of infection setting in after he has broken the skin on his thumb and pointer finger from biting. We were told that he's probably biting his hand as a result of reduced sensation and a tingling feeling from re-ennervation, combined with teething. We also ordered a Benik splint to cover his thumb and pointer finger, and we made the finger coverings longer to better protect his thumb and finger. This prevents him from breaking the skin, but it has still gotten infected. Also, when I've had the splint off for even a minute to wash it, he has managed to break the skin again. So the splint does help, but I'd love to hear other suggestions, too.

Hannah has done this too. She is now 2 and just tonight did it right in front of me. I asked her doesn't that hurt. And gave her the other arm to bite. Thinking that if it were painful she would quite. She didn't seem to care. Never flinched once. She bite just as hard. It's not a habitual habit though. It was a few months ago. Now she does it sometimes. I don't think is really any good solution. But when we had Hannah hand bandaged she wouldn't bite it.

Nicki