Parents of thumb suckers....

[leewill72]

my 2 yo sucks his thumb during naps, quiet time(watching tv, with his blankie, and at bedtime. His thumb has been going between red and purple for about a week, with dry, cracked skin all over it. i called the doctor, who said use moisturizer and pin a sock on it at bedtime. i have tried to keep him busier, so he is not quiet sucking his thumb watching tv etc. so he is only sucking at bedtime and naptime but today he woke up and the top layer of skin is now coming off totally, and he broke it open at the playground. i have 2 bandaids around it now, but he wants them off so bad to suck his thumb. he took a nap in the car on the way home, he was so exhausted from the playground he fell right asleep w/o his thumb. Does anyone have any suggestions for tonight to make it easier for him? I will be calling the Dr. in the am. When i last called he said not to worry unless it was hurting him, which it now is. Does anyone know why all of a sudden his thumb is doing this? he has always sucked it w/o side effects. The shool nurse at DS's school said maybe he is sucking harder due to stress or that the ph in his mouth has changed. Anyone else heard of this?

TIA
Lee

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[LadyBones]

Well to be honest with you my 8 yr old still sucks his thumb it's his own comfort zone and i don't make a deal out of it.
As for the cracking, it has happened to my son before also, about this time of the year. I just put a little lanolin cream on it whenever i had a chance, it healed up on its own.

[leewill72]

It doesnt concern me that he sucks his thumb(yet) i just want his thumb to heal, which isnt happening at this point, and to make him more comfortable.

thank you

lee

[Dolly<3]

Wow, I have no idea. I sucked my thumb when I was little but I never had anything like that happen. I hope he gets better SOON!

[freeplease]

sounds alot like your little guy. I used that pepper stuff, and she just licked it off. Finally, a little liquid soap seemed to do the trick. But please, for the sake of your childs teeth and your bank account, get his thumb out now! As the mother of all braces, my daughter wishes she'd stopped before it messed up her entire bite.
Good luck. It won't be easy, but it's worth it.

[RobMom]

My DD sucked her thumb until she was 4 or 5. She also had that piece of skin hanging off her thumb. It troubled me as well. But she eventually stopped and her thumb healed.

[LadyBones]

Originally posted by freeplease
sounds alot like your little guy. I used that pepper stuff, and she just licked it off. Finally, a little liquid soap seemed to do the trick. But please, for the sake of your childs teeth and your bank account, get his thumb out now! As the mother of all braces, my daughter wishes she'd stopped before it messed up her entire bite.
Good luck. It won't be easy, but it's worth it.

My son has nice teeth, and i even questioned our dentist about his thumb sucking. My son sticks his whole thumb in his mouth (where he can't fit it in anymore) Because it's not the tip of the thumb and his entire thumb goes in, he has no problems with his teeth at all.

[leewill72]

Mikey, my 2yo sucks his whole thumb too. I am calling the doctor as soon as they open this morning. he left his bandaids on until bedtime last night. i kept telling him what a good boy he was to leave his band aids on, making sure to tell Daddy and his siblings in front of him how good he was. He came upstairs this morning with no bandaids. I dont want to use first aid cream as he will suck it off.

I know i should probably break his habit, but dh and i have 3 other children with mental health issues(aspergers, ODD, and alleged ADHD-that diagnosis isnt certain since he isnt responding well to meds and has tics besides) so i am happy that mikey has found a way to soothe himself.

We'll see what the doctor says this morning. Thank you everyone. I appreciate your feedback.

[zitra]

I don't remember what it is called, but when my kids were little their pediatrician had me get some stuff you put on their thumb/finger that makes their them taste soo bad that they don't want it in their mouth..I can't remember what it is called (it's been over 8 years)...maybe somone else remembers what I am talkign about??

[amysusi]

I was a thumb sucker. Gave me a massive overbite. Kids were mean to me. I wasn't able to get braces until I was 16, after years of orthodontic work to prepare my mouth. I stopped on my own when I was about 5. My sister needed help. My dad rubbed a jalapeno on her thumb after she went to sleep one night. He figured it would be too hot for her, and she wouldn't suck it. Some kids sleep through everything. She woke up with swollen lips. It was soooo funny. We all got a good laugh, and dad learned his lesson. She ended up getting a dental appliance I called the can opener. That's what finally broke her. Neither of us ever had skin problems with our thumbs. The one short term prob I had was sticking a dirty thumb in my mouth and it eventually made me lose my dinner.