You know, these days are long enough without adding in a trip to Urgent Care, both kids in tow. It was for Sam this time; I would have preferred just taking him to the doctor, of course, but when I called the office, I found out they were heading out early. Oh, well.
Sam has been a cuticle biter for over a year, now. It’s bad. His teacher was quite irritated about it last year, but her irritation is nothing to what his poor little fingers are showing. The tips are red, scarred, and swollen-looking, and nothing we’ve tried has gotten him to stop biting. He does it when he’s stressed, and he does it when he’s distracted. Bandages, bad-tasting creams and paints, reminders after reminders…it doesn’t help for long. This afternoon, when Sam reached for something in front of my face, I spied one of his fingertips looking very nasty, indeed; it had a large, discolored bump in the middle, and I knew, just knew, it was the infection we’d been worried would arrive if he didn’t stop.
Since the doctor felt it was better to be safe than sorry, we decided to go to Urgent Care, but the news turned out to be better than our fears. (Eric had thought that if it was an infection, they might have to drain it, which would have been a nightmare.) It wasn’t infected; it was a freaking wart. 
Well, how was I supposed to know? I’ve never had one! Eric has, though, and he didn’t recognize it, either, so I don’t feel so bad. Anyway, the doctor did say that if he kept picking and biting at his fingers, the wart would likely spread, as well as worsen, so it ties in anyway. Sam NEEDS to stop. As it stands, the wart is “young” enough that salicylic acid and duct tape will hopefully be enough to heal it. If it gets worse, we might have to have it frozen, which I hear hurts like crazy, so there’s even more incentive for Sam to knock off the compulsion. Oh, I hope this is the end…
Not that I’m not sympathetic, as I was once a nail-biter. Still, my nail-biting never got so bad as to need or threaten to need medical attention. Yikes.
I’m doing this race as my first 50K/ultra in July 2012. I’m so tardy to the party but...
Have you heard of the apple cider vinegar treatment for warts? You might want to consider that for Sam. I had a couple of really giant ones for years, and had tried everything, and nothing ever worked, except vinegar. Google it–it might be better than acid and duct tape.
My son is a chewer when stressed, though he does nails or his clothes- one thing that often helps is offering him something else to chew on when we notice he’s doing it (I know, not always easy to catch). We have some very thick, but soft, (not disposable style) straws and he would sometimes like those as an alternative. After awhile, just the offer would get him to stop (they are often unaware they’re even doing it).
At first it sounded like your were describing “paronychia.” Google it and check the pictures.
Soaking it in warm water a few times a day may help!