Thumb sucking and Blisters

Re: blisters
Asked by Alyson

Question:

My little guy is 15 months. He has loads of little blisters on his thumb, one appeared last week and now there is lots. They are not anywhere else. He does suck his thumb if that makes

any difference. Anybody came across this before?

My Advice:

Hi there,

OUCHY for your son . . . I went through this with my eldest 17 yrs ago, she was a thumb sucker big time ..  Basically your son is sucking on his thumb rather too hard and this is what is causing the blisters . .

As he gets more teeth etc this will continue to happen and he may even develop a rash or too . . . As your son is now getting blisters its fairly important that you begin to find ways to stop him from sucking his thumb. PLEASE DO NOT put creams or nail polish on your sons skin as this will not help and also many creams are not safe to digest.

In order to help your son you need to reward him when he is not sucking his thumb. I would also recommend using distraction techniques . .  When my eldest would go to put her thumb in her mouth either I or my hubby would make a loud noise to distract her, we found this technique very very useful. We also found that by keeping her entertained she wouldn't suck her thumb so we also began to place her into a creche where she was interacting with other toddlers and within a few months we noticed that she was not sucking her thumb . 

Here are some other suggestions that may help:

• Try keeping your son's hand occupied with either  toys or  puzzles 
• When you son is asleep carefully remove his thumb from his mouth
• If your son plays with other toddlers etc then point out to your son in a very gentle voice that "so and so" doesn't suck their thumb. Try and use this as a suggestion so as not to make your son feel pressured.
• Try to avoid situations which may upset or panic your son as these are both triggers for a thumb sucker
• If your son is upset and crying whilst sucking his thumb then gently sort out the problem before trying to gently remove his thumb from his mouth.
• Try talking to you son and good and bad germs - Keep it basic and straight forward . . .
• Some pharmacy's can provide you with a 'Thumb Sucking Guard'. These are usually clear and cover the thumb as pictured . . .

Another thing to remember is to try and keep your son's thumb as dry as possible so as to lessen the chances of infections or other bad bacteria.

There is no easy way to wean a thumb sucking habit and there will be times when you will be flustered and may want to give up BUT you need to remind yourself why you are doing this and look for all the positives. .  I wish you luck and sincerely hope that every thing works out well . . .

Cheers Kellz

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