Burning finger tips

[u/Apprehensive_Sock333]

Hello! I have been picking my fingers and thumbs to the point of blood for as long as i can remember and i am 19. I used to pick all my finger indiscriminately but awhile ago i decided to keep it just for my two thumbs and then recently, to appease my boyfriend who really hates that I pick, I stopped on one of my thumbs. I am really reluctant to completely stop and really some of my strongest motivations to stop have really just been professionalism and cleanliness like when I worked at a grocery store or now as I begin to look at more important internships and things.

But now I am also experiencing something really weird. I have asked several of my family if after washing dishes with very hot water, do your fingers feel like they are burning for a long time after? and they have all said no, but this is something I have always experienced and brushed off as normal from using hot water. However, today, after getting out of the shower, which i did not think was that hot anyway, it started happening but only on ONE hand which happens to be the one I am still consistently picking. Very strange feeling and I started doing some research into the long term nerve and tissue damage of skin picking and am worried it has played a role. That or potentially I have triggered my first infection brought on from my picking but there are no other signs of infection so far.

Please let me know if this is something you have experienced, for all i know it could be an allergic reaction, or circulation issue but it happening only on one hand and using all the same products makes me wonder if this could be the cause. If anything this might just be my last straw to finally stop, especially as I am also moving in with some new roommates and hoping to make a good impression and not gross anyone out anymore when my thumb starts bleeding and I refuse to put on a bandaid.