Why won't my skin sore heal?

[N_Need]

I've had this sore on my lower back for maybe 6 weeks.  I get little breaks in my skin and if I bother them, they turn into a sore.  I've always had a problem not leaving my sores alone.  The sore on my back started out as one of these little skin breaks and I made the usual mistake of bothering it and so I kept this up while the skin sore just kept getting bigger and bigger.  After a month I went to this urgent care clinic and the NP looked at it for like a second flat and said it didn't look infected - it just looked irritated.  She prescribed me Cephalexin 3 times a day and Mupirocin 2% ointment.  She told me not to pick at the sore anymore.  But me having some kind of problem with picking for my entire life of 55 years; I still bothered it somewhat but not as much as before.  So now (6 weeks later) I still have the sore.This particular sore never formed a hard scab like other smaller sores on arms and legs, but it's scabs were thin and when I'd pick this skin it was a little painful and the scab would stretch until it would break.  Now the sore has this thick little layer of what seems like is dead skin and is covered with the same thin skin like scab.  This hardened part looks white when I look in the mirror (hard to see it) and it surrounded with red color.  I'm afraid it's never going to go away.  I'm doing my very best not to bother it anymore.  Any suggestions?

[loimmarmar]

Hello,
  I agree with Greenlydia and her thoughts about what may be causing breaks in skin to begin with like detergents, softners either for clothes or skin, etc. I noticed you said arms and legs...what, like little bites that itch or not? There has been a big outbreak of bed bugs nationwide. Just a thought.
  If you put med or creme on and use bandaid to cover it will keep scab soft and keep your fingers off it. Every time you pick it...everything from fingers and from under nail will go into open area and cause infection to grow. Are you bedridden, if so pressure sores or bed sores occur. If you NEED TO PICK....put some polish on nails, when you NEED TO PICK, Pick the polish off nails, you will use both hands to pick each other intermittened. Keep the bandaid in place for at least two weeks while picking polish from nails.  Keep us updated. Have a wonderful Blessed day. Loimmarmar

[RubyWitch]

I really and truly don't want, nor mean, to sound rude, but I'm just not sure I  understand why you're writing to an anxiety forum about your sore when you so obviously know what the problem is.

You've seen a doctor who said it didn't look infected, but I see they put you on an antibiotic anyway and also prescribed an antibacterial cream. The combination of those meds should have cleared this up quite quickly.

But...........if you can't stop picking at it, eventually it probably WILL become infected and you'll have a much worse problem.

Since it seems you are prone to "little breaks" in your skin, which you then cannot stop yourself from picking at, I would strongly suggest seeing a dermatologist to determine what is causing the skin problem. It could be something as simple as being allergic to the soap you use, your laundry detergent, or a particular material in your clothing. But.......even if the cause is found and your skin clears up, if you continue to pick at any little skin irritation until it becomes a sore, then you have a larger issue to deal with.

If you find you are still picking at yourself, then therapy may be needed to figure out why you do this.

Perhaps you could try using a good dermatologically recommended lotion, one without dyes or fragrances added, and see if using that regularly will help alleviate the picking. It might be worth a try. Ask your pharmacist to recommend a good brand.
Peace
Greenlydia  

[mynewcar]

when I first wake up, its like when the air hits my sores they start itching, its uncontrollable, so I have to itch to make it stop. I want to stop picking at these sores that have been here more than 6 weeks. my dr. has put me on cephalexin, 500 mg 3 x per day. and he put me on loratadine, 10 mg. its only been 2 days. and here I am still picky. I want a relationship with my guy, but hard to let him know, I have these dam sores all over my body. A girl in need, please ... HELP !!!