My six year old son has a neighborhood friend who is ten. Z is an adorable little boy who is a bit slow for his age, and given my son’s bossy nature, his laid-back personality is the perfect complement for a mostly harmonious relationship. Z’s mother is a pediatric nurse and works a lot, leaving Z with older siblings who largely ignore him. So he is a frequent visitor.
The other day, Z was picking at a large, crusted over scab on his leg. Just as I noticed, and started to ask him to give it a rest, he managed to work a large chunk free and, in a moment permanently etched upon my (hopefully short term) memory, he casually popped it into his mouth and ate it.
I asked him why in the world he’d eat his scab, especially right in front of me. His response? “My mom says it won’t hurt me.”
!!! I’m hardly a medical expert, but common sense tells me that his filthy, crusty, dried blood can’t reside in the same zip code (or universe) as harmless. Anyone know for sure? I’ve been wondering if I should mention this to his mom, but hesitate because he’s as guile-free as they come, and I believe him that his mother is aware of the … habit.
The only cheery news for me was watching my son’s reaction. He gagged. Literal tears-in-the-eyes, on the verge of vomit, gagging. Guess I won’t have to worry about monkey see monkey do.
I think it’s absolutely disgusting, but not harmful. As mentioned above, lots of kids eat their boogers. The biggest issue I can see with scab picking is that they might re-injure if they’re too enthusiastic.
I’d be interested to see what the kid’s mom said about it. I mean, other than it wouldn’t hurt him (I wonder if that part was the part the kid wanted to hear, so he just retained that portion of the discussion with his mom).
I am sure she wouldn’t have given him carte Blanche to eat his scabs, but do not doubt that he retained that it wouldn’t harm him. If I thought it wouldn’t mortify her if I mentioned it, I would. I think this is one thing parents are probably grateful to not know about their kids’ behaviors with company… but then again, maybe I should tell her so she can ensure he doesn’t repeat the behavior with his peers. The poor little guy is already a bully target. He’s big for his age - looks 13 - but mentally he is on par with my son. In fact, most nights when my husband is tutoring our son, Z does the exercises right along with them, and struggles just as my son does.
Adults do this. You’ve never seen or heard of ‘pickers’ (skin, scabs, etc)? They’re all too often ‘eaters’. I have a coworker right now who picks at her scalp til it scabs, then picks her scabs in front if all of us at work and eats them.
I’ve found all iterations disgusting since the first time I saw a kid pick their nose and eat it, in pre-school. Unfortunately adults do that too…
I don’t think it’s dirty or harmful. But it isn’t a socially acceptable/public behavior.
I’m aware that people do it, but fortunately until now, have never seen it done I doubt that it is always harmful, but wounds seem more suspect to me than the contents of one’s nose. Not so much by the ingredient list (so to speak) as thinking about where the average 10-year-old boy’s knees and fingers have been, and what kind of germs he’s likely to have picked up. Am I wrong to think the scab is probably crawling with potentially harmful bacteria/ viruses/parasites etc?
Everything is crawling with potentially harmful bacteria etc. That’s why we have immune systems. In my opinion, most kids these days need to eat more dirt, not less, and then perhaps we wouldn’t see quite so many allergies and sicknesses when they finally make it out of the cotton wool.
I’m sure my daughter eats all manner of dirt and grime. She’s nearly two, and since she came home with us she’s had no illness worse than a slight cold. The only time she’s been sick (since the days of winding) was after a friend fed her too many chocolate buttons. I haven’t seen her eat any scabs yet, but she’s perhaps a bit young for that stage
I used to eat ants. Off the ground. Sometimes I would squish them first. I clearly remember eating the grit between the bricks on a brick house. The kid will be fine…I also used to pick at scabs, like every child, but I didn’t eat those.
Not uncommon, especially for his age. Should be discouraged, though.
One possible harmful behavior his mother should watch for, if the kid shows signs of low self-esteem or depression, is that picking is a form of self mutilation, and some kids graduate from picking scabs and popping zits to cutting.
The picking (or picking and eating) by itself is relatively harmless but if the kid starts cutting or engaging in other harmful behaviors, like starting fights, (and it might start at a much earlier age than a parent might expect) then the mother should look into finding a good therapist.
Unbeknownst to me my daughter used to charge her little playmates a few pennies to see her baby brother eat ants.
All is well with them.
What does linger still, are old hurt feelings among mothers who were young once and the unintended arguments that ensued when we got into each others’ business. So my best advice is to tread carefully in how you approach her mothering choices.
Contrary to the the media hype, very few germs in the enviroment are harmful to ingest.
Most die when exposed to dryness. that’s actually part of the role of a scab. It protects the wound by forming a hard, dry crust, consisting of fibrin, platelets and white blood cells. The WBCs prevent bacteria from entering the body through the new injury.
The media has done a disservice to the public by telling us the environment is full of deadly germs we MUST kill. Ingesting small amounts of bacteria stimulates the immune system to keep us healthy.
When someone, usually someone selling something, talks about the dangers of infection from a certain activity, my first thought is, “Are you sick after doing the activity?” most times, the answer is “no.”
I agree I don’t know this woman well, but when we talk about sleep-overs and extended visits, she is appropriately concerned for her son (unlike some parents, whom I’ve yet to even SPEAK to, and their kids spend hours a day at my house on weekends), plus I adore her son. He is sweet, kind and patient with my little guy, and fun to have around. That speaks highly of her parenting skills, to me.
If I do mention it to her, it will be within the context of “not a big deal, but I thought you’d like to know so you can have a chat with Z about not doing this in front of other kids.”
Have to admit to some ignorance and slight concern about health matters, but primary issue is really just ensuring that Z doesn’t give other kids further ammunition by which to bully him.
Eating a scab has no more risk than licking the back of his hand. As already mentioned, the risk is the social stigma he opens himself up to, and the bad habit that causes scarring and possibly escalating to worse habits.
I doubt that it is always harmful, but wounds seem more suspect to me than the contents of one’s nose. Not so much by the ingredient list (so to speak) as thinking about where the average 10-year-old boy’s knees and fingers have been, and what kind of germs he’s likely to have picked up. Am I wrong to think the scab is probably crawling with potentially harmful bacteria/ viruses/parasites etc?