Finger Pads
The soft, squishy, fleshy underbelly of the fingertip underneath the fingernail — the finger pad — is not normally the first target of for a compulsive finger picker. Even through the nastiest bouts of compulsive picking of the cuticles, nail folds and other skin around the fingers and hands — the finger pads usually are left alone and retain their soft fleshiness.
Some skin diseases such as acute Exfoliative Keratolysis can cause the finger pads to peel, as well as other fleshy, non-calloused parts of the hand such as the palms. Also, manual, hand-intensive labor that cause calluses — such as guitar playing, drumming, lathe-operating etc. — can create a skin texture rough enough to tempt someone to start picking at it.
Some other odd parts of the fingers:
At times I find myself, picking and eventually pealing the skin on the nail bed and then it rips down to the center of the finger pad. Although it is extremely painful after several hours from burning and not being able to use the finger…I continue to do it because it makes the finger look smoother without any rigid edges. I want to make it even all around the finger so I continue peeling. Sounds gross but the skin tastes good to bit. The ending result of the finger is red, inflated, and throbbing. It is extremely painful but I wouldn’t touch it for a couple days and the skin will begin to rebuild. Has anyone experienced this?