I am kind of the same way.. after i wash my hands, get our of the shower, or anything that has to do with my hands getting wet i cannot touch paper, cotton balls, or anything with paper or cotton. The feeling of it gives me chills through my body. Kind of like what you said about the fingernails going down a chalk board. It gives me the same feeling. My mom, sister, and cousin used to have the same thing but i guess they grew out of it. If you find out what causes this could you please let me know?

oh my gosh! this makes me feel not so weird now seeing all these people having the same problems that i have! im 17 years old, almost 18 and everytime i do anything that deals with water i CANNOT stand touching any type of cotton. also, whenever i get out of the shower and my feet are pruny i cant stand walking and standing on carpet. whenever i clean my ears with a q-tip, i have to have my other hand that im not using lay flat down on a counter top and my feet on tile. i cant stand rubbing my hands together or hear or see other people doing it. i hate the sound of dry hands just rubbing together. i remember in 3rd grade my teacher would have the class sit on the floor and she'd sit on the floor also and shed always rub her hands on her jeans on the theigh while she was talking and id HATE it. it would always make me imagine grinding my teeth on jeans or clothes. i remember it drove me crazy cause id think about it all the time. i also hate wrists, they scare me and gross me out. my mom had OCD like symptoms when she was younger too. she would always count numbers in her head over and over again and it drove her crazy and she would always write down lists about anything. she made herself stop writing lists and slowly she stopped counting numbers. i dont know why i do these things or what it is. i think its like OCD but im not sure. can anyone help me and tell me if i can slowly force myself to stop what i do.

Wow i am 17 almost 18 and have the same thing that is crazy!!

Thank you all for having this, too. I've had it for years, I first remember it clearly when I was about 11. But it's just always been for me. I can't remember a time when it didn't bother me. I'm 29 now, and have always tried to avoid paper/cardboard/unfinished wood. My roblem isn't limited to my hands and feet, mine is all over. My kids swap loads of laundry, I can start and fold ,but not put it into the dryer when it's wet. I wear rubber gloves to load the dishwasher. I don't tell my family about it because the few times I have they all laugh or tell me there's something wrong with me. Lotion doesn't work, but SortQwik does. You can get it at Staples. Lifesaver when you absolutely have to work with paper. And cold makes it worse for me. I went through high school always wearing long sleeves, even summer so I could tuck the sleeve under my hand to write on my paper. I still do it sometimes. Hopefully some kind of permanent relief will be found.

I am 18 and i have also had this problem since i was very young. I have never asked a doctor i always thought it was a weird qwerk i had so i never though of it. The only way i have found that works for this is to use lotions after i get my hands wet. I always have it with me, and when people ask why i always put lotion i just say i don't like the feel of dry skin. I'll definatly ask my doctor. I thought it might just be a weird form of OCD but i don't know. Try the lotion.... and not the soupy lotions the more solid ones. Good luck

Same story here. Male, 32 - I have had this problem since I was a kid, say around 10 or so. I can't stand getting my hands wet and then drying them. Swimming is okay as long as I'm in water - as soon as I get out and dry off - I get that feeling in my hands. Just thinking of touching things like news paper gives me the chills.

Like others in the forum, I always carry lotion with me. Thicker lotions seem to work best. If I don't have lotion with me and get my hands wet then dry - chap stick seems to help too. I've been to one doctor who I'm pretty sure thought I was crazy. He thought I should see a nerve doctor though I have not done that.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person out there like this. I really hope we can figure out a solution to this!

I've had the same problem since A child as well I can remember back to school when I could not touch pencils after reses in the winter or after it rained .. newspaper and paper cups have to be the worst for me.. I cant drink out of the cups without a straw.. It's not because I'm scared of paper or wood just sometimes I cant touch it ..its like all fuzzy Feeling and Its almost like I can taste the same feeling in my mouth while touching paper. I don't thing there is a cure for this lol think our brains are messed up a tad and getting sensations wrong or something.

Oh.. my son is 11 and has had this very problem for at least the last 3 years exactly as you all describe it but limited thankfully only to his hands. He is a very bright and talented kid and extremely sensitive in nature. I used to think it was because of these qualities that he experienced a hypersensitve reaction to towels and tissue and paper when his hands were wet. We discussed it with a psychologist also who works with gifted children and it is not uncommon among them. I would like to help him with relief...I keep hoping he'll grow out of it...maybe not judging by these posts. I have tried to be tolerant of his needs with regard to this..we have special towels that he can use after swimming or showering...the number of times he has cried with his head in the linen closet because his special towel was in the wash at the wrong time. Poor darling.. I've just towel dried his hair for him tonight because he couldn't bear to do it himself..he can't shampoo his own hair because it makes it one hundred times worse...somehow we need to find out what causes this.

I am SO happy I'm not the only one win this condition!

I've had this since I was very young and my mom would have me take a bath and
yell at me because I couldn't do my homework after. Saying it was all just an excuse.
I'm 18 now and STILL have it. It has limited me to what I can do at work, I was an office assistant at one point (can you imagine?!).

I can't touch paper products, cotton materials, or anything dry. If I don't have lotion, I to clench my hands to make them feel better. And it has to be a curtain type of lotion.

My parents believe me now that I show them I'm not the only one.
This needs to be adressed by dr.'s

I am wondering why we all experience this problem but doctors do not know what it is. I would like to show this blog to my physician!

I would really like to know how to fix it i do not believe it is a nerve issue, because if it was it would be all the time not just when our hands touch water. I think going to a nerve doctor would be a waste of time, and money. Although it is not impossible that this is a nerve problem i beleive it is unlikely. I can't fathom what it might be, but i sure would like to know.