How to stop the habit of biting your nails – 03/05/2024 – Balance

Biting your nails without being able to stop – a lot of people have this habit. Most started in childhood, went through adolescence and reached adulthood without abandoning the practice. This happens because the habit of biting your nails, also known as onychophagia, is automatic and often completely unconscious.

According to a study published in the scientific journal National Library of Medicine, 20% to 30% of the world’s population, across all age groups, bites their nails.

Several factors may be responsible

The urge to bite your nails can be caused by several reasons: insecurity, nervousness, but even a very emotional film can lead a person to bite, bite and pinch their nails. It is usually a reaction to fear, stress, or boredom. For many people, biting their nails is a way of dealing with emotional pressure or distracting themselves from unpleasant situations.

Rarely is the habit associated with a mental illness. “I would not speak of a behavioral disorder if the practice is not very accentuated and does not lead to a serious disability. It is a question of assessing the intensity and severity of the effects”, explains Andreas Wahl-Kordon, psychiatrist and director of the Oberberg Specialist Clinic . Wahl-Kordon also does not consider nail biting to be an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Annoying habit with health risks too

The situation can become really problematic if the nails are bitten down to the nail bed, which often inflames the matrix and damages the cuticles. The cuticle may break and begin to bleed.

“Inflammation may occur and the area may have infections (bacterial, viral or fungal). This is very serious in the field of dermatological diseases,” says Wahl-Kordon. Additionally, damaged tissue can become painful and inflamed, and nails can deteriorate.

The problems caused by bad habits don’t stop there. Oral health can also be affected, as bacteria can accumulate in damaged nails and their bitten remains, which go straight to the mouth, increasing the risk of gum disease and infections.

This may be why nail biters catch more colds, get more gastrointestinal infections, and get rashes more often. Teeth also suffer, as bacteria and germs, in addition to causing bad breath, can cause other types of dental complications.

But biting your nails is more of a bad habit than an illness, says Wahl-Kordon, as is the case with OCD, for example.

“Cognitive phenomena tend not to be linked to nail biting. It is often associated with a state of tension, but there is no cognitive and mental process behind it.”

How to stop biting your nails?

In children, the habit of biting their nails usually disappears over time. For them, dyes and nail polish are an effective and common method to make them stop. These dyes and nail polishes are made from chemical compounds such as denatonium benzoate, which has an extremely bitter taste and is harmless to health. They are non-toxic and are not absorbed by the body. Thus, the child, to escape the bitter taste, avoids putting his fingers in his mouth.

For teenagers, puberty and the desire to have well-groomed hands and nails often help break the bad habit. Many people are embarrassed by their brittle nails and try to hide them. After all, colorful nails are in fashion.

For adults who can’t stop, using dyes or nail polish can also help. Or strategies to become aware of the act of nail biting: experts advise keeping a kind of diary. “The first thing is to understand how and when the behavior occurs, and what the possible triggering situations are,” says Wahl-Kordon.

Redirection of automated movements

Affected people can then deal with the habit more effectively using substitute actions. This is a promising method for getting rid of bothersome tics. To do this, you need to develop a strategy and follow it to the letter. For example, if the fingers move toward the mouth, the person must condition themselves not to put their hand in their mouth and instead move their fingers toward, for example, their ear or shoulder.

This redirects the automatic movement and guides it to a location where it cannot cause any damage. The more this replacement movement is done, the more the nail biter will get used to it and automate its behavior.

Balanced diet and well-groomed nails

Years of biting and chewing nails leave marks. For them to recover, they need intensive care. Aloe vera and essential oils, for example, are known to soothe and nourish skin and nails.

A varied diet also helps with nail growth and strengthening. To stay healthy, nails need several vitamins and minerals.

The B vitamin, biotin, in particular, can help the body metabolize the amino acids that form proteins. Biotin is found in whole grain products, oats, peanuts, salmon and egg yolks, for example. A lack of iron or calcium can make your nails brittle. Iron can be found in legumes and beets, for example, and calcium is found in dairy products, soybeans and almonds.