Biting nails to the quick
Common Questions and Answers about Biting nails to the quick
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I'm a 14 yr old girl with a great life most of the time, not much drama and i do well at school with stress only during the really big tests so i dont understand why i bite my nails and do so till they bleed. I've bitten my nails since i was little and recently I have been trying everything i can think of to stop. The one main thing I've figured out is this addiction to biting my nails overcomes my willpower.
I have bitten my nails for almost 25 years, since I was 6. I recently got myself to stop and it's been a good 2 months now since I've bitten them at all and I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I've had the urge to bite them. I probably had a moderate problem (bit my nails where they were always halfway down the nail bed but def more than a sliver of nail left). All I did was paint my nails with a nail strengthening clear coat EVERYDAY.
I am a chemical engineer and I own and run an independent contract research laboratory. Like everyone who has posted a "help me" comment on this site, I too was a compulsvie nail biter for about the first 35 years of my life. The habit is currently being classified by the shrinks of the world as an OCD. May be some truth to that and it is possible that it afflicts Type A personalities more so than others. As may be.
I remember being in kindergarten and learning about how it was unsanitary to bite your nails and feeling ashamed. I also remember my mom putting bitter nail polish on my nails to try to keep me from biting them because I was biting them every day. I was doing it at the earliest point I can remember.
I'm a high school kid who has experienced depression and is currently experiencing anxiety. You see, I used to have long, strong, thick nails. I was quite proud of them (mainly because they were my main self harm tools). But, due to anxiety, I started biting my nails down. Now, they don't even grow past the tip of my finger. I always keep them super short. I also bite off the skin around my nails, and try to tear away my cuticles.
I am also a nail biter, age 47. Interestingly, when I was pregnant I stopped biting my nails. However, when I was no longer pregnant I began again. The nails come in stronger during pregnancy and I think hormones are involved in this somehow. I also find that if I cut out caffiene the biting can lessen a lot.
Too bad I love coffee.
I find that if I get a ragged edge on my nail, I am completely unable to combat biting and of course that just makes it worse.
Drink plenty of water and get lots and lots of exercise. To quit biting your nails, get that kid stuff that tastes awful and put them on your fingers, plus make a concentrated effort not to do that. Instead, you can get into puzzles, like Soduku, it helps to release that pent-up energy in a similar way as chewing on your nails, it's a tiny goofing thing and much more adult.
Thanks for your reply! I'm sure he's not biting - I've never seen him bite his nails (he's 8.5 yrs. old), his nails are even and have no bite/tear ridges, and his toes don't grow either, and he's not flexible enough to get to all his toes. I've asked him if he bites or picks at them and he says no. So def. no biting, they simply don't grow. It's weird.
I was dragged out to the mall by my family to this make-up shop. I saw this glittery foundation make-up and I wanted to see how it matched, so I rubbed my finger on it and tried to wipe it off, but it wouldn't come off. Then, about like 5 minutes later, I started biting my nails (it's a habit of mine), not remembering/realising that I still had the foundation make-up on my finger. Now I'm scared and afraid that I might have been exposed, or even worse, contracted herpes. Help!
Not only the white part, but the whole nail! Both of the pink and white part of my nails grow upwards.... Idk what to do, is it because I used to be a nail biter? I used to have really small nails cause I used to bite them a lot, but stopped biting them 5 years ago! The pink part has grown a lot since last year but it is growing upwards! It is really annoying and I have already low self esteem and this makes things even worse! Please tell me what to do, I really need help!
I use to bite my nails untill I started to get what I guess was puss pocket under my nails and I stopped biting my nails but contineud to bite around my finger nails. Just one side of my thumb is now swollen, warm to the touche, and hurts to even move it. My arm and my hand is starting to hurt as well. What is the problem?
My son is 11 years, old and seems to have an issue with his hands and mouth. He has always put everything in his mouth to the point where teachers have mentioned it to me as a concern. I've struggled to stop him from biting is finger nails and toe nails, he eats his buggers and has an incredible appetite for unhealthy foods, i.e. anything with cheese, ice cream, fattening foods, candy. We are careful that we control his food intake so he's not unhealthy or overweight (about 85 lbs.
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