Compulsive nail biting

Compulsive nail biting is something that anybody can fall a victim to. It can start as a childhood habit and become almost impossible to break when you grow up, and it takes a lot more than simply will power to break the habit. It is actually a condition called onychophagia. A lot of people have thought that compulsive nail biting is related to stress. But in extreme situations, it actually can be diagnosed as a form of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Usually, compulsive nail biting shows up in children and teenagers and continues on into their adult life. For some people, they actually do grow out of nail biting. However, we have all seen adults, business people, with bitten nails. There are some repercussions aside from the aesthetics of it, if you are an obsessive nail biter, you will end up with swollen fingertips. You’ve seen this where the nails are so short, they don’t actually grow out to the end of your fingertips, and then the fingertips are all swollen up like little clubs.

Another thing that happens is you end up with your cuticles all torn and bleeding. This is extremely inconvenient. There’s a side issue here too, if you have torn cuticles and bleeding, you can easily get infection in your fingertips. And since these infected fingertips are often in your mouth, you could end up with mouth infection. You can also damage your nails permanently with compulsive nail biting.

It’s interesting to note that obsessive nail biting is really not about you fingers, it’s an oral compulsion, it’s about your mouth, your mouth will have to bite your fingernails. There are a lot of social issues that you could face with nail biting. If your nails are all deformed and your fingers are all bulbous at the end, you’ll start wanting to hide them from sight, and this inhibits the ability to be free and easy in conversations at social events. A lot of people use their hands when they talk, it doesn’t have to be a dramatic use of hands, but sometimes they will use their hands just to make a point. If you have chewed up nails and your fingertips are all red and swollen, you’re going to feel self-conscious about showing your nails.

There are methods and medications that can help you stop biting your nails, everything from bitter tasting fingernail polish to wearing gloves, there are also hypnosis programs that help you stop biting your nails. However, be aware that if this is an obsessive-compulsive disorder, it may take a little more effort to stop something that is triggered deep inside your brain.