Nail biting is a compulsive habit and it is said that uneasy people are especially bound to bite their fingernails. Onychophagia the scientific name of the disorder may also involve some skin-picking.
Frequent fingernail biting can cause the free edge to disappear and the nail gets incrusted into the nail bed. The repeated action over the same nail causes different types of disorders such as inflammation, swollen lateral borders and small warts around the cuticle. Some extreme nail biting habits may cause hemorrhage under the nail and lead to nail loss.
Most nail bitters know they must do something to stop, but just cannot find a way to do it. They may feel like there is nothing they can do apart from keeping their hands back, wearing band aids or staying at home when the situation gets really serious.
Causes of Fingernail Biting
Obsessions, compulsion, and aggressiveness are the three top causes of this disorder. However many people claim that they bite their nails as a way of relaxing in situations of anxiety, stress or distress. Any of these altered states can trigger off the unconscious nail biting habit.
It is difficult to group or level under the same pattern the amount of people suffering from this harmful habit. In most severe cases, it is considered as a conscious habit of self-inflicted harm, and some specific situations may lead to negative attitudes and exert an influence on the behavior of the subject during childhood, adolescence and first years of adulthood.
Some examples of these difficult situations may be dramatic changes in the family (death, divorce…), violence, rejection for or from step-parents, abuse, etc. Shyness, low self esteem and a number of hostile situations are the most outstanding factors that may lead an individual to bite their nails. After gaining confidence in his/her environment (school, family, etc.) this habit will tend to stop, especially in child nail biting.
How can we stop child nail biting?
Although it is believed that child nail biting can be a sign of psychological disorders, it was observed that, in most cases, fingernail biting usually starts with the habit of sucking his/her fingers by the age of three. There is no specific cure, although it is advisable to discourage this bad habit and to explain the consequences of Onychophagia, such as deformed fingers and teeth.
Negotiating without punishment is the best idea. Punishment and scolding at the child may increase his or her anxiety and also spoil the relationship with his parents/caregivers and it’s unlikely that the child will break the habit.
In severe cases, you can try applying a bitter substance such as ginger oil, easily obtained by soaking some ginger for two weeks in oil olive to stop nail biting. A daily application for three or four weeks may be enough. Some mothers have their kids wear gloves, as a barrier to protect their nails from biting. Needless to say, those children must be supervised for them not to take them off and start biting their nails again.
The repeated promise to allow them not to wear them anymore is necessary for the child to try to overcome this tough habit. This trick is quite successful among children between three and six years old. However, therapy is vital in many child nail biting cases to help children break the habit, although there is no definite nail biting cure and the patient may fall back into the habit if he/she feels under pressure again.
