A woman biting her nail

Nail-biting is one of the most common habits experienced by anyone breezing through childhood. Whilst most of us overcome the innate habit, some of us don’t, resulting in some uncomfortable side-effects. For some, this habit can be hard to come out of thus causing long-term damage to health.

Here in this article, let us talk about the side-effects that accompany nail-biting and how to take steps to get rid of the habit.

Side effects of frequent nail-biting

  • Your fingernails are full of germs and nail-biting just transfers the bacteria from the external environment to your oral region and in turn to your stomach.
  • People who bite their nails often are in a greater risk of contracting bruxism, facial pain, and suffering from teeth sensitivity.
  • This is why you ought to wash your hands before consuming your meals.
  • Nail-biting is also linked to a condition called paronychia which results in swelling around the nails. A progression of this condition would result in warts spreading elsewhere in the body.
  • It also affects your oral region such as your teeth. Nail-biting is linked to increasing the risk of a range of oral ailments.
  • There is always a chance of toxic poisoning.

Usual causes of nail-biting

The usual suspects are as follows:

  • Anxiety
  • Stress
  • Some even say it is related to OCD

How to get rid of nail-biting

Here is how you can get rid of nail-biting:

  • Cut them short and neat.
  • Adopt negative reinforcement especially to kids. By making the nails taste bad, you can make kids bite their nails in less frequent intervals.
  • Wear gloves
  • Find something to fiddle with instead of keeping your hands free.
  • Take a conscious approach to avoid nail-biting.