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Posts Tagged ‘manicure’

Attention all nail biters! Do you ever consider the other negative effects apart from the obvious when you bite your nails? Would like to stop biting fingernails? By the obvious, I mean that you have no nails to speak of and may bite your finger-tips that leads to red and sore fingertips and a pair of not very pretty hands!

You may not be surprised to know that you can easily deform your nails, but there are a series of other effects that people don’t always think about and which can carry several negative effects on your fingers and general health. Here are just a few reasons to stop biting your fingernails.

Earlier it was mentioned that if you have red, sore finger-tips that this can also lead to minor or severe bleeding from the cuticles. Such aggressive habitual chewing can lead to some bad infections in the nail bed itself and also in the mouth. In turn, virus and infections in the mouth can radically affect your teeth and gums and lead to more visits to the dentist that you would like.

It’s perhaps obvious to note that transference of infection occurs between the fingers and mouth while you are absent mindedly chewing away at your nails. This absent minded biting often occurs when people get stressed or anxious and may also be a sign of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Getting medical treatment for anxiety or OCD may help you stop biting your fingernails.

If anxious behaviour is a problem for you, then it will only be increased by your knowledge that nail biting is socially unacceptable. This may make you think about it more and lead to a greater conscious effort not to bite your nails in public. This is of course a cycle that must be broken and you will certainly need medication and perhaps therapy to help stop it.

I trust by now you are aware of the consequences and know you should stop biting your fingernails. I suggest you first try and identify the reason why you engage in this type of behaviour. When you have done that, if there a medical reason (e.g. OCD or anxiety), get help.

It is likely that you don’t have any particular reason to bite your nails other than to satisfy a habit. If so, there are several methods available to you to try. Not all will work for you, and it may take some time (and money) to find the best method for you personally to stop biting your fingernails, just dont give up.