A: Doctors classify chronic nail biting as a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder since the person has difficulty stopping. People often want to stop and make multiple attempts to quit without success. It can make someone feel worse and further fuel the behavior.
With repeated effort and self-care, people can get closer to recovery. We usually recommend a combination treatment approach that includes:. For most people, nail biting is an occasional thing.
Learn more about vaccine availability. As they've begun to better understand the behavior, one big question is whether it should be grouped in with obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD. Though the latest DSM a text that's considered an authority on psychiatric diagnoses puts nail biting in a broader category with OCD, many of those who specifically study body-focused repetitive disorders disagree.
Compulsions, for one, are usually associated with extreme levels of anxiety. Nail biting, on the other hand, is often accompanied by pleasure — the people who do it want to do it, except for the fact that it causes damage over time. Though people with OCD appear to have a greater chance of being nail biters , they seem to be distinct disorders.
Recently psychologists have come to a more plausible theory of nail biting: that it can provide a temporary escape, distraction, or bit of pleasure or relaxation for the biter.
Penzel points out that many people get the urge to bite when they're understimulated i. Like nicotine, the idea is that nail biting can have a biphasic effect: it can stimulate under certain conditions and relax in others.
It's still not proven, but to someone who's spent a lot of time biting her nails, this explanation rings true — and a recent study conducted by Sarah Roberts and other researchers at University of Quebec at Montreal provides a bit of evidence for it. In the study, people with onychophagia, trichotillomania, or other body-focused repetitive behaviors were put into situations designed to elicit frustration they were given a difficult task that couldn't possibly be completed in the allotted time , boredom they were left in a room with absolutely nothing to do for a while , anxiety they watched a notoriously terrifying plane crash scene from the movie Alive , or relaxation they watched a video of a beach from a comfortable chair.
Obviously, these situations are somewhat artificial. Still, when the researchers observed the participants' behavior — and surveyed them afterwards on how strong their urge to bite was — they found something interesting. Other surveys of nail biters and hair pluckers have come to similar conclusions. Of course, this theory still prompts a more basic question: why does biting your nails — or plucking your hairs or picking at your skin — provide pleasure or distraction in the first place?
Why do so many people become addicted to these grooming habits, rather than, say, balling their hands up into fists? One possible answer relates to the finding that people with body-focused repetitive disorders tend to be perfectionists. It might be that ripping off an oddly shaped nail can provide a satisfying sense of perfection for the biter — and the quest for this satisfaction eventually gets out of control. It's also possible that the uncontrollable urge to groom excessively goes much deeper than we realize.
Request Appointment. Healthy Lifestyle Adult health. Products and services. Does nail biting cause any long-term nail damage? Answer From Lawrence E. With Lawrence E.
Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references How to stop biting your nails. American Academy of Dermatology. Accessed June 13, Nail biting can include biting the nail, the cuticle , and tissue around the nail.
In addition, habits like swallowing bitten-off nails can increase the risk of stomach and intestinal infections. To be successful, you have to want to make the change. It may take a combination of things to help you completely break the habit, but even cutting down on frequency can be helpful.
Long nails may be hard to resist, so keeping them trimmed is a good idea. Another option is to get regular professional manicures. Spending the money and knowing that someone is going to check your nails soon may keep you from reverting to the habit. Choose only licensed salons and manicurists who properly sterilize tools, so as to prevent fungal nail infection. There are plenty of people out there who struggle with nail biting.
You can buy them wherever you buy nail polish, or you can speak with a manicurist or dermatologist for more ideas along this line.
Some people put tape, stickers, or bandages on their fingernails to remind them not to bite. What makes you bite your nails? If you can figure out what triggers this behavior, you can work on managing those triggers. Just identifying those things that get you biting may be enough to serve as a reminder not to do it.
While you can try chewing gum, that can lead to dental or jaw problems if overdone. Keeping your hands busy is a good way to keep them out of your mouth.
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