Other items that you can fiddle with instead of biting your nails include stress balls or fidget toys. Or if you're looking for something to keep your mouth busy, you can even try chewing gum!
Nail biters are more often male than female after age 10 (10% fewer bite their nails than boys), and individuals with a higher rate of intelligence tend to bite their nails more than those of less intelligence.
Nail biting explained
Anxiety: Nail biting can be a sign of anxiety or stress. The repetitive behavior seems to help some people cope with challenging emotions. Boredom: Behaviors such as nail biting and hair twirling are more common when you're bored, hungry, or need to keep your hands busy.
There's a spectrum of nail biting. It can range from an occasional benign behavior to a deeply ingrained self-mutilative behavior. Many people who begin biting their nails as children eventually outgrow the habit. For others, it becomes a lifelong habit that can be extremely difficult to quit.
Once you've managed to stop biting your nails, one of the questions often asked is whether bitten nails can grow back to normal. The bad news is that although fairly uncommon, nail biting can lead to permanently damaged nails. You can cause permanent damage to your nails by biting them over a long period of time.
Fingernails grow about 3.5 millimeters each month
And toenails grow about 1.5 millimeters per month. Those are the averages for healthy adults. Whether you're getting proper nutrition and how well you take care of your nails can affect the growth rate.
It's a behavior often associated with stress or anxiety, but it's likely more complicated than that. For instance, one theory is that it helps some people regulate their emotions — or it feels like it does anyways.
But they do know that it's a habit for a lot of us: about 20 to 30 percent of the population are nail biters, including up to 45 percent of teenagers.
Unless parts of the nails are deliberately swallowed, biting the nails does not break one's fast. That mean unintentional biting and swallowing of nails do not break the fast.
Your immune system gets hit
It is known that people who usually bite their nails experience the common cold more often than people who do not bite their nails. While continuously infected with a cold can weaken your immune system and leave it open to more dangerous ailments.
Many people bite their nails at some point, especially as children. It's a type of body-focused repetitive behavior that goes by the clinical name of onychophagia.
Constantly bringing your nails into your mouth can bring E. coli, salmonella and the germs that cause the common cold as well as a plethora of others that may cause you to get sick. “Pathogens which transfer from your nails to the mouth during nail biting can lead to illness,” says Dr. Condello.
Additionally, if you swallow the nails, they can do damage to the epithelial lining of your esophagus and stomach. They will not digest, so if they're sharp, they will make their way through your entire body potentially scratching up your digestive tract.
Fatty fish like salmon, trout, mackerel, tuna and sardines top the charts with omega-3s, but they can also be found in walnuts, soy, eggs, chia seeds, flaxseeds and fish and flaxseed oil. Summary To prevent dry and brittle nails, consume adequate omega-3 fatty acids.
Nail biting can also cause your teeth to shift out of their normal position. In some cases, nail biting can cause a gap between the teeth. Putting pressure on your teeth and roots can lead to crooked teeth that may need to be straightened.
Onychophagia, or the chronic habit of biting your nails, has actually been associated with a faster growth rate. This may be because biting causes trauma to the nail, stimulating circulation in the nail bed.
When you chew on your nails, you are essentially forcing your teeth to break through this hard substance. This accelerates the wear to your teeth and can even cause the teeth to crack. Cracked teeth often lead to significant amounts of pain and escalated issues.
When you bite your nails, those bacteria end up in your mouth and gut, where they can cause gastro-intestinal infections that lead to diarrhea and abdominal pain. Long-term, habitual nail nibblers can also suffer from a type of infection called paronychia, Scher says.
If biting has caused an open wound in your cuticle, healing will take a few days with the aid of an overnight antibiotic cream. For the hard skin around the nails, they'll be healthier after a few weeks. Erin recommends not cutting the skin, and using moisturiser or cuticle oil as often as you can.
Regularly biting your nails can cause your teeth to shift out of place, which can require correctional braces or a retainer. Nail biting could also cause your teeth to break or could damage your tooth enamel. The germs could also potentially infect, or cause irritation, to your gums.
Putting nail polish on your nails may help to discourage you from nibbling on them since a vibrant color can catch your attention and snap you out of your nail-biting habit. You'll also have more motivation to avoid biting your nails since you won't want to ruin the nice appearance.
Your fingernails grow at an average rate of 3.47 millimeters (mm) per month, or about a tenth of a millimeter per day.