Tips to kick the lip biting habit Moisturize constantly Keep your lips nourished to prevent the urge to chew or bite them. If necessary, find a lip balm that doesn't taste great so that if you do bite your lip without thinking, you're immediately deterred by the taste.
This condition is called Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior (BFRB)—a collective term for habitual behaviour which includes hair pulling, involuntary chewing, and yes, chronic lip biting. The BFRB version of biting on one's lips can be caused by stress and anxiety, your age and environment, or your temperament.
Chronic lip biting is a common nervous habit triggered by anxiety, which may signal psychological or mental health issues. When people are nervous, it is normal for many to bite their lower lips. Lip biting can become a habit for some people, affecting their daily lives (also called chronic lip biting).
Many people repeatedly bite their lip (or cheeks or tongue) as a way to deal with nerves or stress. It's a habit that some may find relieving, although sometimes also painful.
Cracked or peeling lips: Heartache, worry, dryness in the body, feeling cold. Discoloration or faded colour in the lips: Lack of proper circulation throughout the body. Hot/burning/red lips: Inflammation or too much heat within the body due to overly spicy foods, too much sugar, alcohol or caffeine.
Biting Is Bad — Sometimes
On one hand, occasional bites typically heal on their own and usually aren't something to worry over. On the other hand, when biting becomes a habit or you find yourself accidentally biting your lips, cheeks, or tongue a lot, it can cause inflammation, swelling, and sores.
Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are intense urges like biting, picking, and pulling that can cause damage. As many as 1 in 20 people have a BFRB, but they can be dismissed as “bad habits.” While BFRBs share some symptoms with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), they're not the same.
Morsicatio buccarum or lip/cheek biting (LCB) is a body-focused repetitive behavior characterized by repetitive biting or chewing of the mucous membrane of the buccal cavity, including the cheeks, the lips, and sometimes the tongue.
Biting Is Bad — Sometimes
On one hand, occasional bites typically heal on their own and usually aren't something to worry over. On the other hand, when biting becomes a habit or you find yourself accidentally biting your lips, cheeks, or tongue a lot, it can cause inflammation, swelling, and sores.
There are also cases where people habitually bite their lips, cheeks, or tongue. Usually, this is a response to high-stress situations or even when they're concentrating. Constant biting on the tissues, whether caused by psychological or physical factors, should be stopped before it leads to sores or painful swelling.
The Habitual Lip Biter
You might find yourself biting your lip without realizing it, possibly as a nervous habit. You wouldn't be alone. Chronic lip biting is a common anxiety symptom and can even be an example of a body-focused repetitive behavior, or BFRB.
Morsicatio buccarum or lip/cheek biting (LCB) is a body-focused repetitive behavior characterized by repetitive biting or chewing of the mucous membrane of the buccal cavity, including the cheeks, the lips, and sometimes the tongue.
What is morsicatio buccarum (chronic cheek biting)? Morsicatio buccarum, or chronic cheek biting, is where a person bites down on the inside of their cheek repetitively or compulsively. The name is Latin, derived from “morusus,” which means to bite, and “bucca,” meaning the cheek.
Habitual cheek biting is a conscious or semi-conscious behavior triggered by emotions or environment. Chronic cheek biting, known as morsicatio buccarum, is a compulsive behavior associated with body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) and anxiety disorders, affecting approximately 750 individuals per million.
Similar to to skin picking (excoriation) and hair pulling (trichotillomania), chronic cheek biting is classified as Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.
Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) are intense urges like biting, picking, and pulling that can cause damage. As many as 1 in 20 people have a BFRB, but they can be dismissed as “bad habits.” While BFRBs share some symptoms with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), they're not the same.
Van der Woude syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant development malformation characterized by lower lip pits, Cleft lip, Cleft palate or both and occasionally hypodontia (3,8). Incidence of Van der Woude syndrome has been reported to be 1 in 75,000 to 1 in 100,000 live births (1).
A bitten lip or cut usually takes about a week to heal. During this time, avoid giving the child anything salty or acidic, like orange juice, because it may cause the injury to sting. It's also a good idea to rinse with water after meals to keep food from irritating the cut.
Because morsicatio buccarum is caused by habitual chewing or trauma to teeth, the treatment includes noninvasive therapies such as prostheses or occlusal splints and invasive therapies such as smoothing or extracting teeth [10].
Dermatillomania is a mental health condition where a person compulsively picks or scratches their skin, causing injuries or scarring. Also known as excoriation disorder or skin-picking disorder, this condition falls under the category of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs).
When you bite your lips, do they grow larger? No, they don't. Bruising, rawness, and sores can result from chronic lip biting. Even fibroids can develop when a person repeatedly bites the same area.
If you lick your lips frequently, they can end up being dry and flaky, and even worse, cracked and bleeding. Ouch! Also, if you're an habitual lip licker, you might develop something called lip licker's dermatitis, which is an eczema-like skin inflammation that affects the area around your lips.