How To Stop Biting Nails? 10 Ways To Get Rid Of This Bad Habit

Do you have chipped and uneven nails with the skin around tearing off? If you have been struggling with maintaining proper nail hygiene and need to know about ways on how to stop biting the nails, the possibilities are quite extensive.

In order to stop biting nails, you need to ensure that you are not just assured of your health altogether but also how your nails look. The last thing you want is to end up with nails which is not just chipped around but with lesions around.

By the end of this article, you will have a fair bit of idea about the best way to quit biting your nails with easy and effective home remedies around.

Why is Biting Your Nails Bad?

You might often have this question as to why biting your nails is a bad thing for your overall health but that is not necessarily the case altogether.

Check Out These Ways To Stop Biting Your Nails.

Biting your nails does have the potential to inflict quite a lot of negative impacts on your overall health. If you are wondering what, we do have some insights to share with you.

Germ attack

Even as clean your nails might look, there are horrific chances that your nails are filled with a lot of germs underneath that you possibly don’t even have any kind of idea about.

When you are biting your nails, you are predominantly exposing your body to the germs and the unwanted bacteria that you possibly don’t even have any kind of idea about. This is prevalent even when you have washed your hands completely and thoroughly.

The entry of these germs and harmful microbes into your body does have the potential to end up being a problem for your health and immunity. The best way to combat that is by ensuring that you abstain yourself from chewing on your nails altogether.

Enhances the risks of infection

Yet another one of the problems that you can be experiencing while biting on your nails is that you expose yourself to the risks of infection altogether.

If you are wondering what kind, we are talking about nail infection. Paronychia is a form of nail infection which is caused when you bite your nails consistently, thus exposing the nails to get infected because of the lesions caused around. It is often seen around the cuticles of the nails because that part is the one at the maximum risk altogether.

The infestation of bacteria in the site of the infection can even contribute to the formation of pus filled pockets around. Additionally, if your nails are exposed to warts and then you bite on them, chances are that you are exposing the same to your body as well.

Bad for oral health

Now, coming on to the next reason why biting nails is bad for you, it is mainly because of the fact that they tend to impact your overall health for the worse, especially the oral health of an individual.

Experts and dentists do suggest that biting your nails tend to make your teeth move out of place, one that can even require correctional braces to get it back on track. In order to avoid that, it is best suggested to abstain yourself to quit biting your nails.

Additionally, the germs from your nails do have the potential to end up entering your mouth can end up causing halitosis. In order to get rid of the bad breath from your mouth, it is best suggested to prevent chewing on your nails.

Risks of ingrown nails

Yet another one of the reasons why it is time to stop quitting the nail biting is mainly because of the fact that it increases the risks associated with ingrown nails.

In order to fight off the odds, it is always best suggested to ensure that you do avoid biting down on the nails like a maniac. When you are consistently biting on your nails, chances are that you might end up chewing off more than what you expect. Hangnail is often the most common outcome of the same.

While the condition is more prevalent for toenails, the same does have the potential to impact your fingernails as well, if you are not being conscious of the same. Instead of going ham with the biting, try to avoid the same for your own good.

Ingrown nails are not just painful but do have the potential to end up inflicting pain and even infection if it is left to fend to itself for far too long. Make sure to opt for effective remedies to get rid of the problems altogether.

Risk of toxic poisoning

If you are someone who bites their nails even when they have the gel polish on, chances are that you are risking your health all together and that too, for the worse. The nail paints are loaded with chemicals and such which have actually been found to have negative impacts on the body.

Gel polishes are loaded with chemicals which can be very toxic for one’s body when ingested. The lower grade of toxicity isn’t necessarily going to end up being an issue for your body but when the levels of the same get out of hand, that’s when the problems start arising altogether.

The long term impacts of this on one’s health have been found to be quite disturbing which is why it is always best suggested ensuring that you do avoid biting your nails off.

What Causes A Person To Bite Nails?

When it comes to deciphering the causes behind the nail biting, experts have had a very hard time finding the exact cause behind the same.

Although the possibilities are quite extensive, chances are that there could be a number of reasons behind the condition altogether. In order to shed some light on the possible causes, we have shared some of the potential ones for you to take a peek into.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Experts (R) do believe that people suffering from Obsessive compulsive disorder have symptoms of frantic nail biting. The doctors and the psychologists suggest this as the “pathological grooming” in the patients and have been found to have quite the impacts when it does come down to nail-biting.

It is actually considered as a very common happenstance as people suffering from OCD tend to have a habit of ending up biting the nails in anxiousness or when something or the other isn’t going as per the plans.

Perfection is what they need

Yet another one of the recent studies does claim that biting the nails is often considered as a sign of perfectionism. People who have agility to focus more on the high achievements and such tend to have the affinity to bite and chew on their nails to derive the best in cases of emergencies and such.

Often times, it is believed that the nail biting is often even categorized under the body focused repetitive disorders like scratching or even patting down your own hair, for that matter. High performance and excellence is often considered to be the condition associated with this condition even further.

Teenage and anxiety

Teenage phase in one’s life is often viewed as a condition that can literally end up being a problem for people who are prone to biting their nails on a frequent basis.

The phase of teenage often brings along problems associated with one’s anxiety and such which has often been found to play quite a crucial role in instilling feelings of fear and such that can make the situation even worse.

There is the reason why teens tend to be more at risk of biting their nails that the others.

Confusion and worry

When your body and brain is subjected to feelings of anxiousness and such, chances are that your body is also going to react to the same accordingly. When you are exposed to the feelings of stress, confusion as well as worry, chances are that your body is going to end up feeling strained and scared altogether.

If you are stuck in a very important situation that demands your full attention and the outcomes do levy some important impacts on your health, chances are that you will end up feeling overwhelmed and biting the nails is nothing but sort of a mitigation process altogether.

How To Stop Biting Nails?

Now that we have more or less discussed about the causes as well as the common reasons to stop, it is time we divert our focus on how to stop biting the nails. You will be surprised to know that this habit is often quite common and does have impacts on one’s health.

All that being said, you will be surprised to know that there are a few preventive measures as well as remedies for biting nails that can help you let go off of this specific habit for good.

1. Cut Them Short

Many people don’t realize this but we often tend to bite our nails when they grow longer. The same is not done when they are short and hard to chomp down on. For the best of impacts, adhere to this ideology for good.

If you have been looking around for the best way to stop biting nails, it is always best to simply just cut down the nails to short ones. What this does is help in preventing you from biting your nails because your teeth won’t have much nails to hold on to.

When you have short nails, it isn’t that satisfying to bite down on them, thus making you stop it for good.

2. Identify the Triggers

You might not necessarily realize this but apart from being a habit, the process of biting your nails is also often found to be because of the situation you are stuck in.

It goes without saying that if you understand the triggers, it does become easier for you to handle them and cope with them effectively.

If you are an avid nail biter, you are most definitely going to know what triggers the condition of what it is that is causing you to bite your nails. Once you know the same, the next step in the process is for you to understand the condition altogether.

It is actually very important to not just identify those triggers but also ensure to fight them back when the situations get worse.

3. Don’t Rush Through

When your life depends on you biting your nails down, it is important to ensure that you don’t be frantic with the overall process. Instead of doing that, take it slow.

Given the fact that it is a habit, it does go without saying that you just can’t get rid of the same within a fraction of moment. That is not how it works.

It is important for you to take it slow through the process and not technically rush through it because the same does have the potential to end up doing badly for you than good.

It might take you weeks or even months before you are able to give up on the habit and that is perfectly alright. You need to understand that for a fact. Don’t be ashamed if you have a setback because even that isn’t technically a bad thing.

4. Ask for help

Many people don’t technically realize this but asking for help can actually be of amazing benefits altogether. Reaching out to your friends or even family for help can be very effective in the nail biting treatment.

Given the fact that this habit does have negative implications on the body, it is always best to be safe than sorry.

Even studies (R) have shown that people who opt for social support and help throughout the process do have a better chance at reaching their goals and that too by a heightened rate of 95%.

Ask your friends to stop you when they see you biting the nails or even tell them to alert you in similar situations and even that can be of a lot of help altogether.

5. Opt for a Bad Taste

You will be surprised to know that there are a few nail paints which taste bad and are mainly manufactured for people who have a habit of chomping down their nails.

One of the best ways on how to stop biting the nails is by coating your nails with a bad taste. What this does is help in preventing you from biting your nails. Once you get a taste of the same, it does become an aversion for you to put your fingers back into your mouth.

The terrible taste is what will help you quit biting your nails altogether.

6. Condition Your Behaviour

Much like every other habit, even our nail biting habit is a conditioned behavioural issue that we fail to recognize. One of the most difficult tasks to do in this is to be mindful through the process.

If you are not even mindful of the condition, chances are that quitting the habit becomes a very hard task to do altogether. Learn to be more present through the process and the rest will most definitely come into consideration.

Instead of letting your subconscious take over, it is always best suggested to hold on to the process that’s in your hands and work to get rid of the issues altogether.

7. Educate Yourself About the Consequences

You will be surprised to know that the condition does bring along a plethora of consequences altogether for your health.

The best way to stop biting nails is by grossing yourself out of the possible consequences and the negative implications that can come forth with this condition altogether.

You’d actually be very surprised how much of an aversion you yourself create when you properly educate yourself about the consequences that you are subjecting your body to when you are biting on the nails. This is often one of the best ways to fight off this habit and even lead a healthy life without any kind of issues altogether.

8. Indulge in Expensive Manicures

Manicures themselves don’t come for cheap. If you have been personally struggling with the condition altogether on how to stop chewing nails, the best way to put a stop to it is by indulging in some expensive manicure.

When you know you have gone out of your way to splurge extra money on manicure, it does become a lot easier for you to abstain yourself from chomping down on your nails vigorously.

You will not even realize this but when you know how much money you have spent, the last thing on your mind would be to bite them down.

9. Think Twice About Your Teeth

You might not necessarily realize this but when you are biting your nails, you are also subjecting your oral health to a lot of downgrade that you possibly don’t even know about.

Dentists often suggest that they find their patients with small chips of nail stuck around in between their teeth which itself is enough of an alarm to know why it is not a good enough option to ponder on.

Often times, apart from the chipped nails around, you also often find the presence of germs around from the nails to your mouth which has further been found to have negative impacts on the body altogether.

The germs and microbes not just enhance the risks of infection but can also cause bad breath which is the last thing you want to experience.

10. Keep Yourself Engaged

You’d be surprised to know that one of the primary reasons why we end up biting our nails so rigorously is mainly because of the fact that we fail to keep our mind and hands engaged.

When we are anxious, have been for a long time, chances are that you might end up biting your nails without any possible halts. Instead of doing so, try and keep yourself engaged when you are finding yourself getting anxious over such situations.

Just try and divert your focus from the situation and emphasise the same on the channeling your thoughts in a constructive way so you don’t necessarily have to fret about the overall prospect of biting your nails to oblivion.

When it comes to discussing how to stop biting the nails, the process is not just effective in getting rid of the associated problems of anxiety and stress but also does help in fighting through the issues associated with the infections and other health issues. In here, we have mentioned the best ways with regards to the one’s habit of nail-biting.