|
Who bites
their nails?
Young,
old, rich, poor, men, women & children.
Nail
Biting
A
common problem that is largely dismissed as a minor
nuisance, nail biting can be anything from a bad habit to
an outward symptom of a medical or emotional disorder.
While nail
biting and picking seems to be such a common problem, the
psychological and medical research does not agree on an
exact motivation for the action. However it suggests that
nail biting can be the result of stress, various medical
disorders, learned behaviors, or just plain habit.
Treatment depends on the individual, but regular grooming
and care is a big part of successfully kicking nail biting
or picking.
 You
are never too young or too old to start taking care of
yourself and your appearance, and manicures are not just
for women. For years men got a manicure when they went to
the barber. Manicures can help you kick the habit, and
they make you feel good about your hands and their
appearance. You can have a manicure service in a salon or
do it yourself at home. Having a manicure make you pay
attention to your nails and that is the beginning. You
normally bite your nails subconsciously... When you are
not paying attention...
Causes of Nail Biting...
Stress,
Boredom, Nerves, Habit, Learned Behavior
Chronic
Onychophagia, the clinical name for nail biting. It
is estimated that:
28% to 33% of children ages 7-10 years old, 44% of
adolescents, 19% to 29% of young adults and 5% of older
adults are nail biters according to Terry M. McClanahan,
author of "Operant Learning Principles Applied to
Nail Biting" a 1995 study published in Psychological
Reports (see nail biters profile below).
The most common instigator
of the disorder seems to be stress or anxiety. Nail and
Cuticle/Skin biting may be an outlet for pent-up emotion,
reducing tension for the individual. Nail Biting is a
habitual condition says Ronald Bronow, M.D., a
dermatologist in private practice and assistant clinical
professor of medicine at the University of California, Los
Angeles. It is a common reaction to stress and boredom.
Nail Biters could also
suffer from a poor self-image or could be punishing
themselves for deeper-rooted problems or anxieties.
Basically, nail biting is a rational substitution of one
problem for another. In many instances nail biting is used
as a tension reliever. Any kind of disharmony as a result
of friends, family, work, or school can trigger the habit.
99% of nail biters have
minor problems or a fixed biting habit. Fewer have a deep
emotional problem of which nail biting is a symptom.
Nail Biter Profile
Nail
Biters are more often male than female after age 10 (10%
fewer girls bite their nails than boys), and individuals
with a higher rate of intelligence tend to bite their
nails more than those of less intelligence. (Studies seem
to suggest this is because people with a higher rate of
intelligence have more responsibility, which may provide
more anxiety.) Studies show that some relationship between
nail biting and low self esteem may exist. In general
though, nail biting was not shown to lower a biter's
self-esteem.
While no studies revealed
an overall success rate for curing nail biters, Rob
Dahmes, M.D., suggests that those with a habit may be
harder to cure than those who bite their nails in
relationship to a psychiatric problem. Nail biting that
manifests itself due to emotional trauma can possibly be
cured with medicine and or counseling. Unfortunately, no
treatment exists for bad habits except reinforcement.
Children, most often may
pick up a nail biting habit from a babysitter or family
member as a learned behavior.
Attention-Seeking, need for
oral gratification, sociopathy, lack of self monitoring or
self esteem, obsessive-compulsive To bite or not to bite
Whatever the causes, damage
to the cuticles, roughness on the free edge, bleeding at
the grooves or cuticles and nail deformities are the results.
However, fingernail growth may be accelerated by as much
as 20%, according to a 1980 clinical study by W.B. Bean,
who observed the nail growth patterns over many years of
nail biters. The increased stimulation of the biting
action caused the nail to grow faster - Supply and
demand...
The hand-to-mouth, oral
action of biting and picking leaves some individuals open
to medical problems. "Nail biters are more
susceptible to yeast infections of the nail due to
prolonged and increased wetting of the area during the
repeated biting" explains Dr. Bronow. "Damage to
the nail matrix from nail biting causes more extreme
problems, such as infection, ridging, or even permanent
nail loss"
Nail Biting can spread
bacterial infections and can be responsible for severe
dental problems, including gingivitis. Oral diseases can
also be spread via nail biting because of the constant
contact of fingers with the mouth of the individual. For
instance, oral herpes can actually begin to grow on the
fingers due to the constant contact, according to medical
journals.
Some nail biters start out by trying
to bite off a hangnail, fray or tear in a nail. They try
to fix it with their teeth to make it smooth. The next
thing they know a chunk of skin or nail has been chewed
off. (see our remedy for this
on the back panel)
Nail Saving Techniques
Several
techniques with varying results have been developed to
help extreme nail biters: mild aversion therapy (topical
applications), self-monitoring, habit reversal, and
medication.
Mild Aversion therapy is a
"physically observable deterrent" and can be
described as something as simple as snapping a rubber band
on the inside of the wrist each time the nail biting urge
occurs.
Using a bitter
tasting product that coats the nail or wearing
gloves are other deterrents.
Self-Monitoring requires
the nail biter to keep a written record of all incidences
in hopes that awareness of the problem will stimulate
self-control.
Habit reversal is perhaps
the most "successful" and "valid"
therapy for nail biting, using a step by step program that
seeks to make the individual aware of her behavior (by
applying a bitter liquid to the nails and making the
people around you aware that you want to stop) and then
provide a physically competing response to interfere with
it. It combines record keeping, relaxation training (yoga)
and response competition (performing a physical action
when the desire to bite occurs)
How can a nail technician
help?
Find
a salon that will apply artificial nails for you.
If they tell you to grow
some of your nail before you come back, find another
salon. Nail Biters nails are more difficult to work on but
a well trained nail tech will be able to perform miracles.
I applied nails to nail biters all day long at my salon.
Nail biters were my best customers. They appreciated my
skill of nail application like no other client. I have
even applied artificial nails to one or two men. Just
enough to look like their own nail while it helped them
kick the habit.
If you do not want
artificial nails, weekly manicures are very successful.
Having someone pay attention to your nails every week has
many effects. By having weekly manicures you eliminate all
hangnails, rough nails and anything else that you may find
to pick at or chew. Also like those weight losing
programs, having someone else pay attention to your
progress (in this case your nails) will encourage you to
pay attention to your nails. You must make a full
commitment...maybe by paying for services up front it will
encourage you to stay on the program.
Nail Biting - Children
For children it is a little harder - you must remind them every time
you see their hand in their mouth. Do not yell at them or
slap the hand away. Just take it out of their mouth and
say "no". Apply our "No
Bite" to their nails in the morning before the
day starts and in the evening before bed. If they bite the
skin around the nail... make sure to get the "No
Bite" next to the skin so they will taste it if it
goes in their mouth. You should also use a "Cuticle
Therapy Cream" that will help them reduce hangnails
that encourage the biting. Give it to them to have them
apply it every time they have the urge to bite... make a
game of it.
Good Luck -
Visit my web site for all
your STOP nail biting needs...
www.BodyArtExpress.com
Article
was compiled from Nails Magazine articles and real life
experience of Terri Taricco, nail technician
|
Stop
Biting Your Nails...