Methods to get rid of the habit of biting your nails. Special varnish for children against bad habit Why does a person bite his nails?

Onychophagia, or the habit of biting nails, is a fairly common way to relieve tension. When you're worried or bored, watching TV or talking on the phone, you may accidentally find that you've eaten your entire manicure.

Onychophagia- the most common of the so-called nervous habits (they also include the habit of holding fingers in the mouth, studying the contents of the nose, twirling curls on a finger or scratching the skin). You can bite your nails, bite the cuticle surrounding the nail without even realizing what is happening. Children often repeat these actions after adults.

Habit of biting nails and is common among all age groups of people. Half of children aged 10-18 bite their nails. Most often this occurs during puberty. Boys over ten years of age bite their nails more often than girls. This habit usually goes away by age 30. Habit of biting nails may coexist with other obsessive habits, for example, wrapping hair around a finger.

Due to a bad habit bite your nails your fingertips may be red and sore and your cuticles may bleed. The habit increases the risk of introducing infection into the blood through hangnails and cracks on the fingers, as well as into the mouth using the hands. Long-term nail biting habit may disrupt their natural growth.

8 ways to stop biting your nails

Some people suffering from a bad habit can benefit from behavior change, while others can benefit from removing barriers at the physical level.

1. Take regular care of your nails - keep them neatly trimmed and well-groomed. Taking care of your hands can help reduce the urge to spoil their appearance - this will encourage you to keep your nails looking attractive.

2. Manicure your nails regularly using nail polish. Men can use clear polish or polish their nails. You can also have artificial nails glued on or have them extended by a professional - this will prevent you from biting your own and will protect them while they grow back.

3. If you bite your nails during periods of anxiety and worry, learn to relax and manage your sensations.

4. Some people find it helpful to lubricate their fingers with bitters, varnishes or solutions. The bad taste will remind you to stop.

5. Try to replace the habit with another activity - draw, write, touch a rosary, or squeeze a rubber ball with your hands.

6. Calculate “dangerous” periods when you bite your nails without noticing it. Knowing when you are most susceptible to a bad habit makes it easier to stop yourself.

7. Pinch the tendon on the inside of your wrist every time you start bite your nails. This will create a negative “anchor” for your habit.

8. Children bite their nails more often when they have problems at school or with friends. Talk to your child or teacher about stressful situations at school. It is likely that the child will stop bite your nails when he understands the reason for the habit.

It is important to help your child choose a way to combat this bad habit.

Photos used depositphotos

Today, almost all people in a state of nervous tension bite their nails.

This activity, or rather a bad habit, does not relieve tension at all, but only allows you to be distracted by something else. By the way, not only adults have this bad habit; children also bite their nails, starting from a very early age. And because of their plasticity, babies bite their nails not only on their hands, but also on their toes.

It is not difficult to determine that a child is biting his nails. To do this, you should take a close look at the tips of your baby’s nails. If they are not even, and the nail itself is cut off at the root, your child has already developed a bad habit. There’s no point in scolding him for this, there’s no need to even raise your voice. The baby, of course, will understand that this is bad because mom or dad are fighting. But he still won’t be able to overcome himself and force him to take his hands off his mouth. After all, we indulge in habits without even thinking about it. But when we find fingers in our mouth, we again understand that we could not overcome ourselves. The same thing happens in a child.

The habit of biting your nails is quite dangerous. And before you have the desire to ruin your nails, remember what diseases you can pick up along with an addiction. Everyone knows that a lot of germs and bacteria accumulate under the nails. And when you touch your tongue to the nail plate, you can become infected with infections that will affect the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and therefore your immunity and well-being.

What happens if you chew your feet

Dirt from under your nails can also introduce worms into your body. And you will have to get rid of them not through simple tricks, but under the supervision of doctors. And it is worth remembering that this is not the most pleasant procedure. The editors of the site wish you health and to be free from bad habits.

How to stop biting your nails?

Visit any pharmacy. There, colorless varnishes to strengthen the nail structure are presented in an assortment. Pharmacies also have products that are designed to rid a person of the bad habit of biting his nails. This is, in fact, an ordinary varnish, but with a bitter taste. It will just help you wean yourself from the habit of biting your nails. This special varnish is applied to the nail, and when you next bring your hands to your mouth, you will feel an unpleasant bitterness. With this varnish you can paint your nails on both your hands and feet.

However, this method is quite radical. It reminds you of your own nails not only when you have already bitten off part of it, but already at the time when your hand is just moving towards your mouth. By the way, the varnish does not have an unpleasant odor. With it you can safely walk the streets and lead a normal lifestyle. However, this method will cause significant inconvenience, so it is worth using other methods of getting rid of a bad habit along with it.

There is another way to get rid of a bad habit by using the services of a manicurist. Today, the question of how to become beautiful torments quite a few girls. A few trips to beauty salons are enough to create an attractive look. And if most procedures are necessary only for visual appeal, then nail extensions can be used to get rid of a bad habit. An artificial nail is much stronger than a natural one. It will be much more difficult to bite through it. And besides, it’s unlikely that anyone would want to spoil the fruit of the work of a professional craftsman and throw their own money down the drain. Here you can think a few times before you selflessly start biting your nails.

How to stop a child from biting his nails?

If you are a follower of traditional medicine and doubt that the listed methods will not bring success, and the varnish may affect the child’s health, then use regular mustard to get rid of the bad habit. Apply it to the nail plate in a thin layer. Mustard, of course, has a peculiar smell, but it will not be noticeable in everyday life. And the taste of mustard is not very pleasant. It will help you get rid of the habit of biting your nails for life.

How to wean yourself from biting your nails psychologically?

At the first stage, try to replace touching your lips with your nails with touching nearby objects. This will help relieve some of the tension. However, this method also has its pitfalls. Everyone knows that everything is good in moderation. There have been cases when a person comes to an interview or an important meeting, starts looking for a pen or asks his interlocutor, colleague or boss for one, and begins to involuntarily chew on the cap. Of course, no comments are made, but the impression is already blurred and the incident is stored in memory.

Try to control yourself. If you can pull yourself together at the moment when you want to bite your nails, then it's worth a distraction. Some people advise starting to read an interesting book or simply turning on the TV. However, sometimes even such actions cannot distract from a bad habit. After all, what prevents you from biting your nails while watching a program or reading a book? Your hands can be free at this time. Then it’s better to keep yourself busy with needlework. But at the same time, set yourself a specific, clear goal. For example, set a goal to knit a small openwork napkin in the evening. In this case, there will simply be no time to put your hands to your mouth and think about something.

Find yourself a hobby not for the evening, but for a fairly long period. A hobby will help you find a purpose in life and forget about bad habits. For example, play sports. Once you get involved, all your thoughts will be connected with your favorite pastime and there will be absolutely no time left for biting your nails.

How to stop biting your nails?

It is no secret that the desire to win an argument pushes a person to do all sorts of things. Bet with a friend that you won't touch your nails for a few days. And the one who loses, for example, will pay for lunch or dinner in a restaurant. This motivation will force you to constantly monitor yourself and your movements. By the way, many people were able to get rid of a bad habit thanks to the argument.
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They say that stopping biting your nails is sometimes more difficult than quitting smoking. After all, the habit of biting nails is one of the most common in both children and adults.

You may say, so what, yes, I bite my nails, but I don’t smoke or drink.
There are many theories about this: heredity, lack of something in the body, and, perhaps, the most common reason is stress.

Why do people bite their nails

Regardless of the reason, it is quite difficult to stop biting your nails, although sometimes it goes away on its own.
If only they were biting their nails, but people also chew the skin around their nails. The habit can lead to redness, swelling and infection. Many people underestimate the extent to which nail biting can affect their lives.

A bad habit interferes with personal relationships, work, and negatively affects health and overall well-being.
Nail biting, scientifically called onychophagia, changes with age, children usually start biting their nails around 3 years of age, see statistical study data below:

• About 30% of children aged 7-10 years bite their nails
• About 45% of teenagers bite their nails
• About 25% of young people bite their nails
• Only 5% of older people bite their nails

This study proves the fact that the habit reaches its peak in adolescence, during the period of the most stressful situations, and disappears with age.

Why is nail biting bad?

Biting your nails is bad for your health

Fingers are involved in everything we do. Even with frequent hand washing, your fingers remain dirty, and your nails are twice as dirty as your fingers. That is, all the germs and bacteria from under your nails will be in your mouth, and when you bite your nails, you invite all the germs to visit you, from worms to dysentery.

In addition, when biting, you can damage the skin and all the germs and bacteria will go directly into your blood. How this may end is unknown. The habit of constantly biting your nails is bad for your teeth. Teeth are not designed for constant chewing, especially the front ones.

The habit of biting nails puts a lot of stress on the front teeth, leading to additional pressure on the roots of the teeth and can lead to tooth deformation, displacement, and grinding of the edges, which will cost you dearly at the dentist.

Severely bitten and damaged nails.

Some people bite their nails down to the nail bed, which causes bleeding, open wounds and disfigured fingers, while the nail plate becomes deformed, the nails begin to peel and crumble, or even stop growing altogether. Biting your nails can lead to brittleness, and if the matrix is ​​damaged, it can even lead to the loss of your nail.

The habit of biting your nails interferes with your life

If you have disfigured, bleeding fingers, performing simple household tasks can be difficult. Try tying your shoelaces, doing small jobs, or picking up coins from a flat surface. Even typing on a keyboard can be quite painful for sore fingers. Simple nail care at home will quickly help strengthen your nails.

Social effects

A bad habit can affect your social life. Deformed, red and swollen fingers are unattractive and people will be reluctant to make physical contact with you, such as shaking hands.

Feelings of shame, helplessness and disappointment can befall a person who constantly bites their nails, the need to constantly hide their hands in their pockets or clench their fists. Ordinary activities, holidays, presentations, interviews can be perceived with great anxiety and cause feelings of guilt.

Woman socially may suffer more than a man. Ungroomed nails can smear the entire favorable impression, and you will have to give up success altogether. The habit of biting your nails does not suit the image of a beautiful and successful woman; on the contrary, it will show everyone that you have big problems.

How to stop biting your nails - three simple tips

Take control of a bad habit

First of all, you need to recognize the problem and decide for yourself that you will stop biting your nails. It sounds very obvious, but nevertheless it helps a lot of people. Certain situations and emotional states can trigger nail biting. Focusing on some problem or, on the contrary, boredom, or an obsession that comes to mind.

This is the moment we need to take control of. Monitor and be aware of situations that can take you by surprise and provoke nail biting. This will give you the opportunity to prevent nail biting before causing damage to your nails.

Try to identify situations when your fingers themselves reach into your mouth. At what point do you feel tension in your fingertips? What emotions do you feel when you put your hands in your mouth: anxiety, boredom or stress? One practical way is to keep a diary. Just a few days of recording will help you identify the emotions that trigger your bad habit.

Every time you feel the urge to bite your nails, take out your notebook and write down a few short phrases describing the situation and emotion. Such recordings really help fight this bad habit. Ask someone around you to stop you when you start biting your nails. Chewing gum won't hurt either, because your mouth will be busy. It's better to chew gum than bite your nails.

A nail file helps fight the habit of biting nails

It's a great idea to get yourself a nail file. If a hangnail appears or the nail splits, a nail file will always come to the rescue! A nail file is the best defense against a bad habit. If you feel roughness, a piece of rough skin, or a desire to put your fingers in your mouth, take a nail file and touch up the uncomfortable area.

But not all nail files are good! Metal files are not suitable for this role. They are not fine-grained enough and tear the edge of the nail; in the future the nail will peel off. In addition, metal files sharpen the edge of the nail too quickly, and in your case you need to prolong the pleasure. Currently, the best for caring for weakened and damaged nails are considered ceramic and glass nail files. After using a glass file, your nails will not flake or break.

Strengthening nails and beautiful manicure

As a result of constant biting of nails, they become brittle, weak and peeling. Nail oil is a great way to strengthen your nails. Special nail hardeners should be used. If your nails are severely wounded and damaged, you should wait until the wounds heal before you start using special products. It's good to do a spa manicure at home at least once a week. The nails will be stronger and, as a result, it will be more difficult to bite them, and it’s simply a pity to spoil a beautiful manicure with your teeth, and it’s much more difficult to do this.

In addition, you can use special varnishes created specifically for nail biters. As a rule, they are odorless and colorless, but believe me, the taste is terrible. Some experts believe that the habit of biting nails indicates a lack of calcium in the body. I hope these tips will help you get rid of the senseless and harmful habit of biting your nails.

Don't know how to stop biting your fingernails? Every person has asked this question at least once in their life. Some people themselves suffer from a bad habit, while others want to help their family or friends get rid of it. In order to wean yourself or someone else from biting your nails forever and in a short time, you must, first of all, understand the prerequisites for the desire to bite them.

Causes of a bad habit

Almost the only and most significant reason for biting nails is stress and mental disorders. In a state of nervous overstrain, most people unconsciously begin to tap rhythms with their feet, wrap locks of hair around their fingers, and chew a pencil or fingernails. If you constantly suppress your aggression, it will begin to manifest itself externally in the form of a desire to pull your fingers to your mouth. Psychiatric experts associate this bad habit with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This disease is characterized by obsessive thoughts and actions, an irresistible desire to bite fingernails.

Methods to get rid of the habit of biting your nails

The habit of biting your fingernails not only leads to aesthetic discomfort due to an unsightly nail plate, but is also quite harmful to health. During the day, a huge number of germs and bacteria accumulate under the nails and on the fingers, which, when you bite them, enter the body. As a result of this bad habit, intestinal diseases and disorders of the digestive system can occur. Therefore, it is very important to get rid of the desire to bite your nails; the following methods will help:

• Replacing a habit with a harmless one (for example, fiddling with a button);
• Coating the nail plate with bitter varnish, laundry soap, pepper or iodine;
• If a nail breaks, use only scissors and a file, which should always be at hand;
• Taking sedatives to relieve stress;
• An expensive manicure that would be a shame to ruin;
• Applying restrictions and punishments to yourself if there is a desire to bite your nails;
• Using a bandage to wrap your fingers;
• Nail plate extension;
• Timely giving of nails the desired shape and length.

If you suffer from the fact that you don’t know how not to bite your nails, then these methods are guaranteed to get rid of the bad habit. First, identify the source of anxiety and stress for yourself and learn to maintain composure in any critical situation. Then determine the most effective way for you to eliminate the desire to bite your nail plates, put it into practice regularly and soon you will see the results. Don't forget about the possible threat to your health that nail biting poses.

Many of us are familiar with the situation. We grow and grow our nails, and then suddenly, for no apparent reason, and unbeknownst to ourselves, we begin to bite them.

There are many options for getting rid of this bad habit. First, let's determine the reason.

Most often, people bite their nails when they are nervous. If you belong to this category of people, try to control yourself from the moment a stressful situation occurs.

• As soon as you feel the urge to bite your nails, try to switch your attention to something else.
• Take, for example, a pen and twist the cap back and forth.
• Try to distract yourself by eating your favorite dessert, fruit or vegetable.
• In addition, to overcome the habit, you can also purchase wooden rosary beads that you can finger.
• In stores today you can find a lot of anti-stress items: various balls, expanders and other gizmos that will help you wean yourself from this bad habit.
• On the shelves of jewelry stores you can find anti-depressant rings that have a moving part. Many newlyweds choose anti-depressant wedding rings. And it’s understandable why, because living together sometimes makes you nervous.

Remember, the habit of biting nails distinguishes a person who cannot pull himself together and control himself in such a simple situation. You're not like that, are you? Prove it to yourself!

Let's change the habit of biting your nails to a beautiful manicure!

The bad habit of biting your nails can lead to the appearance of worms. After all, nails are far from sterile.

Long well-groomed nails are so beautiful! After all, they say correctly that a true lady is distinguished by well-groomed hands. Do you want to become a real lady? Then set yourself a goal - to grow long nails! In order for them to grow better and be stronger, try to diversify your diet with plant foods (greens, fruits, vegetables).

A course of vitamins will help make your nails stronger. Also, try using lemon juice. It is best to apply it to your nails before bed so that it has time to take effect (after all, you are unlikely to wash your hands at night). Apply lemon juice to the nail plate for 7-10 days, and pamper the skin of your hands with a nourishing cream.

The result will be visible in 2-3 days! You will feel sorry for biting your beautiful nails.

A professional manicure can help you break the habit of biting your nails. You can try getting your nails done or getting an expensive manicure. You want all your friends and acquaintances to see the manicure you paid for? So, keep your teeth away from your nails! You can do a beautiful manicure yourself.

Try making salt baths for your nails. Nails will become stronger and acquire a salty taste. You're unlikely to like it!

Sometimes nail biting can be caused by a snagged nail. In this case, you need to carry nail scissors and a nail file in your purse to quickly revive the nail or remove it.

You need to know that constant biting of nails leads to deformation of the nail plate, as well as to the appearance of various inflammatory phenomena in the surrounding tissues. After getting rid of the habit of biting your nails, within a few weeks the shape of the nail is restored.

Most often, people who are prone to bad habits are those who often get nervous over trifles and chew themselves.

Learn to live in harmony with yourself and the habit of biting your nails will dissolve on its own!

Abroad, a comprehensive approach is taken to this problem. The problem of nail biting is believed to be psychological in nature. The world's first specialized center for those who want to get rid of this habit was opened in Holland (the city of Venlo).

Can you imagine how much a 4-week treatment could cost? Then fight the problem, and use the money you save to treat yourself, for example, to a seaside holiday with your family, a beautiful dress or a new expensive manicure set.