One of the things that I absolutely hate seeing on people is ragged, short nails. As a child, there were times when I used to make my friends take their fingers from their mouth, by admonishing them saying it was both unhygienic and unladylike. Back then, I was a strict lady, with ideas instilled inside me that were very correct. I, however failed in getting rid of the habit from some people. Gradually, I noticed a pattern in their addiction. Although biting nails is more prevalent in children, a lot of adults also do it, either consciously, or unconsciously. It seemed they bite their nails at times when they are excited about something, nervous or stressed out. In time, I came to categorize the reasons why a person bites his/her nails.
1. Out of excitement for something: A lot of people unconsciously end up biting nails, especially when they are excited and happy about some incidents.
2. Out of fear and anxiety: This is possibly the most common reason of nail biting. Although it is a very bad thing to do, a lot of people chew and bite their nails till they bleed.
3. Out of habit. Many people chew and bite their nail edges off out of sheer habit.
4. Stress-related issues. One of the major reasons for nail biting is stress. If you are feeling stressed out, you might take it out on your nails and that is not good news for your poor nails which would end up looking ragged and dirty.
Well, biting and tearing off the nails can create a problem to your cuticles, which can be badly infected by microbes and bacteria. It can also promote uneven nail growth. Also, nail biting tends to make the person more prone to bacteria, and the person unconsciously eats them because he/she does not know how harmful it is to bite nails. It is especially bad when the dirt gets under the skin and is then transferred to the mouth and subsequently ingested.
1. The best way of avoiding biting your nails is by restraint. Tell yourself very firmly that you are not going to chew your nails. Make sure every time your fingers go inside your mouth, either consciously, or unconsciously, you immediately take an action. Remove your fingers and make sure you do not do it again. Tell yourself it is going to make both your nails look bad and give you infection.
2. A lot of times, just to make sure one remembers not to chew nails, people paint their nails with a preventive coating or with something that will instantly send an alert to the brain regarding this matter. In our childhood days, our grandmothers and mothers used to dip our nails in bitter gourd juice (karela), so that when we put our finger in our mouth, the bitter taste would make us stop chewing our nails. This is a great natural way for making kids stop the habit.
3. Also there are a number of good brands of nail care that have come up with their own concoction that effectively prevent nail biting; Using them can easily break your habit! – one such example is Orly no bite nail polish