On the other hand, compulsive nail biting may be a sign of psychiatric illness that can have both dermatologic and dental consequences. Previous genetic studies describe a positive genetic factor in play, where >30% of patients with onychophagia have a family member with the disorder (Bakwin and Bakwin, 1972).
If You Bite Your Nails, You're Probably a Perfectionist
Surprising but true, according to research. While most people assume nail biting has to do with nerves or anxiety, one study is linking this bad habit to a surprising personality trait.
Genetics: Kids whose parents bite their nails are more likely to follow suit—even if the parent stops the behavior before the child is born. Anxiety: Nail biting can be a sign of anxiety or stress. The repetitive behavior seems to help some people cope with challenging emotions.
In the current study, we found evidence that a category of pathological grooming is meaningful and encompasses three symptom manifestations: trichotillomania, skin picking and nail biting.
It's a behavior often associated with stress or anxiety, but it's likely more complicated than that. For instance, one theory is that it helps some people regulate their emotions — or it feels like it does anyways.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, categorizes chronic nail biting as other specified obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), classified in the same group as compulsive lip biting, nose picking, and hair pulling (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
It is thought that nail biting may also be linked with having a perfectionist personality type. Perfectionism is associated with a low boredom threshold and a much-reduced tolerance for frustration.
Zinc enables proteins in the body to grow and remain strong. This includes proteins in the nails. A 2013 article suggests that without enough zinc, the rate of nail growth decreases, and the nails themselves become fragile and brittle, causing them to crack.
And repeatedly biting your nails can cause some short-term issues to develop, including: Dental problems such as misalignment and chipped teeth. Fungal infections in the nail bed. Illness, as fingers pass bacteria to your mouth.
Nail biting was also more common in patients with TS with ADHD than in those without (75.0% vs 47.6%; p<0.001), but the starting age was significantly later in those with concomitant ADHD than without (5.3 vs 3.8 years; p<0.001).
Further, from comorbidity analyses, a nail-biting habit among ADHD children was associated with maladjustment disorder, and not with anxiety disorder commonly seen in ADHD patients. Therefore, nail biting is a possible indication of the presence of the more severe ADHD-C subtype.
“Stimming” refers to self-stimulating behavior, which are repetitive physical or verbal tics common in individuals with autism. To some degree, we all exhibit stimming behaviors. Nail biting, twirling your hair, drumming your fingers on the table, or cracking your knuckles are all forms of stimming.
The research suggests that those who bite their nails are more likely to be perfectionists. The lead author of the study, Kieron O'Connor, further explained that as perfectionists are known to express dissatisfaction and frustration, if they are not able to reach their goals.
Famous superstars Tom Cruise, Eva Mendes, Elijah Wood, Britney Spears, Phil Collins and Andy Roddick are all celebrity nail chewers, among others.
Biting Nails
This habit indicates nerves or insecurity. Whether this means they are nervous about talking to you or just in general, this can be a telling body language cue. It can show that you might be making them nervous (which can be a good or bad thing).
Pharmacotherapy: In some cases, doctors may recommend the use of certain medications, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), to help with nail biting. However, doctors must make such prescriptions carefully, as SSRIs can worsen impulse-related conditions.
Can bitten nails grow back to normal? Once you've managed to stop biting your nails, one of the questions often asked is whether bitten nails can grow back to normal. The bad news is that although fairly uncommon, nail biting can lead to permanently damaged nails.
2 Nail changes in vitamin B12 deficiency present as hyperpigmentation of nails like bluish discoloration of nails, blue-black pigmentation with dark longitudinal streaks, and longitudinal and reticulate darkened streaks. The nail pigmentation associated with B12 deficiency is more frequent in patients with dark skin.
According to the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, mental health specialists sometimes classify dermatophagia as an “obsessive-compulsive and related disorder.” This means that it is related to or part of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
As Diller explains, waiting for the natural nail to grow beneath the fake nails is the best way to ensure you break your nail-biting habit. "It usually takes about 90 days to change most habits (and keep the new one), but it depends on how long-standing the habit is," adds Diller.
While it is rare before the age of three, about 30 percent of children between seven and 10 years of age and 45 percent of teenagers engage in nail biting. Finally, prevalence decreases in adults.
"It's not pre-planned - it's a very spontaneous, emotional response. He's doing it on impulse," says the psychologist, who has studied the footage extensively. Most often biting is a sign of frustration. A negative response when tensions reach boiling point, he says.
Some of the reasons children bite their nails includes stress or anxiety, they are bored, they've seen other children do it and copy their behaviors, or their nails are not kept trimmed and they do it as a form of self-trimming. Most children that bite their nails have no problems.
A common (but rarely discussed) comorbid diagnosis related to ADHD is body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB), with symptoms ranging from nail biting to hair pulling to cheek biting that children and adults can't control.