Nail biting and skin biting

[USAmma]

I admit I am also a nail biter but I know when to stop. I don't bite down to the quick and it doesn't hurt. My oldest dd has an intense personality and has unfortunately picked up nail biting. She's been doing it for years, but lately it's really bad. She is doing it until it hurts, and then when she can't get at the  nails she bites the skin above the nails. It's not bleeding yet, but it's peeling and looks awful.

I remember the one time I managed to stop biting is when I did the sculpted nails for work. I had them very short, just beyond my fingertips and painted nicely. It really stopped me because they were so hard I could not bite them and because of course I had paid good money. I stopped for about 2  years until I stopped working and stopped getting the nails on.  I am seriously contemplating doing this for dd. But she's 10 and the idea of it is kinda weird.

Has anyone else helped their child with  nail biting? I don't care if she bites them, but I just want her to not be so extreme with it.

[SuburbanHippie]

I don't know. I bit my nails (and picked the skin around) fiercely as a child because of anxiety.  I still do it!  Nothing my mom tried worked.  Sometimes I didn't even know I was doing it, then I would come back to reality and look at my fingers like "whoa!"  I tried doing the manicured nails in high school and I bit those off too one day when I was really upset. 

I hope someone has some sort of magic remedy for your DD.  I will be watching this thread!

[USAmma]

I went ahead and had the nails put on her and she loves it! They are very short and look natural with a bit of light pink polish. She's trying hard not to bite them because she says she doesn't want to mess them up-- and they are hard to mess up if she forgets. She gave me a hug this AM and said she used to be ashamed of her hands but now she feels better about them.

[Spirit Dancer]

Originally Posted by USAmma 

I went ahead and had the nails put on her and she loves it! They are very short and look natural with a bit of light pink polish. She's trying hard not to bite them because she says she doesn't want to mess them up-- and they are hard to mess up if she forgets. She gave me a hug this AM and said she used to be ashamed of her hands but now she feels better about them.

Sounds like it was a very good solution to your / her problem :)

[pupsnelda]

I have been a nail and skin biter for as long as I can remember and I am 40 now . I felt always ashamed of my hands and tried to hide them. I was not able to leave them alone, no matter how hard I tried. And I always thought if I could have "normal" hands without the wounds on the fingers from biting them it would be a dream come true.

A couple of months ago my mum (who has the same problem) suggested that I try sculptured nails. I was so hesitant, especially as I did not want the lady seeing my hands but in the end I went. My hands became beautiful. I no longer bite my nails (it would be nearly impossible because they are so hard) and I even managed to leave my skin alone. It is the first time that I "show off" my hands, it is a great feeling. The nervous and anxious need to attack my nails has subsided very much.

It took me 40 years, but better late than never.

[USAmma]

Just a follow-up, she has not bitten them since the nails were put on. :-)

[SuburbanHippie]

Nice!  Since I posted on this thread I've been trying to grow out my nails.  I've had 90% success. 

[USAmma]

That's great!!! What's your secret? I'm a new nurse and a nail biter. How gross is that?? Luckily I don't ever do it when around patients and I wash my hands and ton and wear gloves. At least they are not long enough to get too much grossness under them, but still. They won't allow acrylic nails b/c they might peel off a bit and get stuff under them, so I'm stuck with my real nails.

[meemee]

i am a 45 year old - on and off - nail biter. 

however we are all different right? 

for me when my nails get a certain length i dont bite them anymore. i have gone thru months and years where i have not bitten my nails. 

that's why i love long camping vacations. my nails get grimy, i dont bite them (biting on the dirt is like nails on  chalkboard - i CANT stand it). 

if i can keep my nails dirty for a while i am good to go.

however i go thru phases when i dont mind my nail biting. and then i clip my nails down and go back to biting. 

[SuburbanHippie]

I've been trying really hard to keep them clean and nicely shaped.  I still sometimes catch myself sticking them in my mouth, but I realize it before I take the first nibble.  My cuticles look so much better too now.  Typing on the keyboard feels weird now.

[Erin77]

Ugh, I bite the skin on the first joint of my fingers on both hands and it looks horrible. I go through phases where it's worse or better (anxiety related) but I never really get rid of it. I wish they made something like a sculpted nail for your whole finger!