I KEEP CHEWING MY FINGERS!!!!!help. - Nail Problems Message Board

Kizzzee · 08-10-2003, 05:20 PM

grrrrr im 14 and cannot stop chewing my fingers..i chew my skin, nails and its o annoying becuz ive tried so many times to not chew them so my nails grow BUT I KEEP DOING IT...ne one have ne ideas on what i should do?!?!!?!?!?!?!? PLEASE REPLY!!
*jenn*

kbunch · 08-10-2003, 10:53 PM

Wow I did the same thing. I still do when I get nervous but one day I was doing it and my friend's mom told me how disgusting it was because of all the dirt under your nails and fingers and all the bacteria and small bugs... yeah if that doesn't help I dont know what will because that is so gross!!! I stopped right away!!!!

Marti · 08-11-2003, 08:47 PM

Chewing your nails and cuticles is definately a nervous habit or one born out of boredom. It is also form neglecting to take care of the skin and cuticles. Most nail biters are on a quest for order, whether it is in their lives, or on their fingers. Even the tiniest but of ragged nail or cuticle will begin the biting process. Once begun, the biting you do to 'clean up' the ragged edge will only produce more ragged nail and cutivle at which to bite. It just creates a vicious cycle that only regular manicures will help, or you can file off all the ragged bits of nail yourself, and use a cuticle remover on the ragged, dead skin around the nail plate.

There are no known, proven techniques to help you stop biting your nails, but the post above this one is right -- your nails harbour all sorts of bacteria and fungi, and when you bite, these can travel very easily to your mouth, and then to other internal parts. If you have a lot of colds, allergies, etc., biting your nails can be one of the sources.

Consider this: Not everyone washes their hands after using the toilet, then they touch the door handles and transfer the bacteria. Even if you wash YOUR hands, you will still have to touch the door handles and the bacteria transferres to your hands. Do you really want to put that in your mouth? Gross, but TRUE!

michigan girl · 10-10-2003, 08:35 PM

Hi angelkizz3047,I am 33yrs old and have bitten my nails since I was very young,I just six months ago stopped biting my nails.The above posts are very true but some how to nail biters it doesn't make a difference.I suggest to you go buy some of your favorite candy and keep it with you at all times,when you catch your self biting at your nails pop in a piece of candy,after a few months of letting them grow you will see how pretty they look and you wont want to bite them, plus you will get alot of compliments from people about how nice they look and it gives you encouragement not to chew at them.I hope this helps you,Goodluck

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God bless you and yours

Sewfee · 10-12-2003, 12:22 PM

When my nails were very short, it seemed like the cuticles were really damaged. Whey they are long, the cuticles look great. My nails are very long now, and I will let you know how my secret. First you should try this on the tips of your nails only since they are so shor. Might not look so great, but you won't bit them. I can't help you with the other problem, sorry.
My nails are atually quite thin and break, split and do what all the things that bad nails do. My trick? I hope this is not advertising, but I have to at least tell you what I use.
I go to a local beauty supply store and get a bottle of Bondini brush on nial glue, and apply a small amount to the under-side of my nails. Then I use something they sell called Rap Dry, that I spray on all five nails at once. It dries and hardens the glue immediately.
After a few times you get better at applying this so it doesn't look like you have a lot of gunk under your nails.
I swear my nails are as strong as if I had gone to the nail salons and had this put on top of my nails. There is no damage to the nails, and if you jam your fingernail, most of the time nothing breaks. When it cracks and comes off, the polish etc. on the top of the nail stays in tact.
With my regular polish, I always use a clear base coat that acts also as a top coat over my polish, that will not yellow nails. I can go several weeks without polishing. Usually I change polish because the new nail growth starts to show.
People compliment my nails all the time and want to know who does my nails because they look so real and don't have that fat artificial look. I usually just say, nobody does my nails, because they don't.
I am eager to find out if anyone tries this. When the nails are very short, you can't get the stuff on very good, but it helps them grow out quickly, when they aren't breaking them off all the time.