[linz_legrand]

Hey everyone! I have a major problem! I'm a cronic nail-biter! I try so hard to quit but I just can't! Any suggestions??

[desii]

Do you bite it when your nervus?

Umm you can try to cut your nails so short so you can't bite them and keep it that way for a while till you get used to not biting them

Since your a girl I doubht you want to cut your nails. But biteing them is worse

[linz_legrand]

I wish my nails were long enough to cut down! I have bitten them down wayyyy past the skin and they are painful but I bite them subconsciously when I'm bored or nervous.

I've already tried soaking my fingers in lemon juice and painting my nails with a "bad tasting" nail polish (I thought it tasted good, so that stuff REALLY didn't work! Lol) but to no avail. I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE LONG, BEAUTIFUL NAILS! PLEASE HELP! :(

[Draven]

Maybe it's a mind or matter issue?

Do you realize it when you do? Try rubbing your fingers on rubber bands. They're the worse.

[sweets_xo]

I have the same problem! I find that when I try to stop, I'll wash my hands to get the yucky-tasting stuff off my fingers :( I am not nervous or anything and I don't even notice when I bite my nails. I just...DO! I can't help it. I HAVE to have SOMETHING to chew on! :( I feel your pain.

-Rachel

[dave5150]

I used to bite my nails all the time, and I found the best way to stop was to keep your nails trimmed very short so that I couldn't bite anymore. It was the only thing that worked for me.

[sweets_xo]

Yes, but, I will try to bite my skin if I do that. And it HURTS.

[sbucf]

I am a bad nail biter and I pick at my skin around the nail beds. I have finally stopped and my solution was getting my nails done. Luckily you're a girl so this is doable. Don't get a manicure because you need more than your original nail, you need to get fake nails, preferably acrylic. Seriously! The acrylic is too hard to bite so when you naturally try, you will be reminded. The nails are rounded so you can't pick the skin. Also, your nails will look nice so mentally you want to keep them that way. I kept getting my nails done for 6 months and since its been that long since I've done it, my habit just quit. I took them off around 2 months mark after no biting but went back to it so I quickly got them redone because 2 months wasn't long enough to stop my bad habit. It does get expensive, but its worth it to me! I would give it a go. Also, when I went into the salon, I asked for short as natural as possible looking fake nails. They thought I was crazy for wanting them so short but I didn't want to have to keep coming back so soon plus I wanted to be able to write and do stuff without nails getting in the way.

Sandy

[country_view]

Yes, I do that, too, but more so chew the skin around my fingers or the cuticles. If I'm really nervous or am trying to solve a problem that is frustrating me, I will chew my fingernails, something I mananged to quit for the most part when I was in my mid-teens. I just had to see a movie with Barbra Streisand in it and wanted beautiful nails like hers, which motivated me (then) to stop. Picking and chewing the finger skin is another matter but just as hard a habit to break.

Some things that work for me is to use an emory board to smooth down the calloused chewed skin so it isn't as tempting to pick at. Using a buffing stick on the nails to make them smooth helps, too. Something about rough, scabby calloused skin is what makes me pick at it, so the smoother, the better. A mental or outloud, 'STOP" helps as I often find myself doing it without thinking about it. But the pain on some of my fingers after going to bed is enough to make me want to quit. I seem to chew my pinkies the most.

Some doctors will tell you that years of chewing the fingers will make you have wrinkles around your lips, like some chain-smokers have. So this can be a deterrent. No one wants wrinkled lips as it makes you look even older when you reach your 40's and 50's. Chewing fingers can certainly make the lips chapped.

Taking a supplement to improve hair and nail health can be of help, maybe not so much in actual doing anything, but the placebo affect that you are aiming to help your hands heal and look nice. Nails do need nutrients, as well as skin.

Sometimes if I have too much coffee or black tea I end up being nervous and biting my fingers. So reducing caffeine intake can help. I also once took an antidepressant called Celexa and it made me pick at my fingers more so than I normally do. Switching to another AD is what stopped that side effect. Gum helps, too, especially if I am driving on a long trip. Laying my hand flat on my leg or the couch can help too keep me from starting to pick. Protecting my hands from liquid bleach, cleansers, soil, and while washing dishes helps keep them from getting rough in the first place. I always know when it is gardening season as that is when I'm really bad about chewing my skin. Even leather work gloves can make my fingers rough due to the chemicals used in treating the leather (made in China). So, I use laundered cotton jersey gloves as liners, besides giving a new pair of work gloves a good soaking to leach out some of the chemicals. I've tried all kinds of hand creams and the one that works the best, giving instant relief and a very smooth feel is Noxema face cream, that stuff that has been around for ages. Discount stores also have a generic version of this jarred stuff. When things get real bad, I don the white cotton gloves that I found in the beauty section at our local discount store.

I'll have to try the fingernail polish, something I haven't tried in a long time.

[crazylife13]

I use to do that all the time just think you could die from doing that because there is bactieria in your nails and your putting that in your mouth. NASTY!! Hope that helps. :)

[JudyKayTee]

Probably doesn't help because it was asked 9 years ago.

Please - I keep asking you to keep an eye on the dates when you respond.