One of the most common and unpleasant habits that a person can have is to bite nails, not only for the aesthetic part but for the diseases that it could cause. The vast majority tends to do it unconsciously, either by stress, nervousness, anxiety, worries or problems, among other causes. However, they cannot imagine how serious this insane practice can be for those who usually do it out of habit.
This compulsive habit of biting nails constantly is known as onychophagia and it brings as consequences the bleeding of fingers, especially when the objective is to tear off the cuticle and the skin that grows around the nail, which could produce open wounds that generate some infection and health complications.
It could be said that one of the most common diseases derived from this bad habit is the paronychia popularly known as whitlow, which causes the swelling of fingers, redness and in some cases pus. Another of the common affections are those produced by fungi, since when the flesh of fingers is exposed to open air, it can be contaminated by not having the protection of the nail.
On the other hand, there can be bacterial diseases, because fingers and hands are constantly manipulating different contaminated and dirty objects, and if you do not take the precaution to wash them, when introducing them into the mouth, microorganisms pass to the mucous membranes causing different types of bacterial disease.
Also, although it sounds a bit crazy, this can cause pain in the joints, especially at the cervical and jaw level, since an effort is made with the muscles of the face and neck to tear the pieces of cuticles or nail.
Similarly, problems with your teeth may arise, as the wear of the front teeth increases because they make the most effort to bite the nails, causing deformation in the mouth, problems to chew, in addition to producing greater oral sensitivity, due to the loss of the enamel that covers teeth.
Another aspect that harms this inappropriate habit the most is the emotional part, because it psychologically affects that person’s behavior, either because it generates shame, some frustration, sadness or low self-esteem, since when wanting to perform any daily activity, in which fingers intervene, such as opening a packet, typing on the computer keyboard, among others; these cannot be done effectively, because of the pain that the swollen and broken fingernails cause.
In this sense, the American Psychiatric Association said that biting nails, rather than a habit is an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), however, when asking people who practice it, they simply indicated to do it without realizing and generally, because of stress.
Finally, even if it represents an escape valve for many, understand that it harms the emotional life and health in general. So we recommend you stop this dangerous habit.
ALFA