My Nailbiting Message Board

"I Feel Ashamed Because I Bite My Nails"

2009-09-12T19:58:00.000-04:00

Hi Im 13 years old and im going to tell you how I feel. When i bite my nails i offeten feel ashamed and ugly because its a terrible habbit to get into and i've tried lemonjuice on my nails, some special grose tasting nailpolish, and rubber gloves.Its embarresing when i go to nail salons and the people cant do my nails because there to short. Please EMAIL me ASAP im desperate.

Thank you

Acrylic Nails?

2009-08-23T14:14:00.004-04:00

Here is an email I got:

Nail Technicians

Acrylic Demo From xxxxxxxx.com That You'll Want to Bookmark

http://www.xxxxxxx.com/xxxxxxx.htm

Thank you

I know that there are a lot of good products out there to help one with their nailbiting habit and to help make a person's nails look more beautiful.

I also know that there are a lot of people who are interested in products that will help them to stop biting their nails and the more that they know about these products, the better!

So if I get any more related email about nail products I will pass them along here.

Nailbiting - Some Advice!

2009-07-01T20:47:00.001-04:00

I know the terrible habit that you all fight against, I battled it for many years. Then I read a simple method of quitting and found it worked. I think the book was called "Stopping Your Bad Habits" or something like that.

Put a rubber band around your wrist and snap your wrist with it every time you bite or even "gaze" to see where you want to bite. If friends ask you what it is, tell them you have something important to remember. It hurts when you snap it but don't hold back, really snap it hard! In only a few days you will begin to associate the biting with the pain of the snapped rubber band and you will stop. Believe me it works. If you find yourself starting up again in a few months, do it again.

Meanwhile, some other tips that were in the book:

The day you start this carefully clip off any loose pieces of dead skin that may tempt you to bite, file your nails nice and put on hand lotion and/or cuticle oil or cream.
Have a few extra rubber bands ready, you will probably break it and don't want to have an excuse for not continuing.
Remember, don't hold back when you snap, shut your eyes and let 'er rip! Snap it every time, even if you only gaze at them or run your fingers over them to check for something to bite.
Give yourself a manicure, put on a pretty ring or bracelet, paint your nails: begin to get ready to be proud of your nails and hands, it's fun!
Use your hands to express yourself, lay them in your lap where people can see them, handle objects, direct attention to your hands. You have probably been ashamed of them for a long time and found ways to keep people from looking at them. Each day they will heal and grow nicer and you will enjoy drawing attention to them more and more.
Carry some hand lotion and use it often!
Enjoy your beautiful new hands, treat yourself to a new ring or nail polish!

Best of luck to you and let me know how it works for you, my name is Ann

I Did Stop Biting My Nails....For A While.....

2009-06-01T20:43:00.001-04:00

So sad, but good to read what others wrote. I've been biting and tearing my nails for more than 40 years. I tear them more often than I bite them.

Once, after I took the est training, I made a commitment to myself to stop, and I did stop.... for a while. I sometimes rip my toenails in bed. Ug(h). When I'm driving, and feel stressed, I rip at my nails. Maybe I should glue a piece of sandpaper to the steering wheel to make them smooth instead.

I like the idea of tapping fingertips on a table instead of biting or ripping.

Best regards from B. B.

Is Stress The Cause?

2009-05-01T20:40:00.001-04:00

I am currently on a nailbiting spree. What induced it - not stress but SHELLFISH. I have bitten my nails for years - not picked but bitten, chewed and swallowed my nails. Stress is sometimes a factor, as is hunger and boredom. In recent times I have noticed that a feed of prawns (shrimps) invariably sets me off on a nail biting frenzy. This leads me to believe that nailbiting isn't solely a psychological problem; it can be triggered by a lack or surplus of something in the body. Is this a phenomenon anybody else has encountered (or researched)?

Regards

R. G.

Australia

Very Young Nailbiter Needs Help!

2009-04-02T20:34:00.000-04:00

hi I am 11 years old and I have a bad habit of biting my nails. My friends don't and I try so hard to stop but I cant. I got fake nails and bit those off! I feel real bad. I hope someone can help!

Barbie

"I Have Been Biting My Nails Since I Can Remember...."

2009-03-01T20:12:00.000-05:00

Hi Rose,

My name is Cal and I am 19. I've biting my nails and cuticles since I can remember and have only recently been doing better at trying to stop. For anyone who has been down this same road, it's a difficult one. I'm writing to say that I used a suggestion to get tips on my nails and it has helped a bit. I've also been wearing gloves in my house to prevent me from getting distracted by my nails. I was wondering if anyone knows any good ointments for the hands to help with the redness and swelling. My email address is xxxxxx@aol.com. Any other advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!!

Cal

Another "Professional" Nailbiter

2009-02-21T22:33:00.002-05:00

Hey Rose,

I've been biting my nails and picking skin til it bleeds for over 20 yrs. The worst thing about the whole thing is that I am a chiropractor and it is very embarrassing to work on patients after I have had a nailbiting binge. Bandaids are almost a daily necessity for me. I am going to use your website as a motivational tool to stop biting, use it as a support group if you will. Thanks!

TTYL,
Dr B.

I'm quite flattered by your compliments and the fact that you want to use this board as a motivational tool!

2009-01-02T20:27:00.000-05:00

Hi! I am 39 years old and have decided it is time to stop biting and picking! I have been biting ever since I stopped sucking my thumb and age 5! Oral fixation much?! I also gnaw on the skin around the offending nail and it is actually that skin that looks the grossest on me. Here's what I found out online last night with a few personal embellishments:

Pick a day to stop - even if you slip up , get back on that horse and try, try again!
Use the nasty tasting stuff if you put your fingers in your mouth (I tend to bite but also use other nails to pick, pick, pick so I probably won't do this one).
Slather on some nice healing lotion a million times a day. I do this in the car - one of my main biting locales - just be careful gripping the steering wheel!
Keep an emery board handy at all times to file away snags that entice us to bite in the first place.
Drink more water - at least that is good for everything and you're putting a water bottle up to your lips not your fingers.
Try nail polish - it will remind you of your achievable goal to stop biting. Once you see improvement, get a professional manicure - I really look forward to that one as soon as the raw skin heals over.
this is the most interesting to me - apparently our affliction is related to obsessive-compulsive disorder and Inositol has been shown to help relieve some of the nervousness that sets us off by enhancing serotonin levels in the body. Check out the work of Dr. Fred Penzel to confirm this. He recommends that inositol be taken with equal amounts of choline. Also, coffee reduces inositol so try to cut down - coffee also may add to the nervousness factor that causes biting. Inositol and choline are also found in lecithin granules with can be added to smoothies or yogurt.

The few times in my life that I actually stopped biting were when I had a very steady routine - getting up at the same time of day, eating meals on a regular schedule, etc. Now my schedule varies quite a bit but I think I may try to eat at regular times and see if that makes a difference.

Today I am going to purchase some cute nail polish, fancy lotion with aloe vera, an emery board, and some lecithin and smoothie ingredients. Maybe some green tea, though I do love my espresso in the morning (less caffeine than coffee, really, look it up!) I plan to have beautiful hands for the holidays.

Good luck to all.

D.B.

"I Have Been Biting My Nails Since I Was A Baby!"

2008-12-21T07:38:00.000-05:00

Hi Rose, im 14 years old and i have been biting my nails sense i was a baby. I have never bit my nails down to where they would bleed but to the point where they hurt. I have always wished that i could have pretty nails or be able to panit (paint) them with nail polish but i never could. All my friends have beautiful nails and love to where rings and show off their nails. I tried fake nails for a while but i got them off and my real nails grew but a week later i chomped them down to where they were before. I always thought that there was something wrong with me because i bite my nails. No one in my family does and hardly any of my friends do. I also once in a while bite my toenails which i hate doing but i do it anyways and i dont know why i do! After i do i hate wearing shoes and i hate when people look at my feet because im totally embarrsed that i bite them! Im glad that i have found some other poeple that are in the same kind of situation as me, im glad im not alone. I read the comment that the guy made about how its not ok to bite your nails. I think that it isnt ok to bite ur nails. I HATE biting my nails but im not weird because i do it. I think Rob meant that its ok to bite, that ur not alone. I dont think he meant that yes its okay to put ur fingers in ur mouth and risk getting sick or be in pain. I just think he meant that we are not alone in the situation and dont think your alone and the only one because ur not! This page has really help me and im glad that im not alone.
~Kate~

Latest Poll Results!

2008-11-12T17:36:00.000-05:00

Here are the latest poll results asking about what kind of nailcare products you would try:

As you can see, quite a few people have already voted in this poll!

The majority of people have voted that they don't care what kind of product they use as long as it works! So I guess its safe to say that people really want to get rid of their nailbiting habit!

The next largest majority of the votes went to those that wanted to know more about the product before they used it.

You still have time to vote!

Nailbiting Poll!

14 Year Old Nailbiter

2008-10-25T21:27:00.008-04:00

hi rose im 14yrs old and i have been biting my nails my entire life! I really wish i could stop, but i cant even when i have fake nails i nibble on them a little. My mom always yells at me to stop and that its gross but i really cant stop. I realy wish i could stop but i cant. I look at all my friends and they all can paint their nails and have beautiful finger nails. I hate wearing hand jewelry cuz im embarrsed of my nails. I always thought i was some freak that bit their toenails and its a relief to know that im not the only one. I kinda hate wearing shoes that show me toes cuz im scared that people will think im weird. Please help me if u have any suggestions please email me....this site help me feel better about my nail biting

Nailbiting Racism?

2008-10-12T23:47:00.004-04:00

Hi Rose. I find that African-American female nailbiters can bite their nails down way lower than the rest of us. Their pain threshhold is higher and their nails can be way lower (shorter) than the rest of us. I met this black girl once, her nails were bitten 3/4 of the way down. Her nailbeds which used to be covered by the nails were huge and they were already converted to regular skin. Her nails were bitten down so low that you could actually grab onto the tips of her fingers without touching any nails. There was no sign of blood, pain or trauma. I asked her how she was able to get her nails that short, she told me that she never stops biting her nails. She said she can't! So, the more she bites them, the lower/shorter they got. Is there anyone on this board who is an african-american female nailbiter who can relate to this story?

Hi Rose, I was so excited to find your board after 40+ years of nail biting. However, just when I thought I found a safe place to talk about my lifelong nail biting, the ugly face of racism pops up. I would like to ask the poster (see above) what does she mean when she says. "African-American female nailbiters can bite their nails down way lower than the rest of us. Their pain threshhold is higher and their nails can be way lower (shorter) than the rest of us." Who is the poster referring to when she says "the rest of us"? As if to say African Americans are sub-human and the rest of society of is human. The status of that African American woman's fingernails applies to her and just her! NOT the entire African American race. Nor does the woman's threshold for pain apply to the African American people. Also, African American do have blood, since the poster wanted to know why she couldn't see the blood from the surface. duh... Racism is so deeply
ingrained in so many people, most don't recognize it, even if it jumped up and bite them in the face. I am sure there are white, Chinese, Latino woman in the world that have the same status as that black woman's finger nails. However, to base the woman's threshold of pain, the shortness of her nails and the so called lack of blood in the finger (???), on the color of her skin is insane. This poster has it all figured out and then wants to know if anyone can relate to her ludicrous racist story. Why should anyone respond when she has us sub-human African American mammals all figured out.

FYI (to the poster). I am a African American woman. My threshold for pain is very low. If I bite my fingernails a little too low they bleed. Please note this does not apply to "all" African American women, just me. Also poster "threshold" is spelled with one "h" not two. Does everyone in your race spell it that way?

13 Year Old Nailbiter!

2008-10-12T23:40:00.004-04:00

Dear Rose,

I am a 13 year old almost 14 and I have been bitting my nails since I was little. As a toddler I bit my nails instead of sucking my thumb. I chew on my fingers so much that they turn red and sometimes even bleed. I know I am young but, I want 2 break this habit before it gets really bad.

biting my nails 'til they bleed!.........

2008-10-12T23:29:00.005-04:00

I (was) reading one of your posts saying that a deficiency of Inositol, the B vitamin, contributes to nail biting.

It also mentioned that coffee makes this worse by draining your body of inositol. I had a lifelong nail biting habit which had just recently become painfully intense. I always bit my nails to the quick before, but recently I was biting them past that to the point where I was bleeding on several nails at a time. After reading that post, I went out and bought a B multivitamin that had inositol and started taking it. I haven't bitten my nails for a week! I also used some of that anti nail biting paste just to remind myself, but I stopped using it because it was unnecessary. Such a simple solution to my problem... I am now 27, and I have been biting my nails since I got them. I just thought I would let more people know. Now if anyone finds out the cure for binge-eating of ice cream, i'll be set for life. Thank you whoever you are.

Rich

How Can I Stop My 5 Year Old From Biting His Nails?

2008-10-12T23:13:00.001-04:00

Hi i have a boy of 5 years and he bites his nails. is there some thing i can do to stop him? pls.

Thank you for your comments. However I'm not sure whether you just want an answer to your question or do you want your comment posted on the nailbiting board?

So that is why I am posting this email here.

Nailbiting Basics 101

2008-10-12T22:53:00.000-04:00

I'm currently moving my Nailbiting Message Board to Blogger.com since AOL will be discontinuing their AOL member webpages.