Hi,
‘Nail Biting’ is clinically termed as ‘Onychophagia’ or ‘Onychophagy‘. It is a pathological oral habit and grooming disorder that involves chronic, uncontrollable biting of the nails😬 that destroys the fingernails, surrounding tissues, nail plate and cuticles. Although nail biting is considered to be a common stress-relieving habit and merely a cosmetic concern, it can develop into a severe long term problem and cause many health problems, if left untreated. Nail Biting is a common ‘Nervous Habit’ that can be found in people of all ages👶🧒👱♀️👱♂️ . However, it is most common in high strung children👧and teenagers👱♀️ as adults mostly outgrow this childhood habit!🙅♂️. About 25-30 % of kids bite their nails and it is not observed in kids before 3 years.
Signs and Symptoms of ‘Nail Biting’ or ‘Onychophagia’ in children -
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Nail Biting leads to harmful effects on fingers and nails. Signs and symptoms of nail-biting are both psychological and physical. Following are a few signs and symptoms of nail-biting in children
- Damaged and broken tissues of nails, cuticles and fingers🤚. Abnormal nail growth.
- Severely deformed fingernails with abscesses and microbial and viral infections🦠 such as paronychia.
- Oral injuries👄, dental problems🦷 and infections.
- Other physical and health problems.
- Embarrassment😳, guilt😞and shame🙇♀️ often related to the appearance of physical damage to skin and nails caused by biting😬.
- Complicated family and social relationships.
Tension and stress😠 before biting nails and satisfaction😌 after biting nails.
Causes of ‘Nail Biting’ or ‘Onychophagia’ in children -
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As growing up is an anxious process, children👧🧑 face many challenges, hurdles, pressures, tensions that make them prone to pick on nervous habits like nail-biting, nose picking, etc. to soothe and get themselves through such anxious situations. Following are a few causes of nail-biting in children -
- Curiosity🧐, boredom😐, loneliness🚶♂️, lack of motivation😞.
- Hunger🤤.
- Stress🤯, events that trigger stress like examinations✍️, homework📚etc.
- Anxiety😨, events that make children anxious like separation, change of school, break up with close friends👭, the divorce of parents👪, etc.
- Imitating parents, friends and other people with nail-biting habits.
- Genetically inherited, studies show that children whose parents bite their nails are more likely to bite their nails.
- Onychophagia can be associated with psychiatric disorders like Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Attentional deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), Separation anxiety disorder and other mental issues.
Health problems that arise due to ‘Nail Biting’ or ‘Onychophagia’ in children -
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Nail Biting can lead to a variety of health problems, such as -
- Onychophagia can cause fungal infections🦠 like onychomycosis - infection of the nail plate and paronychia - infection of the skin surrounding the nails. If the infection isn’t controlled, it can infect the joints of the hand that causes septic arthritis, a condition which is hard to cure, may require surgery and can lead to permanent disability.
- Chronic nail-biting😬 damages the nail matrix - the tissue under the actual nail and cause permanent nail deformities like ridges that stops🛑the growth of the nails temporarily or even permanently.
- Nail Biting can lead to stomach infections due to the swallowing the bitten nails.
- Nail Biting causes intestinal parasitic infections.
- Nail Biting can lead to Alveolar destruction.
- Chronic nail-biting causes temporomandibular joint pain and dysfunction.
- Onychophagia increases the risk of developing Bruxism - a chronic teeth-grinding habit.
- Onychophagia causes Wearing, chipping, and cracking of the teeth 🦷.
- Onychophagia causes gingivitis as fingernails trap a lot of dirt and microorganisms🦠 which leads to gum diseases.
- Nail Biting leads to Malocclusion or gap between the front teeth🦷causing a bad bite.
- Nail Biting causes crowding, attrition and rotation of the teeth🦷.
- Onychophagia leads to Teeth🦷 root resorption.
- Nail Biting leads to Protrusion of the maxillary incisors (upper front teeth) and attrition of the incisional edge of the mandibular incisors (lower front teeth).
Treatment and management of ‘Nail Biting’ or ‘Onychophagia’ in
children -
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Treating Onychophagia depends on the severity level of the condition. However, no treatment is required for mild conditions as children usually outgrow this habit as they grow older. Nail Biting is often found to be an unconscious habit that children resort to for coping with their emotions. Following are a few steps that should be followed to help children stop 🛑this destructive habit! -
- Address the habit, talk 🗣about it to the child, educate the child about the physical, psychological and social consequences of biting their nails. Never nag or punish the child as it will make them more stressful and worsen the condition.
- Help the child to identify the triggers and help the child to deal with them appropriately. Support the child emotionally👩👧 and encourage to build self-control, self-confidence and self-esteem.
- Stimulate good habits in children like outdoor play⛹️♀️, arts, crafts, painting 👩🏻🎨and other activities that help to manage stress and outgrow the nail-biting habit.
- Inculcate good hygiene habits in children, keep their nails clean, trimmed and short. Get them manicures to keep them motivated to outgrow the habit.
- Apply the bitter-tasting nail polish💅 to make nail biting unpleasant and remind them not to bite.
- Physical barriers such as wearing gloves🧤, mittens, adhesive bandages, coloured stickers to remind children not to bite😬 their nails.
- Keep stress-relieving toys handy like a stress reliever ball, squishy toy, a chewy necklace or bracelet etc. to avoid chewing and biting 😬of the nails.
- Treating underlying mental health problem or psychiatric disorders.
You can buy solutions for Nail Biting or Onychophagia from :
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Please Note : This post contains product links from www.amazon.in
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