Nail Biting - The Truth?

Question

I have read all the pepper spray etc answers. Ii have read a lot on the subject.

Yet here i sit, a 40 year old married male who bites his nails.

Why do I bite my nails you ask.

I love the taste of nails, the sharp unforgiven taste in my mouth, the excitement of being able to manupulate it in my mouth. The sheer joy of knowing that i can bend the nail to my will, make it clean, like floss or bite it and digest it whole.

So, all wannabes, get a pepper spray, (never worked, just a bigger challenge), how do you cure my nail biting habit?

Also, in closing, i have quit for a while and those nails looked mighty fine, but they looked better when i chewed them.

Amen.

Answer 1

well you obviously like doing it so why stop?

Answer 2

Have a bad habit myself that I began when parents started fighting and going through divorce...4 yrs worth....the divorce,
not my habit....I still have it.

To be honest, the only thing I can think of besides hypnotic
therapy, which is expensive, is coating the tips of your nails
with superglue or some hard enamel that will slow your chewing
as well as curb the taste.

Just be careful, I had a 13 yr old girlfriend in OR who used to bite her nails for years previous. She had her appendix removed at 15 and it was filled with her nails and hair she constantly consumed. She was under constant pressure from her father.
You say you are 40, but not how long you have been doing this.
I hope you can find some way to stop your habit, as I have seen the infections it can cause in others who have the same problem.

Answer 3

As old as he is, he has had years to form his opinion of your mother It would be a monumental task to change his attitude toward her. NOT impossible, but the task would take at least months if not years of constant work to get him to really accept her. That's probably more time and effort than you and the bird are willing to devote, with good reason. If you , your mother , and the bird all have the determination to spend months or even years in this effort, then you should make your mother his care giver. She feeds him, waters him and spends 2 - 4 hours per day talking to him in soothing tones. When he looses his active hostility, then she should try to hand him treats through the bars. Any aggression= NO TREATS. he would eventually learn that if he wanted treats he would have to socialize. Of course during this time your time spent with him would have to be minimal , because you want him to learn to depend upon her alone. With lots of time and patience your hard work would pay off, even if it were 2 or 3 years down the road. The only alternative is to accept the situation. He is YOUR bird, and does not like others. Sorry to be so negative, but maybe I have at least clarified the situation. Good luck

Answer 4

No clue. I bite my nails too, so I bought some false nails and pasted them over my natural nails ... so I'd stop biting them. Didn't work ... I even started eatin' the falsies straight outta the box ... :P

Answer 5

[edit] Treatment

[edit] Medication
Nail biting has been shown to respond well to certain types of medication. The medications used to treat the problem include the newest, most potent anti-depressants. These medications are also used to treat Trichotillomania and OCD and include clomipramine, fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, citalopram, escitalopram, nefazodone and venlafaxine. Also, small amounts of the anti-psychotics used to treat schizophrenia such as risperidone, olazapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole can be used to augment anti-depressants. It is important to note that the use of anti-psychotics to treat nail biting does not necessarily indicate that the patient is suffering from psychosis. [2]

Another option calls for the use of the B vitamin inositol. It reduces the urge to bite by enhancing the activity of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin may be implicated in OCD and related disorders. [3]


[edit] Behavioral therapy
Some patients have found behavioral therapy to be beneficial on its own or as a complement to medication. The first part of nail biting therapy consists of Habit Reversal Training (HRT), a four part process that seeks to "unlearn" the habit of nail biting and possibly replace it with a more constructive habit. In addition to HRT, Stimulus Control therapy is used to both identify and then eliminate the stimulus that frequently triggers biting urges.[4].

The symptoms have been found to respond best to a combination of medication and therapy.


[edit] Other treatment
Various forms of aversion therapy exist to help people stop biting their nails. These include methods such as coating the nails with a bad-tasting substance (sometimes in the form of a special nail polish) or wearing a rubber band on their wrist and having friends and family members snap it (or tell the nailbiter to snap it) when they see nailbiting. Replacing the habit of biting nails by the habit of chewing gum works for some people. Some methods (including aforementioned aversion methods) can work by making the biter aware of their actions and finding other things to do. Keeping a record of when one bites may also be helpful in finding the root of the problem.

Some nail biters who undergo orthodontic treatment find that wearing a retainer or a bite plate makes it impossible for them to sever their nails with their teeth. This can have the unintentional side-effect of helping the individual to overcome their nail-biting habit.

Some nail-biters, however, find the effectiveness of all of these remedies to be poor. For them, it may take sheer determination to break the habit. Tactics they may find helpful include making a mental note to stop, promising oneself not to bite, and making it a New Year's resolution to stop.

Like other nervous habits, nail biting is sometimes a symptom of an emotional problem. In these cases, resolving the underlying problem can help to lessen or eliminate the nail-biting habit.

Some nailbiters find that hypnotherapy is a beneficial treatment.

Answer 6

ahhh that grossed me out and made me feel so sick i think you cured my nail biting problem. my god i just bite mine off cause i get bored. geez

Answer 7

Maybe if you like it so much you shouldn't stop. Its not hurting ane one and you enjoy it!

... x o x o !