One of the most common bad habits, nail biting can lead
to your fingertips being a little sore, red, or inflamed.
A bit of swelling isn’t unusual.
For people who bite their nails, you do
it all the time without thinking about it.
When you’re bored, anxious, stressed, or frustrated, you subconsciously
bring your fingers to your face and work at a cuticle or hangnail.
But one day you see something new; a little green spot on your nail.
It doesn’t hurt much, so you don’t really worry about it.
It’s not the prettiest habit in the world, just something
you do that doesn’t really affect your life or anyone else’s.
Other people thought the exact same thing in this situation… Only
to find out they were mere hours away from losing their lives.
Lauren Nichols, an 18-year-old college student from Texas, woke up
one chilly winter day and noticed something strange on her body—
a small green spot on her finger, right where the nail meets the skin.
There was also a little bit of red swelling around the spot.
Figuring it was nothing more than a small
bruise, she went on with her morning.
The next day, Lauren went to the doctor, who told her that the green
spot was paronychia, a skin infection caused by irritation or an injury.
In this case, it happened because Lauren
had a bad habit of biting her nails.
The doctor prescribed her antibiotics, and she returned to
school thinking the infection would go away soon enough.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t be further from the truth
—the finger got alarmingly more red, swollen, and painful
every day, and the antibiotics didn’t seem to be working.
A worried Lauren turned to the internet for insight and watched
YouTube videos that convinced her to pop the spot and drain the pus.
She went back to the doctor to get more advice on paronychia.
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Nail biters out there might be starting to
worry, so let’s talk more about paronychia.
This skin infection is defined as inflammation of
the fingers or toes on the nail folds, called the
perionychium, where the skin and the nail meet.
Paronychia develops when the protective barrier of the
nail folds is disrupted—this could be the result of nail
biting, fiddling with hangnails, ingrown nails, accidental
trauma, or even caused by fake nails and manicures.
Once the skin is broken, even if it doesn't seem too major,
bacteria can enter and cause inflammation and infection.
There are two types of paronychia, acute and chronic.
Lauren’s paronychia was acute, as it was caused by
an infection and cleared up quickly after treatment.
Infections are usually responsible for acute
cases, and most often it only happens in one nail.
Paronychia is classified as chronic when
the symptoms last at least six weeks.
Chronic cases are more likely to affect many nails and are
mostly caused by irritants—these can be acids, alkalis,
and other chemicals used in certain activities or jobs.
People who are more likely to have chronic paronychia include
housekeepers, dishwashers, bartenders, florists, bakers, and swimmers.
Symptoms of paronychia develop over several hours or days, and they
appear where the nail meets the skin, by the cuticle and nail fold.
Symptoms include pain, swelling and tenderness
around the nail, skin that is red and warm to
the touch, and pus that builds up under the skin.
The pus may build up to form a white or yellow abscess on the finger.
This is a sign that antibiotics and drainage might be necessary.
If untreated, the infection can go deeper in the finger
and toe and lead to a more serious infection, which
can even lead to a finger or toe to be amputated.
So if you see a little green or yellow
spot around your nails, don’t ignore it.
Huh.
Well it’s a good thing I’m colorblind.
In Lauren’s case, she went back to the
doctor and was told she had to have surgery.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a finger removal but a
therapeutic washout to remove the infection.
The doctor told her that she was lucky she came
in when she did, otherwise there’s a high chance
her fingertip would have needed to be amputated.
She was sternly told to stop biting her
nails to prevent it from happening again.
Lauren shared her story from start to finish, complete with
pictures, on TikTok to warn others about the dangers of biting their
nails, saying “'To my fellow nail biters, stop what you're doing.
I almost had to get the tip of my finger amputated because
I bite my nails.” Actually, the outcome could have been even
worse than that if Lauren had delayed getting a medical opinion.
One extreme case from the UK shows the dangers of a serious infection.
The victim was Luke Hanoman—28 years old, a warehouse
operator, a father of two, and a habitual nail-biter.
This was a nervous habit he had, but he didn’t worry too much about it.
One day, he bit down the skin on the side of his nail,
and it did hurt a little bit, but Luke dismissed it.
Shortly after that, he was feeling under the weather and fighting off
symptoms that seemed like the flu—cold sweats, shivers, and hot flashes.
His finger was swelling and throbbing painfully,
and Luke started losing his mental focus as well.
After Friday, he went home and promised himself
that he’d catch up on his rest on the weekend.
The next day, Luke woke up at 2PM.
His mother came to visit, took one look at
her son, and knew something was very wrong.
She told him he didn’t look okay, and he said that he didn’t feel well.
His mother called a medical helpline for assistance
and thankfully, the operator guessed that an infection
was the answer, and they knew it could be serious.
Luke was told he had only 24 hours to get to the emergency room.
His mother rushed him to the hospital, and just within
that short window of time, Luke’s body was covered
in red lines—a telltale sign of severe infection.
He had sepsis.
Luke found himself on a stretcher, with an
IV in his arm and his temperature soaring.
Doctors treated him with antibiotics and kept him
under observation around-the-clock for four days.
When they drained his infected finger of pus, an unbelievable
amount came out, but Luke still didn’t know how bad it really was.
While he recovered, the nurses didn’t want to worry
him by telling him how close he had come to death.
Afterwards, he had learned that he had barely avoided septic shock.
Luke was lucky to be alive, and if he had waited longer to
receive medical attention or “pushed through it” like he
wanted to, things would have turned out very differently.
The crucial point in Luke’s story is that the medical
assistance phone operator didn’t take any chances—but
not every person in this situation is so lucky.
Another lifelong nailbiter, 48-year-old Scottish
man Steven MacDonald, learned that the hard way.
He’d been biting at his nails as usual and noticed
that his left index finger became infected.
Like Lauren and Luke, the affected finger swelled up and got itchy.
He and his fiancée, Karen, had seen some swellings before when
Steven had been nibbling his nails, so they brushed it off easily.
But when the finger turned green, Karen
insisted that Steven go to a pharmacist.
The pharmacist didn’t seem to think it was a big deal and
recommended that they buy magnesium sulphate to treat the finger.
Magnesium sulphate can be used to draw
out splinters, pus, and infection.
Unlike in Luke’s case, the medical expert wasn’t very
concerned, and this turned out to be a serious mistake.
The finger continued swelling from infection, and the
couple turned to another pharmacist for a second opinion.
This time it was a totally different story.
The pharmacist was extremely alarmed and booked them an
emergency after-hours appointment with a GP out of town.
Steven and Karen headed there later that afternoon.
When they arrived, the doctor didn’t seem too worried.
At this point, you can imagine the couple was pretty
confused as to whether the situation is serious or not!
The doctor suggested the finger get lanced and properly
cleaned, but couldn’t do it there at his clinic.
He called a hospital, who said they could be waiting up to nine hours.
Instead of waiting overnight, Steven and Karen decided
to go to the hospital first thing in the morning.
But when morning came around, Steven’s arm was covered in a rash that
started at the swelled up finger, that almost seemed like a sunburn.
Karen raced her fiancé to the hospital, where the doctor took
one look and immediately directed him to the emergency line.
Steven got a strong shot of antibiotics
and was told to go to yet another location.
The couple went straight to Glasgow
Royal Infirmary for emergency surgery.
Steven was under anesthesia and undergoing surgery within an hour.
If they had waited or been delayed just a
few hours more, he could have lost his life.
After a two-hour operation to remove the infected flesh,
Steven, like Luke, stayed under observation for four days.
His affected fingernail was removed, and it might never grow back.
Steven learned a huge lesson about biting his nails,
something he’d been doing absentmindedly for decades.
These two men were lucky to escape with their
lives, and most of their fingers intact.
These stories don’t always end so well.
John Gardner, a 40-year-old soccer referee from
the UK, had a tendency to chew at the ends of his
fingers–often to the point that they would bleed.
He had lost a considerable amount of the
feeling and sensation in his fingertips.
John’s habit was caused by his struggles with anxiety and
depression, which had gotten worse in the past few years.
Eventually, one of his fingers became infected and he contracted sepsis.
John went to the hospital, where he was treated
with antibiotics and monitored for eight days before
undergoing surgery to remove the affected fingertip.
After the operation, John didn’t show
any signs of a high temperature or fever.
His condition improved slowly but steadily as he celebrated
his fortieth birthday while still in the hospital.
Then, without a warning, John suffered a heart attack
and passed away after two weeks in the hospital.
It was so sudden and unexpected that it
stunned the doctor as well as his family.
John had lifelong struggles with health, which may have
impacted his immune system, and he had just had surgery.
Though anyone can get sepsis, people who are more at risk include
anyone with a medical condition that weakens their immune system,
people already in the hospital with an illness, and those who have had
recent surgery or with wounds or injuries as a result of an accident.
Well, why do we do this?
Nail biting, or onychophagia, is a very common tendency that about
20% of adults engage in, and the habit also has a long history.
The ancient Greek philosopher Cleanthes was
reportedly addicted to biting his nails.
Fred Penzel, a psychologist who helps people cope with
body-focused repetitive habits like nail-biting and hair
plucking, says that everybody picks and bites to a degree.
But when it crosses the line of doing damage to
the body, then it becomes a cause for concern.
Sigmund Freud’s popular theory stated that too much nursing as a
baby could lead to people chewing on their nails and other objects.
Though in typical classic Freud manner
he had little evidence to support this.
Then, people thought nail biting, hair plucking and skin picking
were mild forms of self-harm, a sign of negativity towards yourself.
But most nail biters aren’t big fans of the damage
from their habit, and many actually want to quit.
Since the 1990s, psychologists have separated body-focused
repetitive disorders from more severe forms of self-harm.
People with OCD have a higher chance of also being nail
biters, but experts who specialize in body-focused repetitive
disorders believe the two are different from each other.
According to Penzel, not every behaviour that’s
repetitive is automatically a compulsion.
Compulsions are mostly associated with anxiety,
but nail biting often comes with some pleasure.
People want to do it, even if they also want
to stop because of the damage it causes.
The current popular theory is that
nail biting helps balance our emotions.
If we’re feeling bored, it provides some stimulation.
When people are nervous, anxious, or frustrated, it gives relief.
This is supported by the fact that many people are
tempted to bite when they’re under or over stimulated.
Being too bored, stressed, or excited leads nail biters
to try to stimulate themselves or calm themselves down.
A study from the University of Quebec at Montreal resulted in
some evidence to support the theory of emotional regulation.
But why does this behaviour give people pleasure or distraction?
One potential answer is that people with these
body-focused habits are more likely to be perfectionists.
Nibbling at an oddly shaped nail can give a sense
of perfection, until the urge gets out of control.
We can see this sort of behavior in the animal kingdom as well.
Lots of animals display the urge to
groom excessively to the point of damage.
Cats can lick themselves until they have fur loss,
and some horses bite themselves over and over.
Psychologists believe that people can get
mentally addicted to pretty much anything.
People who are under or overstimulated may be seeking
a momentary escape, even subconsciously, and, hey, your
hands are always around, unable to escape your jaws.
Finally, a simple explanation might be the best answer.
Maybe we bite our nails just because they’re there.
Nails are a hotbed of germs.
Bacteria called Enterobacteriaceae, which includes salmonella
and E coli, well, they just love that little area of real estate.
Biting your nails gives those bacteria a free
ride to your mouth and gut, where they can cause
gastro-intestinal infections, diarrhea, and pain.
HPV is also common among nail biters, according to dermatologist
Chris Adigun, and the habit can also damage your dental health.
Finally, as we all know now, your nails and
fingers can become tender, inflamed, and painful.
Have you ever cut a lemon when you have tiny wounds around your hands?
I don’t recommend it.
So how do we stop doing this?
There are different techniques for quitting, but, like
any bad habit, the first step is to identify the triggers.
If you bite your nails when watching TV, for
example, maybe try to chew gum or play with an object
when you head to the living room to binge a show.
Maybe try to have a variety of substitutes, or notes around
the couch, to remind you that you don’t want to bite.
If your triggers are more emotional, like being bored or
frustrated, you can try to change the circumstances somehow.
In our first case, Lauren started using a fidget
spinner to substitute fiddling with her nails.
She also mentioned that she knew people who stopped
the habit by getting or doing manicures instead.
Other options might be trying to regulate
emotions with an outlet such as exercise or yoga.
Finally, you can also use a special clear nail
polish on your nails that tastes absolutely awful.
Believe me I know, it’s legitimately what I use.
It’s harmless, but the bitter taste will definitely
overpower any pleasure you might get from biting.
The survivors from the cases we talked about all
learned their lesson and have quit their habit.
Hopefully some of you out there who are looking to stop biting
can try some of these tips instead of the ones on your hands.
And if you do see a little green spot or infection starting,
you now know to get prompt medical attention, unlike the
people in these stories who had to finger it out on their own.
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