Symptoms
Nail biting involves regularly biting the fingernails with the teeth. This behavior is most commonly seen in children and adolescents and occurs between the ages of 3 to 18 years. It is less common in adults. Nail biting can lead to diseases of the teeth and gums, as well as diseases of the nails and surrounding skin, because the tissue is repeatedly stressed or injured. It also carries bacteria into the oral cavity.
Causes
Nail biting is a learned habit, which subjectively triggers a good and calming feeling, for example, during boredom, stress, insecurity, nervousness, anxiety, or activities that require high concentration. Nail biting represents a similar oral “reward” as sucking, lip biting, snacking, and gum chewing. Nail biting is sometimes associated with psychiatric disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but is usually not pathological. Nail biting occurs in families, probably due to imitation or the same life circumstances. It can be assumed to be a normal childhood and adolescent behavior.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis can be made from interviewing the child or parents, patient history, clinical picture, and observation.
Nonpharmacologic treatment
Nail biting often passes on its own with time and no treatment is necessarily needed. From the outside, it may seem easy to stop the habit at first. However, giving it up is often more difficult than thought. Under no circumstances should the children be threatened, laughed at or punished, as this is counterproductive. Therapeutic approaches and recommendations:
- Give positive motivation to stop
- Address possible triggers
- Sports, physical exercise
- Counseling and education of children and parents
- Wearing finger cots, bandages
- Cut nails short
- Beautiful manicure on girls, nail polish
- Chew something else, for example, sugar-free gum (offer alternative).
- Keep the hands busy with something else
- Clenching the hand into a fist as an alternative
- Promote conscious perception
- Behavioral therapy
Drug treatment
For drug treatment, various agents are available for application to the nails, which are intended to give the nail a bad taste and thus discourage nail biting (eg, sucrose octaacetate, bitters from grapefruit). How effective these agents are is controversial in the literature. Olive oil can be used to soften nails, reducing the incentive for biting. Products: e.g., Bite X, Mavala, Raylez.
