Biting nails

Nail biting, also known as onychophagy or onychophagia (or even erroneously onchophagia), is an oral compulsive habit. It is sometimes described as a parafunctional activity, the common use of the mouth for an activity other than speaking, eating, or drinking. Nail biting, also known as onychophagy or onychophagia (or even erroneously onchophagia), is an oral compulsive habit. It is sometimes described as a parafunctional activity, the common use of the mouth for an activity other than speaking, eating, or drinking. Nail biting is very common, especially amongst children. More pathological forms of nails biting are considered an impulse control disorder in the DSM-IV-R and are classified under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders in the DSM-5. The ICD-10 classifies the practice as 'other specified behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence'. However, not all nail biting is pathological, and the difference between harmful obsession and normal behavior is not always clear. Nail biting usually leads to harmful effects to the fingers, like infections. These consequences are directly derived from the physical damage of biting or from the hands becoming an infection vector. Moreover, it can also have a social impact. The ten fingernails are usually equally bitten to approximately the same degree. Biting nails can lead to broken skin on the cuticle. When cuticles are improperly removed, they are susceptible to microbial and viral infections such as paronychia. Saliva may then redden and infect the skin. In rare cases, fingernails may become severely deformed after years of nail biting due to the destruction of the nail bed. Nail biting may have an association with oral problems, such as gingival injury, and malocclusion of the anterior teeth. It can also transfer pinworms or bacteria buried under the surface of the nail from the anus region to the mouth. If the bitten-off nails are swallowed, stomach problems can occasionally develop. Nail-biting can be a source of guilt and shame feelings in the nail biter, a reduced quality of life, and increased stigmatization in the inner family circles or at a more societal level. Other body-focused repetitive behaviors include excoriation disorder (skin picking), dermatophagia (skin biting), and trichotillomania (the urge to pull out hair), and all of them tend to coexist with nail biting. As an oral parafunctional activity, it is also associated with bruxism (tooth clenching and grinding), and other habits such as pen chewing and cheek biting. In children nail biting most typically co-occurs with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (75% of nail biting cases in a study), and other psychiatric disorders including oppositional defiant disorder (36%) and separation anxiety disorder (21%). It is also more common among children and adolescents with obsessive–compulsive disorder. Nail biting appeared in a study to be more common in men with eating disorders than in those without them. The most common treatment, which is cheap and widely available, is to apply a clear, bitter-tasting nail polish to the nails. Normally denatonium benzoate is used, the most bitter chemical compound known. The bitter flavor discourages the nail-biting habit.