Who has successfully stopped biting their nails?

lukeout007

I'm a terrible nail biter. I bite the skin around them too. I've tried just about everything...putting gross tasting stuff on them, keeping hands in pockets, getting yelled at...

Recently I've been trying to bandage up 1 finger at a time for a few days until the nail grows...it works for awhile but I can't seem to stick with it for too long. I usually end up with 2 or 3 finger nails and then give up.

Warmbloodwear

I have! It really is funny I was just commenting to my mom that I have nails...I really don't know what made me stop doing it though

I did though start biting the inside of my lip instead. :grumble:

cmriverside

I stopped.

But I don't have a particular strategy.

One thing about my nails is they used to chip and flake a lot. That made them get caught in fabrics, and would lead to my nibbling at the little imperfection; which can easily lead to tearing off a too-big chunk of nail. When I started supplementing with Vitamin D, the nails became thicker and stronger for the first time in my life.

I'm a woman, so I used to have fake nails on all the time to avoid that - but since my nails are healthier now, it isn't a factor anymore.

Do you have other compulsive behaviors? You might benefit from some Cognitive Behavior Therapy.

steve915

:sad: miy wife cant stop biting her nails

Kekibird

Stopped biting my nails and not sure what happened. Just stopped. I also started taking care of them, painting them and filing them. Keeping them nice and decorated seems to have helped.

Still a lip biter though. Can't seem to kick that habit no matter how much gum I keep on me.

misslissa555

I use to bite my nails wicked badly as a kid. Once I became a vegetarian I stopped. I have no idea why it happened. Good luck!

sarglava

Nail biting is a funny thing. Most people do it when they're stressed, and I can say for a fact that I did sometimes bite during stress. But mostly I bit as a habit (bored, perfectionism, etc). I haven't stopped biting, but I've reduced it a lot! I've started painting them! And as you are a male I don't think that would help you much. Unless you wanted to paint them black, but that's a different kind of look.

Ruger2506

I have. About 2 months ago was the last time.

Honestly one day I just decided to stop and it's been a non-issue since. I've tried stopping many times without success. Not sure why it worked for me this time.

arickim

I have, cause I have to get my nails done or they look awful:)

shamr0ck

I chewed my nails for 35 years. Badly - down to the quick, bleeding chewing. It was stress related, and eventually the stress was under control. I still get the urge to bite them when i get really stressed, or when the edges get rough and catch. But it's easier to control these days.

jamiesadler

I used to bite mine down past the quick they would be so mangled and painful. Oddly enough my husband would smack my hand if he saw me bit them and after that once or twice I stopped. Now I have very pretty nails. I just put some clear polish on them and I get a lot of compliments. You could also try painting them, you dont want to eat the paint.

cynthiaj777

I just happened to stop. No idea why. I just noticed one day that my nails were long, and I was no longer biting them. Weird. I know.

I do bite the inside of my mouth too...like other posters. That's weird too.

Some kind of mouth fixation? I find it SOOO odd that people just out of the blue stopped biting their nails, but we all bite our lips/inside of our mouths.....

rlwash

I have been a non-biter since September and I think what did it for me was that I told myself it was ruining my teeth and I should probably stop. I have bitten a nail since that day.

Good luck.

_Timmeh_

I stopped cold turkey :laugh: I was biting my nail at work like I always did and a piece of tooth broke off, that was enough for me.

cynthiaj777

I just happened to stop. No idea why. I just noticed one day that my nails were long, and I was no longer biting them. Weird. I know.

I do bite the inside of my mouth too...like other posters. That's weird too.

Some kind of mouth fixation? I find it SOOO odd that people just out of the blue stopped biting their nails, but we all bite our lips/inside of our mouths.....

Funny enough I was biting the inside of my mouth when I started reading this thread....

karleen

me but i dont know why! i just wanted nice long nails. painting them helps a lot but you probably dont wanna do that!

SofaKingRad

I took on smoking when I was quitting my nail biting habits. It's such a terrible vice to have!

cynthiaj777

I stopped cold turkey :laugh: I was biting my nail at work like I always did and a piece of tooth broke off, that was enough for me.

lol...yep! Thata do it!

When I got my braces off in January, I had the ortho file down my front teeth to match because one had a nick in it from where I used to chew and/or open things with my teeth. I'm assuming nails had a toll on it too.

I just complained to my bff Sunday about how I can't chew/bite/open things...even my nails anymore since having my teeth straightened. Sometimes I get hang nails, and it is so frustrating that I can't grip it anymore with my teeth to get it!

robinxhope

I really need to stop. I'm the worst. And I work in a very high stress place that you don't want to put your hands anywhere near your face. Although I tend to bite at home mostly when I have too much time to worry and no where to channel it. I wish there was a quick fix for this one. But I gotta just do it.

Pfauxmeh

I stopped when I figured out all the bacteria I was ingesting while I was doing it made me frequently sick!

ProudMomoftwo

Yes, three out of four of us have stopped.
I was a terrible nail biter up until the age of 11.
One day, I saw my mother's pretty fingernails while she was driving us home from school and we were stopped at a stoplight.
I told her then, I wanted pretty nails like hers.
They weren't all done up or anything - just neat and trim with clear polish on them.
I remember what she said like it was yesterday...."You will have to set your mind to keeping them out of your mouth and you can have pretty nails of your own".
That is what it took - I had to decide to do it.

My husband also was a nail biter. At age 43 he decided he wasn't going to do it anymore. He didn't like the way they looked and he knew what his hands were in every day at work. He chewed them mostly in the PM in front of the tv.
It took him trial and error but within about 3 months he had it done.

My daughter also was a nail biter until the age of 11. She is 14 now and she does a beautiful job with her nails. She would sit on hers when she would want to chew them....lol.
We tried everything with her too - gum, the special bad tasting stuff you put on each nail, reminders, band-aids...everything.
In the end, she had to decide she didn't want to chew them anymore. When she was serious enough about it, then I through her a nail party and got her a kit by Konad. She loved the party and all her friends and moms came and it was a big deal and we had a lot of fun. She still enjoys her Konad kit to this day and likes to do her own nails, mine, and anyone else too.


I am thankful my son never started biting his nails.

Good luck with it.

takehimaway

I've bit them my whole life, not gonna stop anytime soon; I also smoke and eat a million sunflower seeds a day.

darkmouzy

I had a really bad habit, and still do it from time to time but only if i happen to chip a nail and it snags.

I noticed i tended to do it when i was stressed out, anxious, nervous, and since i've begun working out I find that I don't do it as often and have full confidence that i will stop.

(plus in my line of work you are not allowed to have nails haha so they are always super short nothing to chew!)

PANZERIA

Bump - I just got gel nails put on yesterday. I've been biting my nails since I was 5 years old and have damaged them quite severely. I'm also a 'picker,' meaning I literally dig into the skin on my fingers as well. It's all nervousness and stress, but I'm hoping these gel nails work. I'm having a tough time keeping my fingers away from my face, though. =( On the plus side, I haven't bitten yet and it's been 24 hours!!!! =D

leannems

I stopped biting them when I started taking care of them. Manicures, painting them - making my cuticles look nice.

I was always afraid to shake someone's hand and have them look down and think gross - taking care of them and not wanting that is what did it for me.

celesteflenory

It IS a mental thing. I started getting my nails done and the acrylic helped to protect my nail, but when I started to feel the economic pinch, it was no longer in my budget. I started buffing, shaping, and polishing my nails on my own. When the nails grew out, I took a picture of my hands, how nice they looked. It worked for a while, then stress hit me, and I had a relapse. My nails looked horrible. Especially because I had bitten several of them down to the quick and the skin around them.
I took a picture of those hands to. I am back on my shape, buff, polish routine. And when I find my hands in my mouth, I stick a piece of sugar free chewing gum and chew it instead. I also look at that pic of my hands next to the one with nails. There is a huge difference, and I have to tell myself that people see both sets of hands. I also keep a nail file on me; I find that when stress levels are high, or if my nail splits and catches, I am more likely to bite the nail .

Evelyn_Gorfram

One thing about my nails is they used to chip and flake a lot. That made them get caught in fabrics, and would lead to my nibbling at the little imperfection; which can easily lead to tearing off a too-big chunk of nail. When I started supplementing with Vitamin D, the nails became thicker and stronger for the first time in my life.

^this^

I started carrying a pair of nail clippers (my weapon of choice) and using them instead of my teeth to trim snags and hangnails. Can't say that I *never* bite anymore, but at the moment I have no bloody patches and 9 nails long enough to show white at end (right index fingernail had to be trimmed to the quick after my last round of housework).

xHelloQuincyx

omgggg *bump*

my nails and skin around them are raw. the only thing that makes me stop is thinking about how many germs i am putting in my mouth, but i ususally absent mindedly do it anyways

i am also quiting smoking so that dosnt help...

my nails are always painted, and that dosnt help either... :c

Meaganandcheese

I had to get acryllic nails to break the habit. Now getting regular manicures and just keeping them in good shape in general really helps.

BrendaLee

Try putting an elastic band on your wrist and pinging it every time you catch yourself biting your nails -- negative reinforcement. It worked for my daughter. She eventually went back to biting them, so I think we'll have to break out the rubber band again.

kak2m4

I am a recovered nail biter. it takes a LOT of willpower, but every time you go to start biting your nails, stop yourself and do something else, or just simply stop yourself because you're trying to break the habit. Eventually you will not think about or want to do it. It takes time though.