Nail Biting And Coronavirus (COVID-19)

2020 has gone down as the year where coronavirus affected the entire world in many different ways and to differing degrees. For nail biters though, COVID brings an extra level of caution since putting our fingers anywhere near our mouth is now even more dangerous than it was previously.

Don’t touch your face with your hands!

Keep your hands away from your mouth!

Wash and sanitize your hands regularly!

Wear a mask!

We’ve probably all heard these and other recommendations from medical professionals. COVID-19 has changed the way many (most?) people view hand cleanliness but has it changed anything for those of us who bite our nails?

We Can’t Help It

Humans love touching our face and mouth with our hands. We can’t help it. According to a 2015 study, humans touch their face about 23 times per hour including 36% of the time touching the mouth specifically.

While we’re still learning about COVID, we understand that we can become infected through droplets when we are in close proximity to an infected individual who coughs or sneezes. We may also become infected by touching something like a doorknob or other surface that comes into contact with the virus.

For us nail biters, it’s a double whammy because not only can we now get an infection in our fingers from biting our nails, we increase the chance of becoming infected with COVID, too.

Nail Biting And Coronavirus

The problem with biting our nails is that those of us who are nail biting veterans have this activity so ingrained in our daily routine, that many times it’s completely subconscious. When I mention that while writing pages on this website I will take a short break from typing to read what I’ve just written and immediately start to bite or pick my nails, I’m not kidding! I actually do this and it’s almost subconscious to the point where I barely notice doing it.

And nail biting tends to be quick. It only takes a split second to stick your finger in your mouth or start picking your nails without even thinking about it.

According to the CDC, here’s how you can reduce the chances you contract COVID-19:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

Source: CDC

So these are all common sense (I think) suggestions. Certainly outside of the use of hand sanitizer which is really only a modern phenomenon, the other guidelines for washing hands and avoidance of skin touching are fairly established principles to follow at all times. Anything to help keep yourself clean and safe makes sense.

Of course if you’re wearing a mask, it’s also unlikely you’ll be able to bite your nails. Food for thought.

Conclusion

• The relationship between nail biting and coronavirus (COVID-19) is simple: You need to keep your dirty hands out of your mouth or you run the risk of increasing the chance you will get infected.
• We’ve already discussed the infection that can occur from biting your nails but COVID-19 adds a new, more dangerous aspect to this equation.
• A side benefit of wearing a mask? You can’t bite your nails.