What Is Onychophagia?

Onychophagia refers to the condition that causes people to compulsively bite their nails. More specifically, it is:

considered a pathological oral habit and grooming disorder characterized by chronic, seemingly uncontrollable nail biting that is destructive to fingernails and the surrounding tissue. 

Psychology Today

Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs)

Onychophagia is a condition that is considered to be a body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB). BFRBs are defined as:

a set of disorders categorized by self-grooming routines that essentially go awry. These include pulling, picking, biting, or scraping one’s hair, skin, or nails.

Psychology Today

Specific BFRBs include nail biting, cheek biting, skin picking, compulsive nose picking and hair pulling among others.

BFRB Prevalence

The prevalence of people who suffer from one or more BFRB is interesting to discuss because the more you research the subject, the more prevalent it appears to be. As with nail biting specifically, research on BFRBs in general is a relatively new field. And research that is done on BFRBs often focuses on individual conditions rather than treating people who might have multiple instances.

It is often suggested that BFRBs may affect 3% – 5% of the population. But The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors suggests in a recent study of college students that the numbers may be much higher. In a study of 4,435 students the following was discovered:

• 72% of study participants engaged in a BFRB in the previous month.
• 60% of instances were not considered severe enough for a diagnosis.
• 12% of instances were considered severe enough for a diagnosis.
• Cheek biting was the single most common occurrence of BFRB.

Source: BFRB

In both cases above where the BFRB was either considered to be severe enough for a diagnosis or not severe enough for a diagnosis, the majority of respondents with BFRB were female.

Nail Biting As A BFRB

BFRB.org goes to to specifically discuss nail biting and suggests that while it is not specifically defined as a mental disorder, nail biting is classified in the category of “Other Specified Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder.”

BFRB.org shows what we already know about nail biting: That it hasn’t really been studied to any significant degree until relatively recently and as a result, the exact prevalence of nail biting hasn’t been confirmed. Here is what BFRB says about what they know about the prevalence of Onychophagia:

It is estimated that 20%-30% of the general population engages in chronic nail biting although prevalence estimates greatly vary, with estimates ranging from 12% to 44%. 

BFRB

So it’s a very large range and potentially up to 44% of the population who bite their nails on a regular basis.

BFRB Triggers

Nail biting like many other repetitive activities and conditions is often caused by a trigger(s) that we may or may not even be aware of. We may bite our nails during periods of stress, anxiety or boredom. Or we may even bite nails when engaged in another activity like watching tv or reading a book. I’ve noticed that I often bite my nails as a break of sorts in between activities. I’ve caught myself numerous times picking my nails while putting this website together reading over what I just finished writing about nail biting. Then I go back to typing again and the nail biting stops, at least for awhile.

Your triggers might be different and they might not even be ones you’re aware of. Often, getting the help of another person like a friend or significant other can be beneficial. They can make you aware of each time you bite your nails to help you get an idea of how often you do it and what circumstances cause you to do it.

Onychophagia Side Effects

There are a number of potential side effects of onychophagia depending on the severity and frequency that you bit your nails. The obvious visual appearance of your nails is the first side effect that comes to mind but there are potentially more serious outcomes that you may or may not have considered.

Nail biting behavior can not only result in unappealing cosmetic appearance, shame, guilt, and embarrassment, but may also cause significant damage to the cuticles and nails, bacterial and viral infection, cellulitis, abscess, injury to the soft tissue lining the mouth, dental problems, temporomandibular dysfunction, and osteomyelitis. Stigmatization by family and other social groups is also frequently of concern.

BFRB.org

A few points in this statement hit home for me personally.

Unappealing cosmetic appearance: On the one hand, I admit that I don’t spend much time thinking about what my bitten nails look like as I’m used to seeing them this way. And if I really wanted to do something about it, presumably I’d stop biting them, right? As they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. On the other hand, if my wife or daughters ask to see my nails to see how short and bitten they are, I won’t show them or try my best to hide them.

Self damage and infections: This statement above got me to thinking because the truth is that I have never really worried about damaging my hands of fingernails when biting them because I’m not into self harm. I’ve also been biting them long enough that I generally know how far I can go before it hurts and I don’t go that far. The infection part is what caught my attention though because I’m generally a very clean person, or at least I try to be. Biting ones nails is a very dirty habit when you think about it. I hate watching another person sticking their fingers in their mouth and biting their nails. I can’t figure out why it isn’t gross enough for me to stop doing it though.

Stigmatization by family: My wife and younger daughter especially notice me picking my nails and try to get me to stop. Rather than stopping though I try to be quiet and unnoticeable when I do it in front of them or try to only do it when they’re not around.

Conclusion

• Onychophagia is the clinical name for compulsive nail biting and is considered to be a body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB).
• Studies suggest that nail biting might range from 12% – 44% of the population. The wide range is due to the fact that the phenomenon has only been studied over the past few decades and it’s also difficult to pin down the exact numbers.
• BRFBs in general tend to first occur in our younger years as teens and early adulthood.
• Check out my page on How To Quit Biting Your Nails for some strategies that might help you kick the habit for good.