Why Is Nail Biting Bad? (Health Concerns)

Nail biters are probably already aware of the obvious side effects of nail biting. Ugly looking nails and fingers. Pain when you bite too much of the nail off. Bleeding. These are the side effects we all experience, those of us who have been biting our nails for years. But what about other side effects, health related ones, that you may have never experienced or do experience but didn’t realize it was due to your nail biting?

Nail biting introduces germs and bacteria into the body which may lead to mouth infections and gum irritation while also increasing the chances of the common cold. You also increase the chances of multiple finger infections like paronychia which you can then introduce to your mouth. Nail biting also puts concentrated stress on teeth as you press your hard nail against the hard surface of your tooth which can lead to tooth cracking or breaking. If you have orthodontic braces, it may additionally not only impair your treatment but also increase the chance you suffer from root problems with your teeth which are already at elevated levels from the braces.

There is also the question of the medical treatment and classification of those of us who bite our nails. Certainly the degree to which we bite our nails is important but the way we are classified by the medical community is up for discussion, too.

Medical Research

In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) deemed nail biting as an impulse control disorder in their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). The DSM-5 additionally moved nail biting from being considered “not otherwise classified” to “obsessive-compulsive and related disorders.”

Certainly, not all nail biters have the same level of concern. The occasional nail biter or nail picker isn’t the same as someone who obsessively bites their nails to the point that it reaches a specific level of clinical severity that causes disruptions in that person’s life ie. finger and hand damage, repeated infections.

And are all of us who bite our nails obsessively and compulsively doing it? Obsessive refers to doing something constantly and excessively. Compulsively refers to doing something irresistibly, as if to say that you just can’t stop yourself from doing it. Is this accurate?

Pathological Grooming

Pathological grooming refers to activities including nail biting, hair pulling and skin picking. People who engage in these activities at the extreme end get to the point where they do them automatically without even thinking about it. Kind of like when we bite or pick our nails and barely even notice that we’re doing it, if we notice at all.

When the DSM-5 was being prepared, people got word that the APA was additionally planning on lumping people who deal with pathological grooming in with people who have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Is this accurate?

Nail Biting As A Reward

I came across an interesting story that quoted a psychiatrist named Carol Mathews who at the time of publishing specialized in people with pathological grooming issues. She commented that in her professional opinion and experience pathological grooming and OCD are very different. While an OCD activity like excessive hand washing or checking a stove or other appliance repeatedly to make sure it is turned off was an undesired activity that the person would prefer they didn’t feel like they had to do, a pathological grooming issue like nail biting is very different.

Dr Mathews then gave a quote that I completely understood regarding nail biting that you may also appreciate and agree with regarding the pleasure of nail biting:

It’s rewarding. It feels good. When you get the right nail, it feels good. It’s kind of a funny sense of reward, but it’s a reward.

NPR

I totally understand this statement and have experienced it many times. Conversely, the good feeling you get quickly dissipates when you look at the result of your suddenly short and ugly looking nail(s) especially when you bite too much off and it hurts your finger or makes it bleed.

And if you get a mouth or finger infection from your nail biting, you’ll feel worse still.

Conclusion

• Nail biting can be responsible for a number of obvious side effects like ugly looking nails, bleeding and even pain when when we bite too much of the nail off.
• But nail biting can also lead to more serious problems including mouth and finger infections.
• Nail biting can also cause problems to the teeth (cracking, breaking) and even to the root of the teeth which are put under tremendous stress through the biting of nails.
• Tooth damage to the root can be exacerbated if you have orthodontic braces.