Nail-biting is a very common habit and although it is not frowned upon by people, it turns out that this habit is often more harmful to your health than you think, and after knowing what causes this unpleasant habit, you will think twice before putting your fingers in your mouth.
The medical term by which it is known is Onychophagia which refers to an uncontrolled urge to bite one’s nails, a disorder of oral health and grooming. It has been confirmed that this habit is learned from childhood and is recurrent until adolescence, but the good news is that most of the time it is withdrawn in adulthood; since it can be replaced by biting pens, smoking, or moving the hair.
Most people who bite their nails claim that they are not conscious when they do it and that it is an uncontrollable activity. The causes of Onychophagia are different for each person, the most common is to calm moments of anxiety, nerves or anguish, daily stress, drastic changes that occur or frustration, anger, low self-esteem, shyness, or perfectionism. Here we list some horrible diseases that can cause you to bite your nails:
1. Paronychia
Paronychia is an infection that affects the skin surrounding the fingernails and toenails. Popularly this infection directly attacks the cuticle and in an advanced stage of the disease can cause separation of the skin from the nail. Finger sucking and ingrown toenails are also factors that cause paronychia.
2. Sepsis
This disease occurs when the body has a negative response to a bacterial infection. Substances from the bacteria generate inflammation and lead to the formation of blood clots and leaking of blood vessels, causing poor blood flow. In severe cases of sepsis, organ damage can occur, blood pressure drops and the heart weakens, which can lead to septic shock.
3. HPV
Nail-biting can cause warts on the fingers, which refers to the human papillomavirus. Warts that appear on the fingers are not the same as those that appear on the genitals, but they are still highly contagious. They can spread from mouth to mouth and other parts of the body when a person bites his or her fingernails and brings his or her hands to other areas of the body.
4. Dental damage
Nail biting, cuticle biting, and thumb sucking can lead to dental damage, as it causes problems in the way the upper teeth meet the lower teeth when closing the mouth. This problem weakens the teeth and wears them down.
5. Ingrown nails
Nails have a matrix that is meant to take care of them and when you bite your nails you wear down this matrix. The wear and tear can cause deformity and severe damage that can become chronic.
Story originally published in Cultura Colectiva
