It ‘s insanitary and ugly to look at: Nail biting is so a wont that most parents want their kids to outgrow and populate without every bit early as possible. What causes this awful wont to develop in kids? How can it be stopped?
Nail Biting Defined
Nail biting, medically called “ Onychophagia ” , is an unwritten compulsive wont that affects both males and females of all ages. It is a common idiosyncrasy that a individual does when he is experiencing dying – like when being nervous about executing on phase, stressed about crushing a certain deadline, worried about looking stupid in forepart of friends, or excited about an approaching party. Even in uneventful occasions like merely being hungry or bored, some still resort to nail seize with teething to alleviate them of the anxiousness.
Harmonizing to Baltimore County head-shrinker, Dr. Carol Watkins, nail biting occurs somewhat more in males than in females and is a behavior that transcends any civilization and geographic location. It is seen in 28 % to 33 % of childs aged 7 to 10 old ages old and in about half – approximately 44 % – of striplings and adolescents. Nail biting is besides reported in 19 % to 29 % of immature grownups and in approximately 10 to 20 % of grownup work forces and adult females.
The Cause of Nail Biting
Medical experts have long been funny about the ground behind nail biting. Harmonizing to Dr. Watkins, one of the earliest theories that have been believed to be the cause of nail biting is the Freudian position – a psychological position that means it had something to make with an unwritten arrested development. This theory is no longer a popular sentiment and is replaced by other behavioral and biological positions.
Today, experts are researching the possibilities that nail biting is a erudite wont or it is caused by a relation of obsessive-compulsive upset. Other followings of genetic sciences think that nail biting may be an familial feature, since it has been observed to run in households. Another theory is that it is an overdone training behavior, like what has been observed in some carnal species ( like Pan troglodytess ) .
Until today, there is no individual accepted cause of nail seize with teething behavior. Whatever the ground behind it, one thing is for certain: there is a comfort-stress-relief facet for a batch of people who bite their nails. Harmonizing to Dr. Watkins, the cause of nail biting may be different for each person. Although for many it ‘s associated with anxiousness, other surveies report that non all people nibble their fingernails because they are dying about something.
The Perils of Nail Biting
The act of seize with teething one ‘s fingernails is normally harmless and childs can outgrow the wont by themselves when they reach maturity. If you see your kid seize with teething his nails one time in a piece during times when he is experiencing diffident or nervous, there is truly nil to be alarmed approximately. Equally long as you guarantee that your kid ‘s custodies are clean most of the clip, he ‘ll be all right.
Harmonizing to Dr. Ella Toombs, a skin doctor at Dupont Circle, nail seize with teething can do no serious or long-run medical jobs, but it can be unattractive. She said that prolonged nail biting can take to cosmetically unacceptable fingernail beds due to swelling and marking of tissue. Broken and conceited tegument, Dr. Toombs explains, is more susceptible to clamber infection.
Deformed and infected fingers are non merely painful, it can besides be abashing. The embarrassment of unsightly fingers can do your kid to turn up with low ego regard and insecurities later in life.
Nail biting may besides be a mark of other emotional or mental upsets like OCD ( obsessional compulsive upset ) . Peoples with utmost instances of nail biting can gnaw their nails up to a point of making their ain flesh, without them even detecting it… Ouch!
In many reported instances, the act of nibbling one ‘s fingernail is merely one of the many ticks they develop to reenforce their anxiousness degrees. Other ticks include thumb-sucking, nose-picking and hair-twisting. Some utmost instances even report nail seize with teething piece kiping as a subconscious effort to turn to their anxiousness.
Helping your yearling halt
In a nutshell, nail biting is most likely something that of course goes off in clip, but if your kid wo n’t be able to ablactate off the wont, it may take to unpleasant consequences as enumerated above. As a parent, you can assist your kid get rid of the biting for good by seeking out a few suggestions below:
Address your kid ‘s anxiousness. Do n’t peck
Did you know that by shouting “ NO! ” to a kid who is seize with teething a nail may merely be reenforcing the wont? Many first clip parents may non cognize this, but alternatively of assisting your kid trade with his emphasis, shouting “ no ” at him could merely decline it.
Harmonizing to rearing pedagogue Janis Keyser, co-author of “ Becoming the Parent You Want to Be ” , the usual response when a kid is making something that worries the parents is that they try to halt the behavior. Keyser explains that it is indispensable that parents cover with the underlying cause of the behavior that worries them and turn to the cause.
To turn to whatever is doing your kid ‘s anxiousness, talk to him. Ask why he is seize with teething his nails. What makes him uncomfortable? What worries him? After happening out whatever causes the emphasis, reassure him that everything will be okay. By reassuring a kid, you are assisting his anxiousness degrees go down and hopefully, the nail seize with teething episodes will follow.
Replace the wont with other distractions.A
If your kid is excessively small to understand what frightens or worries him, you can still assist halt the wont by replacing it with another distraction – like a plaything, for illustration, or holding him watch an educational show on Television. You can convey him to get down speaking or vocalizing, as this would do his oral cavity excessively busy to seize with teeth.
To maintain his custodies busy while still executing other activities, you can give him a emphasis ball, a non-toxic putty plaything, or a smooth stone that he can play with while reading or watching Television. Put his accomplishment spines on his fingernails alternatively of other parts of his organic structure to do him witting non to set his manus on his oral cavity, at least for the twenty-four hours.
Put a good illustration
As the popular expression goes, “ Kung Fatah Revolutionary Council Air National Guard ginagawa ng nakatatanda, ay syang nagiging tama SA mata nanogram Bata ” ( Actions of grownups are all presumed correct in the eyes of a kid ) . If you constantly remind your kid of how beautiful your fingers are because you do n’t seize with teeth them and maintain them clean or kept, it could convert him or her to emulate your illustration. Just do certain that you offer positive support and that you do n’t do him or her feel bad approximately himself/herself as this could convey an inauspicious consequence.
Keep them short and clean
Keep your kid ‘s fingernails short so there is less to seize with teeth. Monitor your kid ‘s behavior after this – if he continues to seize with teeth his flesh to a point that it bleeds, you may necessitate to see other options.
It is besides of import that you wash your kid ‘s custodies invariably, like before repasts and after drama clip. Nail seize with teething facilitates germ transportation from the custodies to the oral cavity and this can be a cause of a myriad of bacterial and viral diseases to develop.
If he asks for aid, back up him
If your kid attacks you and state you he needs your aid to halt the wont, like after being teased at school for ugly fingernails, so this is a good mark. This means that he is ready to do an attempt and you can assist by reminding him that he is seize with teething his fingernails once more during times when he forgets. Keeping your kid aware of the act is of import in this exercising.
Give him options that will function as your secret reminder – like a watchword or a manus signal – that merely the two of you understand so he does n’t acquire embarrassed in forepart of his friends. Make certain that he chooses the reminder himself, so that he will be more receptive to your attempts.
If your kid is older, possibly its clip you consider other signifiers of intervention for nail biting. Check out some of the popular manners of intervention used to kick the wont below. Consult your household baby doctor to find which intervention is best for your kid.
Nail Biting Treatments for older kids
There are many effectual interventions recommended by both medical experts and former rodents themselves, but of class the consequences depend per person. Some may react to intervention and some wo n’t, so you have to be patient in assisting your kid overcome this. Here are some of the most popular interventions to stop nail biting in older kids ( even grownups ) .
Raising the will to halt – allow your kid recognize that his nail seize with teething wont can merely stop if he or she wills it. It is really non every bit effectual as other interventions since nail biting is normally a subconscious act, but it is the least permeant of them all and least expensive.
Harmonizing to Dr. Watkins, what ‘s key here is for the nail biter to go cognizant of the exact clip and topographic point where the nibbling begins. Harmonizing to experts, you can assist your kid will his wont off by promoting him to get down a diary. This diary should maintain path of the minutes that trigger his nail biting episodes – is it while watching Television? Listening to a instructor talk in category? Once the cases have been identified, state your kid to put reminders to halt biting during these important minutes. You can make this by composing some words of encouragement on gluey notes and topographic point it on his notebook, or salvage a reminder on his nomadic phone calendar or computing machine, etc.
If your kid is a female, give her a appeal watchband that jingles so that every clip her manus gets to her oral cavity, the sound can catch her attending.
Nail gloss or pick – you can promote your teenage girl to have on nail gloss to forestall her from seize with teething her nails once more. Nail gloss does n’t hold to be coloured, you may get down your adolescent with colorless nail gloss if her school wo n’t let colored 1s.
There are besides particular nail glosss developed specifically to turn to nail biting. These particular nail glosss leave a bitter or spicy aftertaste even after drying up so that the 1 who wears it wo n’t be excessively happy savoring it from her nails. There are besides particular picks that have serve the same purpose – go forth a bad aftertaste to deter manus & A ; mouth reach – while giving your hapless nails excess foods that help maintain it strong and healthy.
Medicines – In instances where nail biting is simply a symptom of terrible emphasis or depression, physicians can order anti-depressants such as setraline, clomipramine, or Prozac for nail biting. To augment the anti-depressants, a patient may besides be prescribed with a little dosage of anti-psychotics like olazapine, ziprasidone, or quetiapine.
Behavioural Therapy – Habit-reversal behavioral preparation is available to assist patients “ unlearn ” their bad wonts like nail biting. Normally, the preparation involves replacing your bad wont with a positive 1. Behavioral therapy can be combined with medicine to accomplish better consequences in patients.
Hypnotherapy – O.k. , this may sound chilling, but many nail biters have had great success with hypnosis.A Since nail biting is most of the clip a subconscious act, so accepting intervention from the subconscious degree makes sense.A In the US, parents are given the option to either conveying their kid to a hypnotherapist or order a “ stop nail biting ” hypnotherapy tape.
Different shots for different folks
Different childs prefer different techniques to halt their nail biting wonts. Since there is no manner to cognize which intervention will work for your kid unless your attempt it, you may hold to execute a “ trial-and-error ” attack if one does n’t work.
What is of import here is that you allow your kid to experience he is a spouse in this enterprise. The more he feels like you ‘re penalizing him for his wont, the less likely you ‘ll win in seting an terminal to it. Ensure that even if the intervention fails, you still supply positive support and reassurance at all times.
