Nail biting

I don't know if this is exactly the right place for this to go, but Open Discussion didn't seem right for it.

I'm a habitual nail-biter, and it's starting to hurt when I play guitar, especially songs with lots of bends in them. I would stop, but I do it almost subconsciously, and I find my nails have been chewed away to nothing before I even notice I'm biting them.

Have any of you ever had this problem? How'd you get over it? Is there some sort of nail-biting patch I can wear?

hmmm. i know theres some thing for kids that suck their thumbs... the parents put this nasty tasting stuff on their kid's thumb, and it stays there... and the kid would always get this nasty taste in their mouth when they tried sucking it.

if you get your hands on this stuff, try putting it on your fingertips... when you go in for the bite, you should be sickened by the awful taste.

who knows, could to the trick.

Nail biter myself. :o

Bad habit. But after 30+ years ?????? after all the guitar playingI have done --hate to say this-- know exactly how far to "bite" my nails. :rolleyes:

Its a habit just like overeating, drinking, smoking. Except this won't kill ya'. I could use a nail clipper but find that after all of these years -- I know exactly how far down to bite my nails and with an emory board (to clean up those rough edges :D {gross}).

I have nicely manicured nails.

Know the problem you face the pain stems around the outside edges. Recomendation--stop biting and keep a small keychain clipper with you at all times or find out just "hoe far to bite you r nails etc." If not get you a spouse that can look past this little "problem" or "learn to adapt and overcome soldier" and jam on!!!

Originally Posted by: rockonn91hmmm. i know theres some thing for kids that suck their thumbs... the parents put this nasty tasting stuff on their kid's thumb, and it stays there... and the kid would always get this nasty taste in their mouth when they tried sucking it.

if you get your hands on this stuff, try putting it on your fingertips... when you go in for the bite, you should be sickened by the awful taste.

who knows, could to the trick.

I've heard of that before as well, and it's not a bad idea. Only thing is, it doesn't work for me. Having stuff on my hands bothers me, and whenever I have tried something like that, I absentmindedly wash it off within minutes.

Thanks for the advice anyway.....you too, jimmy.

hmmm, yeah I dont blame you, I wouldnt ever put that crap on my hands if you payed me. It was just the only thing that came to mind.

Remember this.....

You can get intestinal worms from chewing your fingernails. Not from the nails themselves, but the dirt that get's underneath them. You'd be surprised how many eggs of those types of worms are under your nails.

Try to imagine having worms everytime you chew your nails. May or may not help...

Originally Posted by: JFRICKRemember this.....

You can get intestinal worms from chewing your fingernails. Not from the nails themselves, but the dirt that get's underneath them. You'd be surprised how many eggs of those types of worms are under your nails.

Try to imagine having worms everytime you chew your nails. May or may not help...

Interesting.......

Thanks, man, that just might do the trick!

Biting the nails can result in the transportation of germs that are buried under the surface of the nail into the mouth. In fact, nail salons use tools that potentially affect a human in a similar way. “If they (nail tools such as files) are used on different people, these tools may spread nail fungi, staph bacteria or viruses,” warns Rick Lopes, a spokesperson for the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. In fact, over 100 bacterial skin infections in 2000 were traced to footbaths in nail salons. Thus, one can see that many pathogens have the ability to "live" inside of a nail, and because of this biting the nails can potentially cause health issues.

Nail biting also has the negative side effect of restraining the use of the hands. A compulsive nailbiter can be restricted in their ability to work (i.e. writing, typing, drawing, driving) because their hand is in their mouth.

A long-time habit of nailbiting may have detrimental effects on the substantia adamantinea of the front teeth, promoting caries in these areas.

think of nail biting as sticking your hand into a whole bunch of crap then stuffing it up your mouth

i mean, you don't know where your fingers have been and some guys don't even wash their hands and if you've been in a public place or touched a door knob or something, where other guys who didn't wash their hands touched, and sick people also touched. Don't bite your nails.


funny, while i was thinking about what to write, i started biting on my nail.

sit on it or look for another habit...like...

rolling ur hair..then look at urself in the mirror while doing it

Originally Posted by: jeffhxsit on it or look for another habit...like...

rolling ur hair..then look at urself in the mirror while doing it

thten you turn bald.

Originally Posted by: jeffhxsit on it or look for another habit...like...

rolling ur hair..then look at urself in the mirror while doing it

Finding another habit is actually very good advice. You just reminded me that if I keep my hands busy when I'm just sitting there watching TV, I don't bite my nails as much. Anything at all, really. Sitting on them, cracking my knuckles, playing with my nose, whatever.

You should take some hot sauce or something very spicy and put it on your finger nails/tips when your not playing guitar. If you go to bite them, you will be sure to notice the taste haha. But on a serious note, I don't have this problem so I don't have any other practical solutions besides the hotsauce.

Peace.

When I was about 6 years old.

I had a really bad problem with biting my nails,

So one day my dad decided to help me with my problem, and he rubbed jalapenos(which I absoluty hated at the time) under my nails so I would stop biting them.

it worked pretty well... just until I went to urinate :eek:

LMAO!! I can still remember myself running around the house Screaming :D :D

ok.. so this really smart guy knew that biting nails can sometimes be a problem. well anyway, he was an inventor and knew how to work with metal and sharp objects, so he created a device that would ease you of your nail problems, and he named it "nail ctter" so it will be easy to be remembered wen needed. Use it! you need it.

I just realized I don't really bite my nails that much. I bite the skin around and under the nails, which is far worse.

Originally Posted by: JFRICKRemember this.....

You can get intestinal worms from chewing your fingernails. Not from the nails themselves, but the dirt that get's underneath them. You'd be surprised how many eggs of those types of worms are under your nails.

Try to imagine having worms everytime you chew your nails. May or may not help...

I am a nail biter as well and have been getting worse lately for some reason. Its funny, I pulled my fingers out of my mouth as soon as I read your post.

I bit my nails from early childhood, to about the time I turned 18...you would be suprised how far I could bite my nails, it was nasty.

This is going to sound like a stupid solution, but it worked for me. I would designate 1 nail on each hand, that you are allowed to bite...all others are off limits. If you find yourself biting an off limit nail, stop immediatley, and if u still have the urge to bite, bite the 1 you designated.

It's kind of like "weaning" yourself out of the habit, and eventually, you wont want to bite the other 2 because they look disfigured compared to your other nails.

Once again, sounds retarded, but, it got me out of the habit!

Originally Posted by: AkiraPerhaps the most unhelpful answer in this thread.

Nail biting isn't for the sake of lazyness, it's a habit, people do it when they're nervous, stressed, some even do it for no reason other than out of habit.

wow me and you think completely different. Thats not what I meant when i wrote that. I meant, you can't bite whats not there.

Today there are nail biting deterrent devices that you put on your teeth they will make you stop biting your nails since once their on there's no way you can bite your nails and cuticles even if you realy want to. No reason to suffer from this in 2020 I used nail-biting-solution.com they are an international clinic that sends the devices to you, I'm quite sure there are others in the states, I did this a few years ago and I don't bite my nails anymore, does someone have a recommendation for a good nail hardener for guys, all the ones I tried are glossy :(

I need it to strengthen my chicken pickin

Originally Posted by: liornir88

Today there are nail biting deterrent devices that you put on your teeth they will make you stop biting your nails since once their on there's no way you can bite your nails and cuticles even if you realy want to. No reason to suffer from this in 2020 I used nail-biting-solution.com they are an international clinic that sends the devices to you, I'm quite sure there are others in the states, I did this a few years ago and I don't bite my nails anymore, does someone have a recommendation for a good nail hardener for guys, all the ones I tried are glossy :(

I need it to strengthen my chicken pickin

I read somewhere that you can strengthen your nails with "Acrylic Powder". This was to be applied in conjunction with some kind of nail polish or other kind of adhesive binder. The guy that talked about this was a finger picker and needed to strengthen their nails so they would hold up to his steel strings. It sounded like an interesting idea, but I have to admit that I have never seen "Acrylic Powder" for sale anywhere.

Another idea is to get some fake nails attached to the fingers you use to pick with. From what I understand these are very good for a few weeks before they need replacement.