6 Horrifying Dangers of Nail-Biting That Should Make You Stop This Habit Right Away

Last Updated on 2022-05-14 , 2:22 pm

We’ve all bitten our nails at least once or twice in our lives, either as a reflexive action to stressful stimuli, or just a habit that we can’t really seem to kick.

But, you might think, it’s just nail-biting, what’s wrong with that? Everyone does that!

I’m sure that most of us never thought twice about this habit, but did you know that nail-biting results in more than just a handful of ugly nails?

Here are six terrifying facts about nail-biting, and if you’re one of the ones who couldn’t seem to stop biting your nails, well, you might just find the motivation to quit it once and for all after reading through this article.

Bacterial infection

Do you remember how your mom told you to wash your hand before dinner? I’m sure most of us don’t do this now, but we still remember the rationale behind it, right? This is because our hands have been touching the door knob, the lift button, our shoes, our noses and the poles on the trains and buses; if that’s not all, it’s been shown that our fingernails are twice as dirty as our fingers, with bacteria often getting stuck under our fingernails.

Now, imagine where those bacteria goes to when you bite on your fingernails? You’re introducing these bacteria into your body system, which might lead to infections to the gum or mouth. I’ve not even gone on to say how long these germs have been hiding under your nails.

Toxic Poisoning

Okay, this is more applicable for girls, but still pretty scary nonetheless. Regular nail polish has plenty of toxins, and gel polish, even more. By biting on your nails, you’d be ingesting chemicals that are not meant to be ingested.

Although the toxin level ingested might be minuscule each time, would you want to test your luck to see if the toxin will build up to a level which endangers your life?

Fungal growths

If you bite your fingers too much, you might subject yourself to paronychia, a type of skin infection which might lead to swelling and redness, or even oozing pus because microorganisms like fungi and yeast infect your nails. Yikes!

Tooth damage

It’s not only your fingers that will experience the damage; your teeth might sustain damage, too. Imagine spending thousands on braces to straighten your teeth, only to realize your nail-biting habit has caused them to become unaligned, misshapen and weakened. Just imagine, thousands of dollars going down the drain.

And remember, our teeth are made for food. Never for hard stuff like your nails.

Ingrown nails

It’s not only your toenails that suffer from ingrown nails; apparently it’s been said that nail-biters stand a higher risk of getting ingrown nails on their hands as well. We are all aware of how painful ingrown nails are, don’t we?

You’d have to deal with swelling and pain, at best. If not, you’d have to go for a day surgery to cut the ingrown part out. Ouch!

Makes you appear to be low on self-confidence

Okay, this isn’t a physical pain, but nail-biting is perceived to be a “nervous habit”. People who bite their nails are thought to be self-conscious and low in self-confidence, which can really hurt your chances when you’re trying to network or know more people.

Plus, you’ll look bad in front of anyone. I mean, nail-biting during a job interview? *next*