Why do people bite their nails?
358952
Because they've done it ever since they were children; maybe they grew out of the sucking thumb phase and started biting their nails. Other people do it when they're nervous or anxious. Some people do it to trim their nails, seriously! I used to bite my nails out of habit. Then I stopped doing it out of habit and just bit them when they got really long. I think long nails on a guy looks kind of feminine. I've never gotten used to using nail trimmers except for toe nails and nail files are uncomfotable and take so long unless you get a really good file, if there is such a thing.
1098515
No,that is an impossible reason..There's a condition,usually genetic(that is when is transmitted from genaration to genaration),which cause those nasty inproper grow of the nails..See a good specialist,because in the long run you may experience nasty outcomes if neglected..Good luck!!!
287061
Nail biting is a common problem that is largely dismissed as a minor nuisance.  It can be anything from a bad habit to a sign of an emotional disorder.\n\nThe research does not agree on an exact cause for nail biting.  It suggests that nail biting can be the result of stress, anxiety, emotional disorders, learned behaviors, or just plain habit. \n\nThe website I've attached gives quite a bit of information on the subject.  I hope this helps.
339785
There's this stuff at Wal Mart in the nail care aisle that you put on your nails and it tastes like crap.  So if you bite your nail, you get this horrible taste.  Eventually, you'll condition yourself that biting nails=nasty taste.
191856
I bit my nails for a long time when I were a child, but I stopped. Look closely at what might cause it. Is it boredom? Is it stress? Is it hunger? Just playing, seriously, try to substitute this habit with something.\n\nGood luck\n\nP.S. I love getting manicures now
352074
I bit my nails & cuticles for 30 years!!  I stopped so I wouldn't be a bad influence on my kids.  You can do it.  Just allow your self a few oopsies.  I tried to mentally convince my self that it was like eating crap everytime I wanted to bite them.  Good Luck-you can do it!
962692
i myself had a horrid nail-biting habit until about two years ago.... when i got braces.\nmy orthodontist told me that my excessive nail-biting was causing my teeth to grow at an awkward position, and she gave me a bottle of clear nail polish that i was to wear at all times.\ni soon discovered that the nail polish tasted HORRIBLE when you put your mouth to it.... and that pretty much solved everything, since i didnt want a bad taste in my mouth every single day just because i wanted to get a part of my finger in my stomach....\ni think they sell that kind of nail polish at every drug store (CVS, Rite-aid.... etc) and you can ask them for it if you can't find it, cuz believe me, they WILL have it.\nif that doesn't work, another way that one of my friends (an excessive nail-biter also) solved this issue was to keep a fabric-covered hair elastic on her wrist, and whenever she involuntarily brought her nails to her teeth, she would sinap the elastic so that the slight physical pain would bring her back to reality and stop her from taking another bite. \nif you don't want to go that way, you could do it all in your head..... buy yourself a reward if you get through a month without biting your nails, another month, another reward... but that IS a little immature, and it's sorta the way a mother would train a little child, so i wouldn't suggest that.\nyou could also get your nails professionaly-painted, so prettily thaty your friend would NEVER wanna bite her nails again...\nother suggestions may be to:\nwear gloves, but that seems a bit weird, plus, inconvenient\nchew a lot of gum so you don't feel the urge to bite your nails when nervous\n\nhope this helps (for your friend) and that she gets rid of that habit!\nonce you stop biting your nails, you look back and think "why did I EVER do that?"\n\ngood luck!
1147894
Fingernails and Toenails are made from... hair! They are there to protect the sensitive nail bed underneath them. (Ever cut your nails too short... it hurts right? That nail bed isn't being protected like it should anymore!) Also, humans are animals, whether we like it or not, and most animals have nails to help them dig! Don't forget we used to not have grocery stores and such back in the stone age!
519755
Because long nails can harbor bacteria, and nail polish flakes. (yuck!)
621763
I told my ex it made him look like a nervous wreck...it says a lot about you when your nails look bad.  He listened and grew his nails out to their proper length, so that worked.  \n\nSometimes people just need the truth.  When told in a tactful manner, it can be effective.
967147
i'm not understanding the question fully ... everyone has stress some people can deal with that stress more efficently than others.  The people who can't deal with that stress tend to show signs in their actions and bodily responses that the stress is overwhelming. So someone who bites their nails isn't necessarily suffering from GAD but it's likely that someone who has ulcers, bites their nails, twists their hair and taps their foot is someone who is suffereing from anxiety disorder. If my explanation did not help here is wikipedia's ....\n\nnxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal, pathological anxiety, fears, phobias and nervous conditions that may come on suddenly or gradually over a period of several years, and may impair or prevent the pursuing of normal daily routines.\nAnxiety and fear are ubiquitous emotions. The terms anxiety and fear have specific scientific meanings, but common usage has made them interchangeable. For example, a phobia is a kind of anxiety that is also defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV-TR) as a "persistent or irrational fear." Fear is defined as an emotional and physiological response to a recognized external threat (eg, a runaway car or an impending crash in an airplane). Anxiety is an unpleasant emotional state, the sources of which are less readily identified. It is frequently accompanied by physiological symptoms that may lead to fatigue or even exhaustion. Because fear of recognized threats causes similar unpleasant mental and physical changes, patients use the terms fear and anxiety interchangeably. Thus, there is little need to strive to differentiate anxiety from fear. However, distinguishing among different anxiety disorders is important, since accurate diagnosis is more likely to result in effective treatment and a better prognosis.
987377
It's probably a habit or reflex. Maybe it's a sign of nervousness. I think it's cool when they do it.
817343
I fell your pain - i have been doing that my entire life as well.  It's linked to OCD.\nIt's a habit and needs to be broken like any other addiction / habit.  This one is hard, since half the time we don't realize we're doing it until we bite too deep and get a little pain back.  \nA few ideas are aversion therapy -  buy a bottle of the stuff they make so people will stop biting their nails and apply it to the skin around the nails.  If you can't find that, you can get a bottle of bitter apple spray, which stops puppies from chewing and spray it on your hands.\nTry keeping a journal or everytime you catch yourself doing it.  Log what you were doing, what your state of mind was and what triggered it, it you know.  Often we do this as a response to stress or boredom.  \nKeep track of when you don't do it.  Reward yourself for not doing it.  Start with not doing it for 1 day, then increase to two, indrease to 3, and so on.  The experts say it takes at least 3 weeks of not doing something to break a habit.\nGet a manicure - getting your hands to a nice looking state may help you stop (if you're a guy, you don't have to get nail polish put on to have a manicure.)\nHide any tools you use - or better yet, get rid of the all together.  I admit that i've spent some quality time on my hands with a pair of tweezers.  \nThe thing that really made me stop was when i got braces on my teeth i just couldn't physically do it no the habit's faded since then - not that i'm promoting this expensive treatment for skin chewing alone - it was just a nice side effect of getting my teeth straightened.\nAnd finally - know that you are not crazy and you are not alone.\n\nGood luck
351157
Nail biting is a really bad habit....i can say because i do. it is hard to stop because i do it when i am waiting or nervous or have a lot on my mind.  But, it only takes 12 days to form a habit, so.....how long should it take to quit?
243055
We have a horny (keratin) protection on our last phalanxes because we're mammals and almost all mammals have (except for whales and some others); it's something we probably inherited from our synapsid ancestors ("mammal-like reptiles"). \nAnd we have fingernails instead of claws or hooves because we're primates. All great apes have fingernails, whereas "lower" primates have claws. \n\nAt least, that's the evolutionary reason. I'm sorry if you were looking for something more philosophical!
779713
I believe it's because the keratin that makes up your nails grows at different rates - the top grows slightly faster than that on the bottom causing them to cuve.
751961
Chew on their Fingers?