Thread: Cuticle Biting....eeewwww

been there, done that!!!
The only thing that got me to stop is a weekly nail treatment (which I now do myself) and cutical oil...I keep it in my purse with me and when I find myself nibbling I brush on some oil and start buffing using my fingers or Jeans (idealy I should use a soft chamis type cloth.) But it puts my fingers to work instead of in my mouth!! Unfortunately I still nibble, but not as bad as I used to.

MBCRZN,
Thank you, do you recommend any in particular?

Hi - I too bite my cuticles and have recently (last couple of years) started biting on the sides of my thumbs and index fingers. It looks awful. I am biting the skin down to the first knuckle now.

I hate it but don't know what to do to stop it. I am constantly embarassed and always have at least two band aids on my hands which looks just as bad.

Did you get any help after your email or any suggestions?

I went to a hypnotherapist for this problem....it really helped.

Plus, I just got engaged last Tuesday and with that ring on my finger, I don't have any desire to bite.

Hi everybody, If anybody has been doing it less years than mine theyhave got a greater chance to stop. I have been doing cuticle biting+picking for 35 years and doing it viciously. They always looked horrendous. Now I learned a technique you put this elastic band on your wrist (not tight pls)and everytime you get the urge you give yourself a good slap on your wrist with the elastic band to sustitute the pain you get from biting. Soon you get the message. This person stopped it after 1 week. Mine is not a week yet but on the way of healing. Make sure if there is any haging cuticle clip it immediately and put put foot cream (scholl is great) on the cuticles because it is very thick the effect lasts longer than hand creams. Plus gentle filing around cuticles if they are really hard helps before cream.

My cuticles are looking much nicer after few days and I've already put nail varnish on. Very proud. Good luck to you all who bite.


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Originally Posted by imported_nosyla

So I have this very nasty habit that I can't break. I have been doing it ever since I was a little girl. Sometimes I do it and not even know I am doing it.

I bite my skin around my nails (like hang nails & cuticles) all the time. Sometimes I can't stop and I bite so much it bleeds. I know it is GROSS and also all the germs that live under and on your nails, but I don't know how to stop.

I find myself doing it in public and I get really embarrassed, but I can't stop. My boyfriend thinks it is really nasty too. I find myself being sneaky and doing it when know one is around, but as I said above, sometime I don't even know I am doing it.

I get my nails done every two weeks and even get my cuticles cut. It helps, but then after a few days, I see a hanging cuticle and I bite it, then it gets uneven, so I bite the other side.

When I was younger, my Mom tried the bitter apple stuff, but I ended up liking the taste of it and just biting through it. I also tried to wear rubber bands on my nails/cuticles, but I would just end up moving them and biting. I tried gloves, but I live in California and now it is hot. I also put lotion on my hands in the morning and night to prevent the cuticles from breaking, but they do.

Anyone have any advise for me? It is so nasty and I want to stop, but I don't know how. I am addicted to skin biting

I sympathise with all the cuticle biters out there...however i beat the habit last year!!!(I remember how hard it was to grab a pen to write showing as little as possible of my nails because they were so repulsive). It has been a mentally exhausting ordeal throughout my life.
My nails especially the thumb nails were bumpy and ridgy and I even noticed slightly dark lines running along the growth of my nails the last few years.
So last year I decided I had had enough! I went to the doctor and explained my situation.
1)He took clippings of my nails and sent them to be tested for fungal infections
2)Results were negative (I was lucky)
3)I had a blood test to see if my nail condition was a result of some internal lack of certain minerals/factors.I think VitaminB and Zinc were amongst those tested
4)Results were negative(I was lucky)
5) Doctor said to me and i quote:"Your nails are disfigured because there has been extensive trauma to the nail bed as a result of your chronic cuticle biting.The dark lines in your case are damaged capillaries resulting in haemorrhaging that runs along your nail bed as it grows due to your cuticle and nail biting.
Solution: Stop biting and they may or may not come back to normal
6)I left the doctor's practice that day and I was almost in tears.I swore to myself then that my nail biting was over.I would do anything in my power to stop biting my cuticles and would hope that my nails would recover and look as normal as possible.
7)I went and bought a concentrated vitamin E cream which i started applying 3 times a day no matter what to keep my hands ,nails and cuticles relatively soft and protected.
8)Then I bought this super nice cream from Eulactol especially for ragged and dry cuticles and hang-nails (oh my nails were practically hanging unsuspended cause there was no cuticle left).I massaged the cream daily directly on the gap between nail and cuticle.
9)I caught myself heaps of time going to bite my nails and 95% i stopped myself halfway before i could inflict damage to myself again
10)I went thru withdrawal symptoms that lasted three weeks perhaps more like something was missing from my life...Not biting or stopping myself when i was going to was very hard.I had to be vigilant 24/7.
Three weeks into my self therapy i noticed a huge difference in the overall look of my nails
One year has passed since and I have not relapsed into the the habit although i still catch myself trying to put my cuticles in my mouth.But i stop it fast.
My cuticles(yes i have cuticles now!!!) are not very dry anymore although i still use the Eulactol cream every couple of days just for keeping them healthy.
My nails are not perfect still (They dont look like some of my friend's nails that are so perfect) but are passable and dont look bad at all.People would not think that there is something wrong with them.I can now use nail polish and manicure them and they polish up not bad at all.
I am still vigilant though....

Yes, Most of us are having the Nail biting and Cuticle biting habit. It is one of the very bad habit. I use to bit my nail always. But later I found some problems because of that and I have tried so many ways to stop nail biting but nothing worked later my friend advised me to try hypnosis and suggest me thoughtsbecomereality.co.uk. I found a good solution to stop my nail biting their through hypnosis.