Nail Biting in all its various forms is problematic behavior beset by peculiarity and contradiction. Technically speaking, the correct word for biting your nails is ANONYCHOPHAGIA.
Nail biting typically begins between the ages of five and 10 and is common among children as well as adults. As many as one in three Americans bite their nails. One of the more noteworthy and generally surprising things about biting nails is its high instance. It crosses every social and economic barrier. Prevalence figures for nail bitting children are much higher than for adults.
Bitten nails can result in short, ragged nails. It may also lead to damaged cuticles as well as bleeding around the edges of the nails. Infections can also develop if nails are not properly attended to. Most relevant studies have found that nail biting tends to peak out around puberty.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Jessica // May 22, 2008 at 9:30 am
I bit my nails when I was smaller, then I stopped. Now I am almost 14 and sometimes when nervous still bite them.. I have a friend, she doesnt bite her nails but they are not long either. Just whenever she puts on black nailpolish it looks really nice and her nails long. . I have to let them grow so they look like hers… Is it becasue I bit my nails in the past and they got shorter ? Please answer ! Thx
2 Jamica W. // Oct 28, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Your nails should grow if you aren’t biting them, but if you occasionally bite them then obviously they won’t grow. I haven’t bitten mine in 2 weeks and they are already 1/2 a centimeter longer; but then again i use a nail growth clear coat every day (which helps also).
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