November 19, 2015

These 11 Disturbing Facts Will Turn You Off From Nail Biting for Good

If you're a nail biter, chances are you've been told by family, friends and perhaps even strangers that it's a bad habit you need to break. Though you keep telling yourself you need to stop, whether to shut these people up, or to help your health, you find yourself nibbling away anyway. But if you REALLY want to end your habit once and for all, then just take a look at these 11 alarming facts.

1. GERMS. Enough said.

Facts about why you should stop biting your fingernails.

Fingertips host many types of bacteria, fungus and yeast, including a germ under the nail called Staphylococcus aureus, which can lead to skin infections, including boils and abscesses.

2. The more you suck and chew, the worse the bacteria.

It was in 2007 that Turkish scientists performed a test on 59 people to see if their nail biting caused a transportation of bacteria to the mouth. What they found was that 76 percent of the participants tested positive for diarrhea and vomiting bacteria like Escherichia coli. In comparison, 26.5 percent of non-biters did as well.

3. It can cause dental damage.

There have been some serious cases that have resulted in tooth fractures, tooth loss and even displaced jaws!

4. You might grind your molars.

One of the reasons people bite their nails is out of nervousness. If your one of these people, you might be likely to also grind your teeth at night. “Those who bite their teeth are often stressed,” explained Dr Adam Roberts, who is a senior lecturer at UCL’s department of microbial diseases, “so may have other factors that affect their teeth such as grinding.”

Furthermore, grinding could lead to dental chipping and even tooth loss!

5. Braces and biting can result in some serious damage to the teeth.

Dr Ansa Akram, who is a clinical lecturer in orthodontics at the University of Bristol said that brace wearers who chew their nails can cause the body's own cells to eat away at themselves, resulting in the dissolving of tooth structure.

6. Nail biting can cause gum trauma.

11 Slightly Horrifying Facts That Will Stop You Biting Your Nails

Your gums can experience trauma if you choose to chomp down on your nails. One case study discussed in a report from Dr Carlene B. Krejci noted that a kid who had gum swelling under one of his teeth was due to years of nail biting. Six fingernail fragments were found under his tooth.

7. It can cause bad breath.

The same report noted that nail biters are likely to have bad breath known as halitosis. All those extra germs in your mouth are clearly not helping.

8. Your fingertips can experience pus.

If you nail bite, you probably pick at the skin around the nails, which can result in having acute infective paronychia as a result of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria making its way into open sores. So unless you want fingernail herpes, you better stop chomping.

9. Nail biting can cause oral STIs.

Want a shot at herpes? Go ahead and bite your nails then. While it's rare, there have been some cases of STIs in association with lip blisters due to the transference of bacteria from the finger to the mouth.

10. Nail varnish is poison.

Many polishes contain formaldehyde, which is used to embalm dead bodies. A Yale study led by Dr David Katz discovered that, when taking swabs from under students' nails, that those wearing varnish had the least amount of bacteria growth, which means that the more you chew the more poison you put into your body.