Nail biting
Nail biting is a habit adopted by many children and adults to avoid stress. When people get nervous, anxious, hungry, or bored they often bite their nails. People believe nail biting helps them balance their emotions. However, nail biting is considered as a self-harm behaviour.
Biting the cuticle and soft tissue surrounding the nail also comes under the habit of nail biting. When people bite their nails repeatedly it injures the nails and leads to onychophagy disease.
Nail biting is the most aggressive and destructive form of onychophagy. People needing to bite or eat their fingernails is somewhere related to a psycho emotional stage of anxiety. People of all ages engage in Nail biting behaviour.
Biting the nails can result in the movement of germs that are buried under the surface of the nail into the mouth. It spreads nail fungi, staph bacteria or viruses.