Skin picking and nail biting | Hand and nail care

It can be a harmless expression of temporary embarrassment or a symptom of a behavioral disorder. Nail biting or nail biting is always an accompanying symptom, a reaction to stress and being overwhelmed.

The habit of nail biting often begins in childhood, between the ages of four and six. It is usually a temporary phase. It may increase by age ten, peak at twelve or thirteen, and stop sometime in adolescence. Usually, nail biting is a sign that the child is struggling with their surroundings, is at odds with something or someone. Occasional nail biting is usually just a habit that doesn’t have to have any deeper causes.

However, if you nibble excessively, bite off the nail so far that the nail bed is injured, swells and causes inflammation, the situation changes. This nail biting is painful and has something self-injurious and aggressive about it. If excessive nail-biting is a predominant behavior that the child is obsessing about and can no longer control, parents need to intervene. Causes and triggers for withdrawing from a depressing situation to dealing with oneself can be the birth of siblings, school grades, separation problems in the event of divorce or hospital stays. The child withdraws from a situation that is difficult for him to cope with and is self-absorbed. Severe nail biting, in which the nails are bitten down to the nail bed, can be severe enough to bleed the fingers and disfigure the fingertips become. The cuticles can also be affected by picking or biting.

Often, just breaking the habit of biting your nails by smearing on a bad-tasting tincture is enough. This always reminds you immediately when you start biting your nails. Because nail biting often happens unconsciously and many probably do not realize that they may be suffering from a disorder. Another possibility: Identify the stressful situation that triggers the nail biting and act out this situation without chewing and without fear. Artificial fingernails are also a method of breaking the habit of chewing, as they are so hard that biting them off is almost impossible. A manicure, hand and nail care cannot prevent nail biting, but can save a lot. In most cases it is impossible to stop the child from biting their nails against their will. Threats are of little help and only put unnecessary pressure on the nail biter, who may respond with increased nail biting. However, there are two ways for parents to support their child and break the habit of excessive nail biting. First, identify the child’s problems and try to solve them as best you can. Second, help the child process the disappointment or anxiety. The affection and attention alone help to strengthen their self-esteem and take away their fear of failure or being left out.

Skin picking can also go so far that open wounds appear on various parts of the body and the resulting scabs are scratched open again and again. Skin picking further includes the widespread squeezing or digging up of pimples and blackheads with fingers or other implements, and can go as far as causing skin infection and scarring. This can also include an hour-long examination and observation of the face in the mirror. There seem to be two major groups of skin nibblers. In one group, those affected are convinced that the smallest pimple can completely disfigure their face and they not only pinch real skin blemishes, but anything that even remotely resembles a skin blemish. The goal is a “perfect” complexion. In self-perception, a small pimple or two becomes a case of severe acne. In the other group, those affected pinch to satisfy an inner urge. You stand in front of the mirror in an almost trance-like state, pinching and squeezing because it feels good. For them, nudging brings relief from inner tension or stress and relieves this inner urge.

Some who bite off their nails or cuticles may be attempting to remove excess parts in an attempt to achieve symmetry, smoothness, or a flawless appearance. A certain proportion of those who pinch their skin or excessively express blemishes often try to impeccably cleanse and keep their skin clean. Of course, this behavior produces the opposite effect, the excessive picking, picking, and biting only makes it worse instead of better, ending in a cycle where the more sufferers work on themselves, the worse they look.