I do it and I stop for about 8 months once.. And now I'm back at it.. I'm stopping again :(...

I've always enjoyed biting my nails - to me, it's both relaxing and soothing. I'm also happy with my habit because I love the look of short, bitten nails. It just looks and feels so much nicer when they're not sticking out. I always keep mine about half as long as they are wide, so they're really short, but not too much so. It's about 3-4 mm from the end of my nails to my fingertips, and the upper parts of my nailbeds have turned into normal skin. I think they look great, and it' wonderful to read I'm not the only one who feels that way.:-)

You can find ways to end this habit at http://stopnailbiting.net

It's gross and it ruins your teeth.

I am 25 and have done it all my life.
I am very conscious about when I do it in public, and try to avoid it. I only do it if people around me are my closest friends: most of them nailbit as well, which is interesting (no, we dontt thrown nailbiting parties!).

The point is: whenever I feel there is a minuscule imperfection with a nail, it becomes a huge imperfection to my brain, which immediatelly commands me towards nail bitting to perfect that imperfection. Havoc! now I am nail biting until I have a soup of nailpieces in my mouth, only to spit them off and byte more, because I have caused further imperfection. The outcome? Blood, pain, bad looking fingers. Damn habit!

I read in forums that there are possible treatments, but I believe it is important to engage in alternative habits for when someone feels the need to nailbit. It happens to me mostly when reading, or studying.

I would really like that some gloves were invented: special, very thin gloves, or special finger-protection "helmets/covers".

There is a really strong opportunity here, and I dont undertsand why it hasnt been yet taken advantage of: after all, one does plastic surgery and spends thousands of dollars to look better, one shops the newest clothes to look better and feel better. These are great business opportunities, and they have not yet been transported into the field of nailbiting prevention.

The most difficult part is to get the nails to become really good looking. Most of us, im sure, never imagine that after a few years of doing it our nails can ever look decent again. Not ture, Im sure. We need some special protection that will let our nails grow, and then we must start taking care of them.

Some nailbiters dont have their self-esteem affected by it. Others have, and in those cases letting their nails grow and look good is reason enough for them to stop.

my nails are severly bitten, I posted a photo of them on my home page, let me know your thoughts, or show me your nails, I doubt anyone bites them as short ?

Whoever made this list must know all my bad habits! I try to keep polish on my nails so I won't bite them.

There is nothing left to my nails. I've been told that as a child I chewed my first nail. The skin that most people find tender because of nail biting does not bother me. The skin is very calous. My problem is I do not notice my problem until someone else does.

My nailbiting is horrid. I think the only good I get out of it is not having to feel my nails touch the keys of the keyboard, and I much rather touching things with the tips of my fingers. In a sense, I'm an artist - I do metal smithing, graphite sketching, clay modeling.. but I'm big on the metal smithing. I have an easier time shaping things because I find that I can feel them easier, and my fingers are easy to maneuver. UNFORTUNATELY - I bite until they bleed. I rarely (maybe.. once a week?) have a day where my fingers aren't throbbing, or in pain from my habit. I'm sixteen years old, and though I'm not anything close to a girly girl, I want to be able to point at something or hand over a paper to a teacher without curling my fingers. Even the pledge of allegiance forces me to curl my hand into a fist on my chest. They consistantly bleed, and the only way to make them stop, often times, is with the hemming of my jeans, which now bear numberous blood stains. Even now, the skin around the nails harden and I have to tear it off, leaving large circles of raw, delicate skin around my nails. I've been biting since I had teeth, I suppose, because I never remember my mother cutting them like she did the other three kids, and they were never longer than the tip of my finger. The nail bed is often red and irritated, and I've tried dozens of tricks to stop. Many people think that you can just discontinue a habit like this because it's not physically addicting. Mentally, however, it's a huge problem. You even think of it the same way alcoholics or crack-addicts do. "I'll quit tomorrow" you say at you bite another nail to bleeding, even though that morning you promised not to. My boyfriend of a year feels terrible that he's having a hard time helping me stop something I want to stop doing to myself. I want to improve my body, and be healthy, eat healthy, and not turn out to be one of those grandmothers that sits on her ass waiting for her grandchildren to bring the ball back so she can throw it for their retrieval. Within the past year or so, I've developed stomach aching (not stomach aches, it literally feels like it's tearing) that may be attributed to all the nail biting. I am in a constant state of nausea, and I worry that there might be serious damage being done to my stomach. For all you nail biters: I simply don't care what you yourself do, but PLEASE don't encourage others :) Children, friends, etc. Like a few other people on this site have said, hours are wasted upon this habit. There's a differece between biting your nails and BEING a nail-biter. Most people do bite their nails at one point or another. The difference between a nail-biter and a person who bites is that while a person who bites their nails would simply fix a hangnail and be over with it, a nail-biter would fidget and pick until they've gone WAY overboard.

i think this is a nervous habit. i know a few people who do it. i dont think its the nail biting that really bothers me as much as when they spit the nail out

I have always bitten my nails. I have no nails left at all...are all bitten off...they look great to me!!!

yep, nothing better than skin, nails feel so horrible and are so ugly. I've got mine bitten down to the lunula, looks and feels great.

After seeing a guy take his pinkie finger to his mouth and bite the nail off, I think I have seen the worst. He worked his teeth around that nail so much that it bled when it finally was bitten off. Blood was dripping down his chin, and then he used his tongue to lick the remnants of it off. When I asked him why the hell he does this, he replied, It looks good on my inner image. I don't know what that means, but I sure don't ever want to SEE that again!

It's not a particularly pleasant habit but I suppose there are many others that are far more worse.

can't see what the fuzz is all about. The only way to keep nails nice and short is to bite them. That's the most natural way. I always make sure I bite well beyond the quick and over the years parts of my nailbeds became normal skin. It just looks and feels great when there is more skin than nail.

I have skin where my nails would be. It is the MOST satisfying thing that you can ever do, (besides sex)

I'm 42 years old and have bitten my nails most of my life. I've tried everything to stop--no-bite nail treatments, hypnosis, bandaids, gloves, aversion therapy--but nothing has worked. Anti-anxiety drugs slow it down some, as does regular exercise, but nothing has come close to a cure. If you think it's just a harmless habit, you're wrong. At this moment I'm having trouble typing this because my fingers are throbbing. I have trouble picking up things because your nail is the only thing keeping the top of your finger from bending. I can't fasten a button without a struggle, or open a pull-top can. This is really a debilitating compulsion. And I think the reason there is no cure for it is that people think of it as harmless. Doctors don't take it seriously, so nothing is done about it.

I used to bite my nails all the time and my boyfriend told me that he wanted to help. So he let me bite his nails every time he saw me doing it. Now I prefer biting his nails. My nails are much better looking than ever (though I still bite them since he's not around always of course) but his are really short and kind of gross looking (his words). But it's really neat when he spoons me during a movie or TV show and I just go at it the whole time.

I'm a boarder-line OCD nail biter... it is such a horrible habit... when I get ome from school in the afternoons I have to wear a pair of rubber gloves so I won't waste 2-3 hours biting my nails... truthfully my problem is that severe. Like most nail biters, its not really the nail that I am after-- it's more the cuticles, skin on the finger ect. but I will bite them and sometimes even use a knife to pick at them until they are sore and bleeding... it looks discusting and is a huge waste of time, however I have been through just about every well known nail biting cure and the best ones for me were always having hard candy in my mouth... like a Jolly Rancher.... or whenever possible wearing thin latex gloves... hope this helps!

I do this all the time, I just can't help it. I know it's hard to break habits, but my brother always says Well, work on it. but I tell him I can't help it

very bad habit, although I bite my nails I have tryed to quit and failed. Most time I don't even know I am doing it.

Lots of information and links can be found at www.stopbitingnails.com Use discount code S220 for 2.00 Off!

I've been biting my nails since I can remember. To me it's horrible when I touch something and it is not my skin that does it. My nails are well bitten down, the nailbeds are longer than the nails, that's how I want it, just a lil bit of nail and lots of skin after it.

Nail-biting is a very serious bad habit that can lead to disease and is also bad on your teeth. There are alot of germs under those nails....just think about what you do all day with those hands...yuck ! Also, there are several different ways to help stop doing this...you can buy nail solution that is made of jalapeno peppers for when you go to bite your nail, it burns your tongue, or you can put on fake nails to help stop yourself until you get out of the habit...many are proven to work....

I've been an addicted nail-biter since I can remember and I have no idea why people begin in the first place. Its like a subconscious thing; it happens when you watch movies or sit at a red light. Maybe we're just bored people who think too much.

I never knew that Nailbiting was such a popular topic! I posted one line on my web page about how I bite my nails and then I started to get email from others that did the same. Rose http://members.aol.com/Roseb441702/nailbite.htm

i bite my nails again after many attempts to grow them. My nails look like little boys bitten nails now.I have a habit because I am always biting them without knowing it. They are getting really short.

Do it all the time. I know people say that biting your fingernails are disgusting, but what about your toenails? Yup, I've done that, too. Every since I was a baby. After my toe got infected and they pulled it off, I've been better. Now with braces on my teeth, I won't be biting my nails anytime soon. So maybe, I'll be done with it!!!

I bite my nails all the time, when i am bored or nervous...i sometimes do it until they bleed which is very bad. But as i get older, i seem to be doing it less, whis is good, because i have beautiful nails when they grow long!

excessive nail biting can be a symptom of obssessive-compulsive disorder, often in association with hair pulling, skin-picking, etc. just my 2 cents - this is gross but i bite my skin AND nail, it is a bad habit i do and i want to quit BADLY! Cris

I hate the sound it makes, but it doesn't really hurt me or anyone that isnt doing it,so I give it a 4.

these people deserve death...a slow and painful death. chewing nails makes me see why people commit suicide. its gross, just clip them. not hard...

I can honestly say that I've never been able to do this to myself, and I'm glad. My friends did this back when we were in school and their fingers looked terrible. It's a pretty sick thing if you ask me.

I only have a problem with watching someone do this, if they have just been touching something extremely disgusting...for example...they have just picked something out of the garbage can, touched someone else's hair, or if they have dirt under their nails. Other than that, if they want to bite their nails, go for it...just don't touch me afterwards.

I really don't see what the difference is one way or another. I would call this a habit, but it does not necessarily have to be a bad one.

Get tips or wrap your nails, & you can stop this nasty habit!

I am a long-time nail biter and all of you that say, its ok or great or whatever are completely wrong. I found this topic because I was specifically looking for info on how to quit. It is painful. I just can not stop doing it. Its like I do it sub-conciously! Its bad, my finger nails get so short they bleed and it is so painful. They are disgustingly ugly. They sometimes get infected. Despite all this, I can't quit. I need help!

I really don't care if someone does it . . . just so long as they don't spit the chewed-off part of the nail on my stuff.

I've been biting my nails and the skin till they bleed and sting since i was a child and i'm 23 now and it;s horrible and painfull looks really nasty and i have plasters on my fingers most of the time.People always notice my fingers and tell me to stop but it's simply not that easy.I think i do it out of stress and anxiety

This is a bad habit, but it is usually caused by nervousness and it doesn't hurt other people.

I can't help it. I do this all the time ... in fact, I started when I was just a toddler. My parents took me to a psychologist who only played w/me all the time I was there so my parents got tired and stopped taking me. It's bad but I just can't help it.

excessive nail biting can be a symptom of obssessive-compulsive disorder, often in association with hair pulling, skin-picking, etc. just my 2 cents

I'm not so sure how bad a habit this really is. I don't really do it much, but some people do, and they aren't really bothering anybody when they do it are they? You don't make any noise when you do it, and you don't smell anything when someone else is doing it, so what's the problem? Well, it's not very good hygiene because you never know what's under your fingernails.

aaand what exectly are the criterions we are supposed to rate it by? anyway, i do it all the time

I bite my nails and I think I am more bothered by it than anyone else. The only complaint I ever recieved was by a friend of mine on the school bus in 4th grade. She retaliated when i asked her to stop picking the dirt out from underneath her fingernails (which i think is far more disgusting than biting them thank you!)

Nothing can really compare to biting off a fingernail and poking it with your tongue. At least thats what I do. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

i always do it!

I confess I do this from time to time, but only in the presence of my wife.

I don't think that there is anything bad about this habit. It doesn't affect anyone and is really harmless; it releaves tension for some people apparently. But still, it's not good for the nails itself.

Been doing it since I can't remember. This was the claim to fame of the Venus de Milo.