There are children who from their infancy to their adolescent age still replicate the act that 'he bite his nails'. Is called onychophagy and it is characterized by the compulsive habit of biting nails and in which many parents do not ignore.
There are many reasons why your child can create this habit, in most cases due to a stress or anxiety situation, that is, you are probably going through a moment of nervousness or worry. If you want to find out the reasons and how to solve the problem, keep reading.
Why is my teenager biting his nails?
Onychophagia can develop between three and six years of age, that begins as a passing habit and that can take shape in specific moments, but in many cases this condition can be prolonged until the stage of adolescence.
You may not have bitten your nails in your childhoods and at the age of puberty is beginning. This act is associated with other habits such as biting the pen, touching their hair a lot or even starting to smoke. It's a way of relieve tension that is generated in a timely manner.
The main causes are unknown, but it can all start with a stage of stress, tension or anxiety. The act of biting the nails creates a moment of relaxation, where the person has problems with impulse control. Adolescents are more apprehensive about living these moments in their growth stage, there are many factors that can create irritation due to the amount of stimuli or circumstances that he cannot control.
Other studies have concluded that this habit can be created by people who they want to reach perfectionism. Observe if your child bites their nails and wants to create states of perfectionism, because creating this fact makes them calm their irritation, dissatisfaction or because they are getting bored.
Do you have treatment?
In reality, all people and even children agree that they can't control this habit. In many cases, they are not aware of when they start to do it and with the passage of time they can have serious difficulties to stop.
Specialists agree that performing a treatment can start well, but that it becomes complex because the problem reoccurs. Some remedies that may work is that girls can paint their nails And if it can be with semi-permanent enamel, it thickens the nail and is more difficult to bite.
Other methods are "Serotonin inhibitors", some psychoactive drugs for control anxiety or also those that contain acetylcysteine. Some parents, if they observe more extreme cases, may go to a specialist for the administration of antidepressants.
The risks of nail biting
It should be noted that creating this habit can lead to some serious problems. In principle wounds are created on the skin when biting, including hangnails creating wounds that bleed, become painful and take a long time to heal.
These same wounds can create infections and sometimes severe and as a consequence, those fingers are reintroduced into the mouth again, allowing many bacteria to enter our body.
Teenagers or children who bite their nails have been shown are more likely to get viral warts and even in the case of the smallest to suffer from worms, since they have ingested parasites that were found under their nails when they played with dirt in the park.
In other more serious cases nails have come to incarnate, even reaching the total loss of the nail and as a consequence to the deformation of some fingers.
If your child is still a participant in the care that parents can offer them, you can improve the appearance of their hands, making them have the nails always well trimmed, remove all possible hangnails, removing cuticles and hydrating your hands well. With a little persistence we can end the problem, although it is not easy. However we will always have the consultation of our child psychologist or pediatrician that can help us.