Nail-Biting Kids? Nail Care Products Could Improve Their Quality of Life
We’ve all done it. The nail biting, that is. It can be a nervous habit or one to pass the time. Whatever the reason, though, it’s tough to stop once you’ve started. Unfortunately for kids and their parents, it’s typically a more difficult task for them than it is for adults. So what’s the best solution?
nails and hair
“Nails and hair are made of exactly the same thing,” says Dr. Phoebe Rich, a Portland-based dermatologist and nail specialist who has been in practice since 1986. “Except that nails have living cells underneath them that make new cells to replace old ones. Hair just sits there.” Most of us don’t think about our fingernails very much until they start causing problems like pain or hangnails, but nails can be very important to children who bite them.
As we grow up, we tend to stop biting our nails and cuticles as much because we realize how unhealthy it can be for your hands and nails. But many kids don’t have this realization until later in life (or ever!). As a result of this, certain children might need additional help with breaking the
Nail-Biting Kids? Nail Care Products Could Improve Their Quality of Life
If you’re a parent of a nail-biter, you know how stressful it can be watching your child chew his or her nails, fingers and cuticles. Not only is the habit unsightly, but it can also lead to infections and other dental and medical problems.
The good news is that there’s a new nail-care product that helps to solve the problem in an all natural way: Nail Magic. This clear, odorless liquid contains a blend of tea tree oil and other essential oils that taste absolutely terrible if they are accidentally ingested while chewing nails or cuticles. The product is applied just like any other clear polish. It dries in seconds, forming a smooth invisible barrier which protects the nails while allowing them to breathe. In addition to preventing nail biting, the product may also help stop thumb sucking, lip licking and nose picking. It can also be used by individuals recovering from finger surgery, who need to avoid picking at their stitches.
A recent study showed that 76% of children stopped biting their nails altogether after applying Nail Magic for two weeks. And 86% of parents who tried the product said they’d recommend it to others
In 2014, a study was conducted by researchers at the University of Abderdeen in conjunction with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) that found that children who were frequent nail biters had a significantly lower quality of life when compared to their non-nail biting peers. This is not surprising as nail biting can have an impact on every aspect of a child’s life, from self-esteem and socialization to academic performance and ability to concentrate. The study points to the need for interventions that target these children, but what could they be?
We believe that nail care products are one way to help improve the quality of life for children who bite their nails. We’ve developed a special formula for kids called NailBiter’s Friend that is designed to help children focus on caring for their nails instead of biting them. It’s a polish that comes in a variety of bright colors and with cute designs that makes taking care of nails fun! It also contains bitter flavors so it has a bad taste when kids try to bite their nails. Because it is non-toxic and doesn’t contain chemicals, this product is safe for kids to use without parental supervision and helps keep the focus on positive self-care instead of negative behaviors like nail biting.
What do
Nail-biting is the most common of the so-called “nervous habits,” and one that can cause a range of problems, including fingertip wounds and infections, thumb sucking and cheek biting. While nail-biting may be considered a problem in itself, it is also an indicator of stress. Depending on a child’s age, nail biting can have a number of causes from physical pain to boredom to social anxiety.
“There are many different reasons why children bite their nails,” said Dr. Cara Natterson, author of Decoding Boys: New Science Behind the Subtle Art of Raising Sons. “However, there’s a common thread — it’s an unconscious way for kids to manage anxiety.”
A recent study published in Pediatrics suggests that nail care products may help children who bite their nails focus better at school. The study looked at 170 elementary schoolchildren in Japan who were split into three groups: One group was given bitter-tasting nail polish; another group was given clear nail polish; and the third group was not given any polish. The researchers found that students who were given the bitter-tasting nail polish showed significant reductions in nail biting compared to the other two groups.
Nail-biting is a very common habit that most people outgrow. But for some kids, it’s hard to stop. They turn to nail biting when they’re bored, nervous or stressed. In some cases, nail biting can even cause medical problems.
Nail-biting kids can have trouble paying attention and doing well at school. Their parents worry about the medical complications, like infections. And of course, the habit makes their fingers look awful!
But a new study suggests there could be an easy fix: using some type of nail care product on the nails. A study published July 29 in the journal Pediatrics found that children who used a bitter-tasting liquid on their nails four times a day had less trouble paying attention than those who did not use such treatments. The treatment also helped children resist the urge to bite their nails.
The study included 60 kids ages 7 to 11 who bit their nails more than three times a week for more than six months. About half of them used a liquid called Thum (pronounced thum), which makes fingernails taste bad when used four times a day for one week. The other half used tap water on their nails instead. Both groups were taught strategies to help them resist biting their nails; these
Being a nail-biter myself, even as an adult, I can relate to the plight of children who bite their nails. Having short and gnawed nails is embarrassing for adults, but for children it can be downright traumatic. Aside from being teased by other kids, there is the fear of spreading germs from one’s hands to the mouth, which can lead to a myriad of health issues including stomachache and diarrhea.
Now there is help for these poor children. A group of pediatricians in Sweden conducted a study that suggests that painting over bitten nails with bitter-tasting nail polish acts as an effective deterrent for nail biting. The researchers tested two different formulations of nail polish on 91 nail-biting children between the ages of 6 and 12 years old. The first formulation was a commercially available product containing the active ingredient Bitrex (the most bitter substance known to humans) dissolved in acetone. The second formulation was made by dissolving Bitrex in water, which was then painted onto the nails with a brush. After six weeks, both formulations produced impressive results: among those using either bitrex formulation, 71 percent stopped biting their nails or significantly cut back on the habit compared with only 8 percent of those not using bitrex products.
When I was in high school, my mom and dad tried everything to get me to stop biting my nails. From the time I was born until I graduated from high school, I bit my nails. In fact, by the time I was in the eleventh grade, I had only one nail left — my right thumb. My mom and dad tried everything they could think of to get me to stop: bitter nail polish, band-aids on my fingers, acute pain inflicted on me every time they saw me with a finger in my mouth…nothing worked.
Then one day, when I was sixteen years old and working at the local nail salon as a manicurist’s assistant, a light bulb went off over my head (or maybe it was my boss’s head). Why didn’t we give me a gel manicure?
Just about everyone who works in a nail salon gets their nails done for free or for very little money. We call these “freebies” and because of them, many people who work at salons have beautiful nails all the time! Well, since gel manicures would be free for me as an employee of the salon, why not try one?
A gel manicure is basically just artificial nails applied to your natural nails using glue