A common stress reliever you see people use is biting their nails. But who knew biting your nails could do more than just relieve your stress, the addicting habit could kill you.
John Gardener, 40-year-old British man died in 2014 from biting his The actually act of biting did not kill but he contracted a septicemia due to the fact that the skin around his fingernails were always cut open and exposed to the outside. This blood infection caused John to have a heart attack. Now if you knew your childish habit of biting your nails could cause a heart attack wouldn’t you make it apparent to stop?
So exactly are you biting?A study was conducted by Dr. Anthony Hilton at Birmingham’s’ Aston University and it consisted of 100 men and women nail clippings. Through the research conducted it was found that on 24% of the nail clippings contained harmful bacteria. Dr. Anthony Hilton said that the bacteria found on the nail clippings was very concerning to him because these are the same bacteria that live in the gut of animals and humans. When people are ingesting these bacteria’s they are likely to cause gastroenteritis. I think that this study is beneficial for people who bite their nails because it is truly showing them what they potentially could be biting. I think a larger randomized controlled study should be done to further explore the bacteria found under people’s finger nails.
More than just a habit?
As the habit of nail biting spreads from person to person researchers are now taking a closer look at the science behind biting. Nail biting is now classified as “not otherwise classified” but soon the American Psychiatric Association is changing it to “obsessive compulsive disorder”. Obsessive compulsive disorder is found to be associated with stress and anxiety and nail biting seems to co-inside with both.
With finals just around the corner do not let yourself use that as an excuse to bite your nails. Nail biting can lead to cuts and sore or even worse a heart attack.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/6926078.stm
Biting our nails has the same bacteria that’s in the same gut of an animal…icky. It’s similar to yesterday when we were talking about the poop with the cats and rat
Also, check out this article to read about similar studies: http://www.bustle.com/articles/79679-study-says-fingernail-germs-bacteria-are-a-serious-issue-reminding-us-to-never-bite-our
What an interesting topic. According to Dr. Carl Edwards, since nail beds are warm and moist, they are the perfect place for bacteria to grow and thrive. Although I’m not an avid nail-biter, I sometimes catch myself in the middle of it while studying and being stressed out. Even the cleanest of people are prone to hand bacteria because we use our hands as a main source of contact. I’ll definitely have to start keeping hand sanitizer with me to avoid getting sick as a result of nail biting, especially around finals season.
When people bite their nails they risk opening their skin. This, like any cut, adds the risk and possibility of infection. If someone bites their nails and notices skin opening it should be treated like a normal cut and be cleaned/wrapped.
I know when I was younger my mom always would yell at me for biting my nails. I never understood why until she explained to me that your hands literally touch everything and then when you go and put them in your mouth you are transporting all of those dirty germs into your body. I never knew that it would go as far as a heart attack so that is very interesting. Im assuming though that that is just in a very extreme case.
This is scary! I’ve bit my nails my whole life and I cannot stop no matter what I do. I don’t know if it is because of stress or what but I just can’t stop, especially when I’m in class. I started researching how to stop a few days ago actually, Here’s what I found:
http://www.webmd.com/beauty/nails/stop-nail-biting-tips
This article really caught my attention because I am a nail biter myself and it is something I have always tried to deal with but it is a habit I just can’t break. I have always tried to figure why I did it and as time went on it became clear it was something i did during stressful situations. I did some research a common question that seems to come up is whether nail biting is a bad habit or mental disorder. The thought process is expressed in this article…
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/10/01/161766321/nail-biting-mental-disorder-or-just-a-bad-habit
Based on my own experience, I think it is just a bad habit because I can stop biting my nails during the summer because I have low stress level so if it where a mental disorder wouldI be able to just stop it for two months? I don’t think so.
Wow, who would of known a common habit for many can lead to such dire consequences. My mom bites her nails all the time and when I tell her to stop she says she can’t help it. I’m going to show her this post and hopefully she’ll take the studies into consideration. Thanks!
So other than it being a cosmetic nightmare biting nails is bad for your health. I knew it spread germs, and it is ugly, but to know that it could cause heart attack is weird. It is often used as a sign of anxiety and sometimes just boredom. I wonder where the difference lies?