Onychophagia: Description of the disorder and causes of origin

Watch the video

X Watch the video on youtube

Generality

Onychophagia is a compulsive disorder that leads the patient to eat his own nails and, in the most serious cases, even the surrounding cuticles and cuticles, with harmful consequences both physically and psychologically.

This unhealthy habit of gnawing on the ends of the fingers manifests itself especially in periods of nervousness, boredom and stress, and can simply be a symptom of anxiety, but also of profound discomfort.

The onychophagus (an individual with onychophagia) adopts a compulsive and repetitive behavior in biting the cuticles and tissues around the nail plate: this is an unconscious activity performed by the subject, who, for most of the time, does not make himself account of when the hands are brought to the mouth and the teeth begin to gnaw the nails. Most people find in this habit the only way to calm themselves. Onychophagia is considered to be an "impulse control disorder" and is usually classified among the behavioral and emotional disorders that occur during childhood and adolescence; if neglected, onychophagia can continue into adulthood. According to Freudian theory, the habit of eating nails is a symptom of oral fixation, as it manifests itself predominantly with an obsessive stimulation of the area. Furthermore, bringing something to the mouth recalls, at a metaphorical level, the experience of the mother's breast and the nail biting is used to obtain the same calming effect.

Note. What are "impulse control disorders"?

The "impulse control disorders" are psychic conditions characterized by the inability to resist the uncontrollable temptation to perform an action or a gesture, usually preceded by a feeling of progressive tension, agitation and excitement just before implementing the impulse at the behavioral level. In the moment following the impulsive action, the subject experiences pleasure, relief, sometimes guilt. Stressful events and circumstances can often increase the implementation of a potentially harmful impulsive action (for oneself or others).

Impulse control disorders include: onychophagia, kleptomania, pyromania and trichotillomania.

At the origin of the vice of biting nails, there is often a cause of psychological nature: a family environment disturbed by quarrels and misunderstandings, excessive expectations of parents, difficulty in managing one's anxiety, etc. Onychophagia allows to contain reactions to interpersonal contrasts and subjective discomforts; it tends to disappear voluntarily when the cause of the illness is lost, however it can recur in subsequent situations of stress or anxiety.

Although it appears to be a harmless habit, onychophagy constitutes a tendentially self-injurious attitude and for this reason, in the most serious cases, the help of a psychotherapist is needed to identify the causes that have induced the disorder. If you do not resist the urge to bite your nails, it is better to understand what lies behind this habit and suddenly adopt some remedies, to avoid health consequences.

Who is the honeycomb?

The habit of biting nails affects children and adults of all ages.

The disorder is detectable in 30% of children between 7-10 years and in 45% of adolescents. Most people stop biting their nails spontaneously at the age of thirty.

In general, onychophagy is not selectively limited to a particular nail, but is directed to all fingers, which are bitten in the same way, resulting in approximately the same length. Diagnosis may be delayed, as patients tend to deny or ignore the consequences of the disorder.

Symptoms

What is the onychophagia?

The phenomenon can be considered as a process in which it is possible to identify two distinct actions:

1. The preliminary phase that precedes the actual onychophagia consists in the detailed inspection (visual or by touch) of the nails and the soft tissues that surround them, in order to search for possible defects to be eliminated. Each irregularity causes the subject to tease and nibble the area to make the skin smooth: it is not uncommon for people with onychophagy to pass their fingertips over the ends of their fingers.
2. The next phase coincides with the biting of what is at the end of the fingers: laminae of the nails, cuticles, perionichio (skin surrounding the nail at the proximal and lateral level), hyponchus (portion of skin under the lamina) etc.

Causes

Knowing the causes that trigger this bad habit is a fundamental aspect to overcome the disorder. The main factors that promote the onset of nail biting are of environmental and / or biological origin. The recurring reasons are as follows:

1. Situations of stress and anxiety. In general, an onychophagic subject is associated with a person in the grip of worry and nervousness, who discharges tension by biting his nails. Onyophagia, in these cases, gives a sense of momentary relief and pleasure, as it helps to release the emotional charge.

   During childhood, this habit occurs when there are episodes of misunderstanding, excessive expectations or there is a fear of losing the parents' attention. The problem can also be determined by the repetition of the gesture of bringing the hands to the mouth, as happens with thumb sucking.

2. Self-injurious attitudes. Some scholars identify an expression of aggression in the onychophagy: many timid and submissive subjects express their anger by turning it towards themselves rather than outside. In addition, gnawing nails is an expression of aggressive tension, like biting a pencil or constantly chewing gum, all attitudes that can disappear if the discomfort that caused them is eliminated.
3. Imitation of other family members. Sometimes, children learn to gnaw their nails without any deeper psychological motivation, simply by imitating their parents.
4. Boredom. Boredom certainly does not determine the onset of the disorder, but for the person who has this habit it can be extremely difficult to control the urge to bite the nails even in moments of inactivity. Contrary to the common opinion, which wants to bite its nails as a typical manifestation in moments of extreme tension, it is possible to observe that onychophagia occurs especially in moments of non-action of the hands: while watching television, on the train or in machine, during long and boring events, while waiting on the phone ...

Often, it is difficult to look for the true reason for one's vice, as, at times, the cause goes back to childhood and the onychophagia is simply the result of a bad habit that lasted over time.

Onychophagia: Consequences, Care and Therapy »