Nail biting & nursing- bad match!

rpv_rn · Jul 8, 2006

would having regularly scheduled manicures help? just make sure that the polish color is acceptable with the school. ours allow clear or neutral color.

don't get acrylic nails. many hospitals/ facilities have banned wearing acrylic nails.

i remember an incident years ago when the rn i was working with was biting her nails at the nurses' station. i almost barfed because she had (patient's?) blood on her nails. who knows what her hands had been into? i never bit my nails but that just confirmed my definitely not doing it.

:uhoh3:

all4schwa · Jul 8, 2006

I have been biting my nails for as long as i could remember, but now, what i do is make sure they are clipped as short as possible, and always have clippers on me, especially as work. they say sometime the nail biting thing is a form of perfectionism. like you see a part of your nail that is not even with the rest, so you start gnawing on it and before you know it, you've gone too far. it's like an addiction in the way that you know perfectly well why you should not be biting them, but you do it anyway. also, i paint them alot and make sure they look pretty. with short nails and working in nursing, no gawdy colors, mostly pearly type colors...

mishmisha · Jul 8, 2006

would having regularly scheduled manicures help? just make sure that the polish color is acceptable with the school. ours allow clear or neutral color.
don't get acrylic nails. many hospitals/ facilities have banned wearing acrylic nails.
i remember an incident years ago when the rn i was working with was biting her nails at the nurses' station. i almost barfed because she had (patient's?) blood on her nails. who knows what her hands had been into? i never bit my nails but that just confirmed my definitely not doing it.

yeah i cannot imagine biting my nails at a hospital-- that blood on nails story almost made me barf! i mostly bite during studying, in the car, etc...i guess places i am stressed. hmmm, that's a clue i guess

WDWpixieRN, RN · Jul 8, 2006

I bit mine until I was 18, then just stopped (I think my future husband's constant haranging probably helped a bit!!)....you might try using something like OPI Nail Envy or Nailtiques to strengthen your nails and challenge yourself to see how long you can get them to grow!! I have gotten more compliments through the years while using those products that do wonders for my brittle, peeling nails!!

fergus51 · Jul 9, 2006

Or you might try those disgusting tasting nail polishes. I stopped biting my nails thanks to them. The taste was bad enough to make me gag. It's especially useful if, like me, you don't even notice when you're biting your nails.

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Jul 9, 2006

like you see a part of your nail that is not even with the rest, so you start gnawing on it and before you know it, you've gone too far.

LOL Ain't that the truth!

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Jul 9, 2006

I've been a nail biter all my life as well. My 8 year old daughter has also taken up the habit thanks to seeing me do it no doubt.

I want to stop biting mine as well---it really is a horrible habit and I NEED to stop. I think I'm just going to try to paint them with a clear polish and make a conscience effort to not bite them. It is not easy.

mishmisha · Jul 9, 2006

Or you might try those disgusting tasting nail polishes. I stopped biting my nails thanks to them. The taste was bad enough to make me gag. It's especially useful if, like me, you don't even notice when you're biting your nails.

yes! i don't notice when i bite my nails too.

you know, i might just go ahead and try that. i remember my parents trying to make me do it but i think i've been traumatized all these years i blocked it out. when i think about psychology though (you know all those conditioning experiments), i think maybe it would work! do you just buy those at the drug store?

Curious1alwys, BSN, RN · Jul 9, 2006

:icon_hug: I bit my nails for a long, LONG time. All my life, actually, up until about age 18. Bit them down to the quick, so gross:barf01: . Why I stopped, I don't know. I also quit smoking that same year and started up on exercising. Maybe that had something to do with it, finding a place to put all that excess anxiety.??

Anyway, I still struggle now. The shorter my nails, the more likely I am to start biting them. When the skin around my nails gets real dry and SNAGS on stuff I am really in danger! So....what I did when I outright stopped is tried to grow my nails long enough to put fake ones on (had them put on). I still do this to this day when I start biting too much. COVER EM UP!! With fake ones, you don't get as much snag! I use the "Real Nails" artificial nails in the store and just glue them on with super glue. They will last for WEEKS because they are really short. Sometimes I file them down even shorter so they stay on longer. Covering them up allows your real nails to grow undisturbed underneath. Then, when I finally did take the nails off (when they started to look real gross) I would put a clear nail polish on (like the ones mentioned above) and file the hard edges of skin. Then TRY to grow them out naturally the rest of the way. For some reason, it is easier this way...like a head start. To this day, I don't go ANYWHERE without a nail file. It is like prophylactic. Plus, when I am real disciplined, every night after the shower I rub a lotion into my hands and cuticles to keep them soft and therefore less "snaggy".

I would have never been able to stop biting without using fake nails. Plus, they look much better than your bitten nails! Put them on and try to keep them on as long as possible, even if that means you take them off and put another pair right back on for another three weeks. Eventually, your natural nails will grow out enough for you to start thinking they look kinda nice, and that helps.

FYI...I tried everything. I tried the bitter nail stuff....bit right through it. Tried the clear nail gloss everyday, still chewed away. Then I would chew on the nail polish when it started to dry out on the skin around my nails!!! I know you can't have fake nails for clinical but maybe you can grow them out this summer???? or when you don't have clinical??

Best of luck to you. I know how hard it can be. But biting your nails IS really gross...now more than ever....now that you are in a clinical environment. That alone helps me to keep from chewing on them now.

fergus51 · Jul 9, 2006

yes! i don't notice when i bite my nails too.
you know, i might just go ahead and try that. i remember my parents trying to make me do it but i think i've been traumatized all these years i blocked it out. when i think about psychology though (you know all those conditioning experiments), i think maybe it would work! do you just buy those at the drug store?

Yep, just at the drugstore or wherever you buy nail polish.

The suggestion of using fake nails is great if you aren't in clinical, but I don't know any hospitals that allow fake nails in the clinical setting. Too many nasty bugs grow on them.

Race Mom, ASN, RN · Jul 9, 2006

Thrashej...I think we're onto something! I quit the same way you did! Although this time I went without the bitter tasting polish. I had it just in case!

I had bitten my nail since I came out of the womb! My mom bit hers too. I have always been embarrased (you know...hands are always in a loose fist to hide my addiction. Well, in clinical I had to bare all when doing my assessments. I hate for people to see them. I decided I HAD to stop. Of course, I've decided that many times in my life, only now I had to do it without slapping on acrylics for the rest of my life.

The week school was out for this summer, I put on Fing'rs brand, preferred Length Square nails. They have always been the ones I used since they look so good (always got complements and no one knew they were only $4) and they don't damage your nails toooo much when you take them off, and they last 2 weeks. I put them on right out of finals. Funny thing is this time I used a glue that didn't come with the nails and they started wearing away after one week. Well, I ran with it. Even though the whites were barely pokin' there heads out, I decided not to put on another pair. I put on some nail strengthener (clear) and worked to make a conscious effort to "watch myself". I haven't bitten my nails since. I make sure they are no longer than my finger (well, only a few have reached that point now) since they seem to break and chip at longer lengths. If I find a snag (and you know WE can find those snags in .02 seconds) I stop whatever I am doing and file it. I deal with the non-symetry of one side vs the other since I have to file down a snag or chip. I realized that if I get rid of the perfectionism part of it (mentally) then I wont be so focused on them. It worked! Granted I have only been nail-bite free for a month and a half, I am controlling myself very well.

Good luck!

Like you, I bite when I'm nervous and reading chapter assignments, so we'll see how it goes next semester. I'm just going to have to make sure I keep them well groomed. But like Thrashej said, the artificial nails (cheap ones in the store that you do yourself) only take about 15 minutes to get on, cost about $4 since everything you need is in the package, and gives you a head start. I could'nt have done it "cold turkey".