What is a good way to stop bitting my nails?

I have been bitting my nails for 21 years and I need a good way to help me stop someone please help.What is a good way to stop bitting my nails?
Nail biting is the habit of biting one's fingernails or toenails during periods of nervousness, stress, hunger, or boredom. It can also be a sign of mental or emotional disorder. The clinical name for nail biting is chronic onychophagia.





Negative Side-Effects





Biting the nails can result in the transportation of germs that are buried under the surface of the nail into the mouth. In fact, nail salons use tools that potentially affect a human in a similar way. “If [nail tools, such as files] are used on different people, these tools may spread nail fungi, staph bacteria or viruses,” warns Rick Lopes, a spokesperson for the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. Thus, one can see that many pathogens have the ability to ';live'; inside of a nail, and because of this biting the nails can potentially cause health issues.





The reverse of this may also occur. A compulsive nail biter could also be tempted to bite not only the nail, but also the surrounding skin and cuticle, possible breaking skin and transferring opportunistic microbial and viral infections from their mouths onto their fingers or toes.





Nail biting also has the negative side effect of restraining the use of the hands. A compulsive nailbiter can be restricted in their ability to work (i.e. writing, typing, drawing, driving) because of the damage done to the nail or surrounding skin and/or anxiety in regards to the appearance of their nails.





A long-time habit of nailbiting may have detrimental effects on the substantia adamantinea of the front teeth, promoting caries in these areas.





Treatment





Medication





Nail biting has been shown to respond well to certain types of medication. The medications used to treat the problem include the newest, most potent anti-depressants. These medications are also used to treat Trichotillomania and OCD and include clomipramine, fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, citalopram, escitalopram, nefazodone and venlafaxine. Also, small amounts of the anti-psychotics used to treat schizophrenia such as risperidone, olazapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole can be used to augment anti-depressants. It is important to note that the use of anti-psychotics to treat nail biting does not necessarily indicate that the patient is suffering from psychosis.





Another option calls for the use of the B vitamin inositol. It reduces the urge to bite by enhancing the activity of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin may be implicated in OCD and related disorders.





Behavioral Therapy





Some patients have found behavioral therapy to be beneficial on its own or as a complement to medication. The first part of nail biting therapy consists of Habit Reversal Training (HRT), a four part process that seeks to ';unlearn'; the habit of nail biting and possibly replace it with a more constructive habit. In addition to HRT, Stimulus Control therapy is used to both identify and then eliminate the stimulus that frequently triggers biting urges.1.





The symptoms have been found to respond best to a combination of medication and therapy.





Other Treatment





Various forms of aversion therapy exist to help people stop biting their nails. These include methods such as coating the nails with a bad-tasting substance (sometimes in the form of a special nail polish) or wearing a rubber band on their wrist and having friends and family members snap it (or tell the nailbiter to snap it) when they see nailbiting. Some methods (including aforementioned aversion methods) can work by making the biter aware of their actions and finding other things to do. Keeping a record of when one bites may also be helpful in finding the root of the problem.





Some nail biters who undergo orthodontic treatment find that wearing a retainer or a bite plate makes it impossible for them to sever their nails with their teeth. This can have the unintentional side-effect of helping the individual to overcome their nail-biting habit.





Some nail-biters, however, find the effectiveness of all of these remedies to be poor. For them, it may take sheer determination to break the habit. Tactics they may find helpful include making a mental note to stop, promising oneself not to bite, and making it a New Year's resolution to stop.





Like other nervous habits, nail biting is sometimes a symptom of an emotional problem. In these cases, resolving the underlying problem can help to lessen or eliminate the nail-biting habit.





Some nailbiters find that hypnotherapy is a beneficial treatment.





To summarize, here are the tips to avoid nail-biting:





1. Trim (and polish) your nails.





This is a major way to stop nail biting. Trimming can be done and should be done by everybody, while nail polishing is applicable mainly for ladies over 12 or even older, though there are invisible nail polishes that can be applied by men as well. If your nails are trimmed, you will have less stuff for biting and unless you like the cuticles especially, you will simply be unable to bite your nails without biting the soft tissue under it. Since biting the soft tissue under the nail is very painful, chances are that even if you attempt to bite your nails, you will stop it immediately, at the first signs of pain.





Well, this might sound a little bit drastic, but unless you are masochistic enough, pain will remind you that you are doing something wrong. Also the sight of the perfectly-trimmed and cared of manicure reminds you that if you bite it, it is gone.





2. Stress and anxiety management.





If nail biting is your response to stress and anxiety, some stress management techniques help. One solution is to find another stress-reliever, preferably a healthy and nonirritating one – for instance drawing or writing.





3. Keep your hands busy.





This also helps a lot, especially if you are biting your nails while doing something else – waiting or watching TV, for example. If you have a small ball to squeeze, or even a pen to draw meaningless lines, this will keep your hands occupied and your nails are not in such danger anymore.





4. Paint your nails with a bitter-tasting polish.





This is for the hard addicts. There are many special formulas on the market that are just for you – they look good, don't damage your nails but taste awfully. Unless you get used to the taste, or even start liking it, the awful taste will cool down your desire to bite your nails.





5. Chew gum or mints.





Even if your hands are free, when your mouth is busy chewing something else, most likely you will not chew your nails. This tip is especially useful, if you have quit smoking recently and just need some other activity to replace it with.





6. Wear gloves.





Gloves are a physical barrier to biting your nails, so if you can wear gloves, for instance if you don't live in a hot place, or your coworkers will look at you at dismay, gloves can also be used to fight your bad habit.





7. Rubber bandages or stickers.





Putting bandages or stickers on your nails is another physical barrier to biting them. Well, you might look pretty funny in an outfit like this but if nothing else helps, you may try it.





The above listed tips for nail biting might not help everybody, especially those of you who have had this habit all their life. Giving up nail biting completely is very difficult but if you give up and don't keep trying, you might never be able to have healthy nails.What is a good way to stop bitting my nails?
I know there is a product they used to make that you could by at the drug store. I got some for my friend back in high school. Look in the nail polish section. You paint it on like a clear polish but it has a very bitter taste.





Good Luck!
You can put a nail polish like a hardener that taste really bad, or you can scrap a bar of soap at get soap it your nails , so it taste abd when you bit them.
natural non-toxic,not tested on animals and fda,ctfa approved- called control-it
stop biting your nails
It's some type of nail stuff that's out like a hardening and when you even put your tongue on your nail it tastes nasty it works
put bandades on every finger you bite on...you will be humiliated if you're in school and you will be inspired to quit fast..worked on me =D
put sum viniger if u dont lyk that thats wat helps me
Cut and trim your nails safely and frequently. For changing the bitting habit eat continuously the candies.
I treid everything listed %26amp; nothing worked (yes, I even bit off fake nails %26amp; yucky tasting stuff)..... what finally worked for me was rubbing my nails thru actual habanero peppers...





This made my fingers sting a bit. Created problems when I rubbed my eyes %26amp; I had to learn extra padding toilet paper wiping techniques.... but IT WORKED





Problem is I had to do this @ 45 days in a row to get the habit to change long enough to ';Stick';
try chewing gum or carry around some mints with you, they will keep your mouth busy and you will be less likely to put ur fingers in ur mouth





when i was little my mom used to put spices on my fingers so i wouldnt bite my nails and if i did bite them the spices would sting and i would think twice about doing it again lol but i think you're probably too old for that trick
remember germs if you bite your nails thinkof how many people touch the stuff you touch and does not wash their hands.just because you wash your hands it does not mean everyone does it.yeah that's nasty.
fake nails
try to see under telescope u'll hateto bite it cuz theres like bacterias moving aorund like bugs nails are the durtiest part of the human body
I have a similar problem. However, I'm starting to get better about it. Here's why: I'm an art major. I'm taking the three messiest art classes and I work at an oil change place. I can't get my hands clean, nor can I get all the crap out from under them, so I can't bite my nails. It's gross, but it seems to be breaking the habit....
i was desperate to i would put really gross things on my nails.


nail polish/remover does not work.


i HATE ketchup and i would spread just a little on there...it made me stay away!
tabasco sauce on the ends
You should regularly cut your nails, you can also buy this special medicated nailpolish that you use for that problem you buy it from your nearest local pharmecist just ask them and they'll get it for you. What you do is you apply it on so that when you start biting your nails it tastes horrible that way you gradually break your habit because it wont taste nice any more
There is this fingernail polish like stuff. It goes on like fingernail polish and it tastes really nasty. That is how I have helped three of my friends to stop biting their nails and my brother to stop sucking his thumb.
Paint them....and the paint will tase bitter when u chew...and should prevent u from biting them....there is also a special nail polish u can use...that they make hard to take off...and really bitter ....http://www.nailcareguide.com/orly-no-bit…


but id shop around to see if u can get it cheaper....
therapy? a sedative? 21 years is a long time to be doing anything...