| Nail biting | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fingernails of a nail-biter. | |
| Specialty | Pediatrics, psychiatry |
| Risk factors | Damaged cuticles, shortened and damaged nails, hangnails, bleeding, etc. |
Nail biting, also known as onychophagy or onychophagia, is an oral compulsive and unhygienic habit of biting one's fingernails. It is sometimes described as a parafunctional activity, the common use of the mouth for an activity other than speaking, eating, or drinking.
Nail biting is very common, especially amongst children, of which 25–35 percent bite nails. More pathological forms of nails biting are considered an impulse control disorder in the DSM-IV-R and are classified under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders in the DSM-5. The ICD-10 classifies the practice as "other specified behavioral and emotional disorders with onset usually occurring in childhood and adolescence".[1] However, not all nail biting is pathological, and the difference between harmful obsession and normal behavior is not always clear.[2] The earliest reference to nail biting as a symptom of anxiety was in the late sixteenth century in France.[3]
- ^ "Impulse control disorder". SteadyHealth. 30 December 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- ^ Ghanizadeh, A (Jun 2011). "Nail biting; etiology, consequences and management". Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences. 36 (2): 73–9. PMC 3556753. PMID 23358880.
- ^ Aboujaoude, Elias; Koran, Lorrin M., eds. (2009). Impulse Control Disorders. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511711930. ISBN 9780511711930.