How have you managed to stop picking or tearing at the skin on your fingers? I also have OCD and a fear of serious illnesses. I was in Crete, Greece, with my family from October 6th to 13th, and I’m a huge animal lover. As is well known, there are many stray cats on the island; one day, I used my fingers to move a metal food can—bought from a store—from which two stray cats had been eating less than a minute earlier. I’m terrified that some of their saliva got onto my fingers and that I might contract rabies—EVEN THOUGH Greece is officially a rabies-free country. The mother cat hissed and spat when I approached, but that was likely just because her kitten was nearby and she was protecting it. In any case, this habit of picking at my skin causes a lot of stress—even while traveling—and it is EXTREMELY difficult to stop. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! My thumb was probably not that bad looking when I were in Crete, now I have eaten it even more, maybe due to stress etc. For my own peace of mind, I left a callback request to my local healthcare emergency service regarding the risk of rabies, even though there should be none. Thanks for the help!!

After exams and lots of nervous picking and biting I once again made it to this point.
I find using fidgets, keeping a nail set with sharps nail/skin cutters and using hand/nail lotion at least 3-6 times per day helpful. But of course there are time where even that won’t work.
Been a biter for almost 30 years so believe me, I know the struggle is real, just a reminder that it can get better <3

Yesterday I applied transparent nail polish on my nails and I am not going to bite them from here on I've had ENOUGH.

I want pretty nails I want to do nail art , I want to have clean nails . I want to click mirror selfie without hiding my nails .

My nails make me underconfident and ashamed of my self but no more.

Since my trigger is anxiety and stress it's gonna be tough it's gonna be a long process ,but who cares now that I've put my mind to it I've gotta this ✌🏿

I'm 22 (F) and i've been doing my nails myself since i was like 13 years old. I've always been into them ever since I remember. Like as a child I would always notice other people's hand and want to have them. I loved the way they effortlessly moved and by people i mean only women. So of course when I got to an age where I was allowed to have nails I did. So now I have so many nail products that I never feel satisfied with my nails whenever I do it. I always want to change them as soon as I do a certain design. I'm also very hyper aware of how each of my fingernails look. I was also a nail biter too I guess that's why I try so hard to make them look perfect. But they never seem to be what I want. I look at other peoples nails and I get jealous sometimes because they have perfect nail beds and I know this may not seem like a big deal but it very much is for me, their perfect nail beds make me so jealous. I don't know why I'm like this or if it's related to some sort of OCD but it lowkey is damaging my nails and I haven't been able to go a few days without having product on my nails. I can never seem to give them a break, and when I do they're kinda brittle and hurt so i put on just regular nail polish to protect them. I do love doing my nails and I don't hate them per se, because I stated I wanted other peoples nails, they're my babies and they mean a lot to me. Which is also weird in the way I am towards them. I feel crazy about them and I feel crazy that i even wrote this. Main issue that needs to be solved is how to stop trying to redo my nails a few days after I do a design. How do i learn self control? if anyone is struggling with anything like this pls lmk. I hate being alone in things.

I am a lifelong nail picker. It’s been my hardest habit to kick thus far. About a month ago I went for a Russian manicure and the fact that that refused to do my nails really inspired me to stop. I haven’t picked for about a month now , and have been using Kerasal and Onyx Hard as Hoof everyday, as well as sensory pads. Finally went for a gentle (no e-file) manicure. Here’s my progress!

I’m 33, and I have a baby, I don’t want him seeing me chew my nails and learn the same habit. I want to break this cycle!! I’ve tried stopping and relapse everytime. It is just so hard to stop. Please help me stop biting!! Thumbs and the skin around it get bitten a lot, so do my nails. Any and all suggestions welcome! I want to have hands that I don’t feel like hiding, from my son, husband, friends, family, colleagues… happy nails and hands! I also don’t really like polish, and bitter polish has not been a deterrent to me! 😓 Thank you community, please keep me accountable!

Midterms season is here at my uni and I typically pick because of boredom or just inadvertently. It’s usually “unconscious” picking but now I do it to distract myself instead of doing schoolwork. I have thumb sleeves but can’t will myself to put them on. I realize it’s bad when I see that half my finger is pink.
Of course the picking gets worse during times of stress, but I can’t remember a time in the past three years that my fingers haven’t had at least some sort of pink to them. It’ll now only get worse as the weather gets colder..😭

What’s the best method you guys have?

I picked a hole in my nail with my cuticle scissors a couple months ago that exposed the skin beneath the nail. It did not get infected and has since scabbed over but the nail is not growing at all...I would have hoped to see the hole growing out a little by now. Have I permanently damaged it? I have managed to leave it alone and haven't picked at the hole at all

I am struggling with a repetitive habit of pushing the top of my thumb against the nail (and the other way around).

I don't know if this is a common thing. I cannot find anything about it.

I have been struggling with it for years. When it gets bad, it creates a thin line of calluses that I tear off.

My thumb had been getting numb and tingly, and I'm afraid I'm damaging my nerves.

I don't know how to manage this behavior. Please, does anyone have any advice?

Just came across this sub and it’s nice seeing people who are going through the same and thing and have overcome it. This has been going on for as long as i can remember and I’m 33 now. I’m not even sure why I do it. Maybe it’s a nervous or anxious thing. I think I do it when I get bored. Definitely when I’m watching movies. Also when I see a there is a tear in the skin I have to pull it the rest of the way. My girlfriend hates it and I really want to overcome this but it’s hard to kill a habit you’ve been doing basically your whole life. There are times when I can all have all my fingers healed and looking good but then it’s only a matter of time before I start picking again.

Hi everyone - I had a gut feeling I was getting engaged last week (which ended up being true!)

I didn't want a ring, but when I knew people would be looking at my hands and I suddenly felt very self-conscious. It was the only issue or concern that I had with getting engaged. At that moment I knew that I needed to do something.

I walked into a nail salon and I shamefully said I've been biting but I think I'm getting engaged so I really need to do something about my nails. They were so kind and the woman who did them pushed back my cuticles and made 25% more nail real estate, honestly was an angel who didn't judge me and just wanted me to not feel insecure on this special day.

I ended up getting gel at her recommendations and I am officially one week clean with minimal skin picking, which is the longest I've ever gone. I've been using this sub to keep myself going. I can't wait to eventually update this with what hopefully will be my wedding nail someday. Thank you all!

bless you all! I want to pay it forward and actually I have a second thing that put the kerasol over the top- found out I was slightly deficient (clinically, out of range low on a blood test) in ZINC and started taking Thorne basic nutrients (has a good normal amt of zinc) and zinc carnosine (less zinc but very good for gut healing?). anyway the kerasol had already been helping bc what set me off was ANY shred or hard part - I HAD to get it even if it meant bleeding and tearing up like half my finger. I ended up on antibiotics for an infection in my cuticle and STILL struggled for a few months but that (after a lifetime of picking) is when I came here and learned about kerasol (the 40% kind for feet- the 20% hand lotion was NOT strong enough). I’ve basically had a bloody thumb cuticle for 4 years if not more. anyway I’m not saying this will stay perfect forever. I’m too compulsive around picking any little shred. but I found at least my key to get things in shape.

my cuticles are not perfect but they’re soooo much better than what they were- no longer puffy, painful, or bloody/shredded. I do have to use the kerasol at least 3-4x a week still or I get hard edges or new cuticle growth that I want to pick and shred. I had talked to my doctor and he said oil but that never did the trick. Foot strength kerasol and making sure I was ok on zinc- those two things have helped a ton.

at least! i basically stopped my lifetime habit unconsciously about a week after quitting smoking, started catching myself the couple times i put my hands to my mouth & decided if i can quit nicotine i can stop biting. i started logging on that day so its probably been more like 20 days but :) very happy w my progress & stress has definitely tempted me a couple times but i managed not to pick.

Has anyone experienced swollen lymph nodes in their armpit as a result of biting nails. I’ve suffered with this for years now and have only recently found that it can be caused by biting nails.

Has anyone experienced this?

Just found this community and figured I may as well share here as well! I’m very proud of my progress though I do have a long way to go as I do find myself picking at my hands a lot still. Any tips and tricks to keep my hands from constantly messing with the edges of my nails or my cuticles/sidewalls, I’d gladly take notes of all of it! I have been using a worry stone but it’s been hard to keep consistent as I commonly misplace them 🤦🏼‍♀️

okay so i'm finally writing this because i've reached to a point that i have never been before. i pick my foots toe since i was 15. for reference, im 26 now. i only realised this year that this is actually a compulsive disorder that i have.

since i started with this, my toe has gotten infected (to the point of needing to go to the doctor) twice which i think its not that bad all things considered. the thing is that, now i really really fucked both of my nails and i don't know how to deal with it or how to fix it. i picked my nails in the bed nail area and it's basically ripped off while the other half of the nail is still 'attached' to the toe. i've never done this this way before so im very embarrassed and quite scared. can anyone help me with tips or letting me know what i should do? will it grow back? will the other half fall off? i'm really worried.

I have a major problem with ripping off my toe nails and I haven’t had them grow fully back in over 3 years. I was recommended naltrexone by my therapist and should be starting in a couple of days. If anyone with any experience with this med reads this. Please tell me how it went for you

sorry about dirty nails im at work!!
heres some backstory: i was a pretty bad nail biter for my entire life up until 2024 after working at a grocery store for a while, people would comment on it and i realized how bad it was to do it in front of customers + while touching all that stuff. Ive done pretty good with not chewing (only if they start peeling or if they break and i dont have a file on hand… i get antsy about them being snaggly) ive come a long way from where i started for sure but i still to change some things.
my biggest problem is the skin. obviously i cant leave it alone and i also really like scraping dirt from underneath my nails. i really want my nails to not be as wide ESPECIALLY the middle and pointer fingers!!
Ive been trying to take care of them for a while but i still have problems with them peeling and breaking and i need some advice on how to repair my skin! if anyone wants to recommend products (if its allowed) pls do!