Medical Conditions - Nail Bite

Nail-biting is known as onychophagia. It initiates as a benign behavior in childhood and becomes self-mutilative behavior in adolescents. Nail-biting is often practiced while the person is under frustration, stress, and anxiety. It can remain associated with other conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, major depressive disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Nail-biting can be stopped by often trimming nails, polishing nails with bitter polish, and wearing tapes on the fingernails.