--- title: Is It Bad to Bite Your Nails? description: Social stigma aside, experts say gnawing on your nails could lead to some scary health issues canonical: https://time.com/2946800/bad-to-bite-nails/ author: Markham Heid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-02T12:00:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:44:05.353Z article:section: Health og:title: Is Biting Your Nails Dangerous—Or Just Gross? og:description: Social stigma aside, experts say gnawing on your nails could lead to some scary health issues og:url: https://time.com/2946800/bad-to-bite-nails/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5792f1d919c790cc/69869a34cd804d04bbccbc30/nail-biting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Nail Biting og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Is Biting Your Nails Dangerous—Or Just Gross? twitter:description: Social stigma aside, experts say gnawing on your nails could lead to some scary health issues twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5792f1d919c790cc/69869a34cd804d04bbccbc30/nail-biting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # You Asked: Is Biting Your Nails Dangerous — or Just Gross? > Sponsored content. 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Jul 2, 2014 12:00 PM UTC You do it while you’re reading emails or watching television; the tip of a finger creeps up between your teeth, and you nibble away for a few minutes before catching yourself. Your mom always told you it was a bad habit, and you worry about coworkers eye-balling your shredded digits. But is biting your fingernails actually dangerous? “Yes, and for a number of different reasons,” says Richard Scher, M.D., an expert on nail disorders at Weill Cornell Medical College and a member of the American Academy of Dermatology. To begin with, your nails harbor all sorts of germs. In particular, a family of bacteria called _enterobacteriaceae_ — which includes salmonella and _E. coli_ — tends to thrive in the cozy crevice beneath the tips of your nails, Scher explains. When you bite your nails, those bacteria end up in your mouth and gut, where they can cause gastro-intestinal infections that lead to diarrhea and abdominal pain. Long-term, habitual nail nibblers can also suffer from a type of infection called paronychia, Scher says. Tears or abrasions in the skin of your fingertips allow strains of bacteria or yeast to get inside. Both cause swelling, redness, and a buildup of puss around and under the nail, which has to be drained surgically and treated with antibiotics or antifungal agents, he explains. If the infection is bacterial, the nail can also become tender and painful. “You’ll see it where every fingertip becomes inflamed,” Scher adds. ### You Asked: Your Top 10 Health Questions Answered  You Asked: Are Cleanses Healthy? Potions that claim to clear your body of toxins might sound alluring, but do they deliver? Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: Is Eating Dessert Really That Bad For Me? Bad news for sweet-eaters—except if you end your meals with this kind of treat. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What’s the Best Way to Whiten My Teeth? 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Here's proof that everybody could use a belly laugh. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME  You Asked: What Is My Poo Telling Me? If you listen hard enough, you'll hear all kinds of health stories from #2. Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME The wart virus HPV is also a common infection among nail biters, says Chris Adigun, M.D., a dermatologist at NYU Langone Medical Center. After infecting the fingers, these warts can then spread to your mouth and lips, Adigun adds. The perils of nail biting also extend to your teeth. “Constant biting can lead to poor dental occlusion, so the biter’s teeth shift out of position or become oddly shaped,” Scher says. Biters also suffer from higher rates of gum disease and infection, he adds. So how do you quit the habit? For a lot of people, nail biting is a manifestation of stress or psychological disorders. “Both tend to cause teeth grinding, and your fingernails are a handy buffer.” You’ll have a hard time stopping without help from a psychiatrist or mental-health professional, he says. If your habit is mild, Scher says there are over-the-counter products you can spread on your nails that have a bitter taste. “The taste reminds you not to bite,” he explains. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2946800/bad-to-bite-nails/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2946800/bad-to-bite-nails/"},"headline":"You Asked: Is Biting Your Nails Dangerous — or Just Gross?","datePublished":"2014-07-02T12:00:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:44:05.353Z","description":"Social stigma aside, experts say gnawing on your nails could lead to some scary health issues","url":"https://time.com/2946800/bad-to-bite-nails/","keywords":["You Asked","behavior","habits","HPV","Infectious Disease","You Asked"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5792f1d919c790cc/69869a34cd804d04bbccbc30/nail-biting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Markham Heid","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/markham-heid/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5792f1d919c790cc/69869a34cd804d04bbccbc30/nail-biting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Nail Biting","caption":"Nail Biting","creditText":"Illustration by Peter Oumanski for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/you-asked/","name":"You Asked"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2946800/bad-to-bite-nails/","name":"You Asked: Is Biting Your Nails Dangerous — or Just Gross?"}}]}] ```