Scientists at WITS university have discovered that biting your fingernails greatly increases your chances of heart disease. They also have seen a likelihood that you life expectance will be dramatically shortened to that of a heavy smoker.

The heart problems are caused by Bacterial Endocarditis which is an infection of the hearts inner lining (endocardium) and / or the heart valves.

Bacterial Endocarditis occurs when bacteria enters the blood stream, either though Finger Nail Biting or dental procedures. The bacteria then lodges itself heart valves or other damaged heart tissue

This will eventually lead to extensive heart damage which will in turn cause it to fail.

Apart from finger nail biting, you can contract Bacterial Endocarditis through other forms of surgery or dental procedures, teeth whitening is also a culprit. Some other medical procedures (such as colonoscopy, cryoscopy and sigmoidoscopy) increase the risk of bacteria entering the bloodstream.

Flu like symptoms, fever, chills, shaking are signs that you may have contracted Bacterial Endocarditis. You should talk to your doctor immediately. Your doctor will then need to do more tests, such as blood tests and echocardiography (ultrasound) to find out if you have Bacterial Endocarditis.

Usual treatment is a hospital stay for a few days with antibiotics. Antibiotics are usually started intravenously in the hospital, but many people can finish their treatment at home. For more complicated infections, heart surgery may be needed.

Long term damage can occur even if Bacterial Endocarditis is treated. Your heart may be weakened by the infection and may not pump properly, their also may be blood clots or damage to the heart muscle.
People who do not seek treatment for Bacterial Endocarditis may risk facing death.

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What to Do

Focus on the child's nail biting habit when the child is healthy and cheerful.

repare the child psychologically to break the habit. Remember nail biting is an unconscious habit. Too much negative attention might worsen the habit. Discuss impartially the negative consequences of the habit.

Make a special effort to talk to the child to help him or her talk about matters that make him or her worry. Situations that make a child anxious is one of the reasons of nail biting.

Boost consciousness by making the child aware how bad the bitten nails look.

Find the times when nail biting habit is most likely to occur. To help the child become aware of engaging in the habit, have him or her wear gloves or socks over the hands.

Distract the attention of the child with an alternate activity. For example, give the child a small rubber ball that he can squeeze whenever the urge to bite nail occurs; encourage the child to engage in some constructive activity.

In public situations, you might use commercial products like colorful bandages to the fingertips or apply strong and unpleasant flavors to the nails.

What not to do

Do not focus on the nail biting when the child is sick or in a bad mood.

Do not embarrass the child by publicly discussing his nail biting habit

Do not ever punish or penalize the child for engaging in nail biting.

Do not put undue pressure on the child to rid nail biting.

Do not get physical to stop the nail biting by tying or slapping the hand.

Do not rush and expect the nail biting habit to go away quickly. Since nail biting is an automatic or unconscious habit it is going to take some time; so be patient. A Strategy that goes step wise would be most effective.

When to worry about nail biting

In rare cases, severe nail biting indicates excessive anxiety. Consult your child's doctor if he or she's biting nails to an extent that fingertips are sore or bloody. In these cases, professional counseling may help.

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Nail biting in all its various forms is problematic behavior beset by peculiarity and contradiction. Technically speaking, the correct word for nail biting is ONYCHOPHAGIA.

Nail biting typically begins between the ages of five and 10 and is common among children as well as adults. As many as one in three Americans bite their nails.

One of the more noteworthy and generally surprising things about nail biting is its high instance. It crosses every social and economic barrier. Prevalence figures for children are much higher than for adults.

Results of nail biting can result in short, ragged nails. It may also lead to damaged cuticles as well as bleeding around the edges of the nails. Infections can also develop if nails are not properly attended to.

Most relevant studies have found that nail biting tends to peak out around puberty.

A study by Malon and Massmer studied the behavior in the Chicago school systems and reported that nail biting is prevalent in about 60 percent of children age eight to eleven.
Most people agree it is a learned habit, perhaps picked up by watching a parent or someone else biting their nails.

Nail biting is an extremely tough habit to break and treatment for it varies.
One possible solution is identifying the reason for nail biting. Avoidance or modification of these situations can be beneficial to the eventual elimination of the habit.

Improving self-esteem is also helpful when attempting to break the habit.
Products such as CONTROL-IT are available on the market and are designed to aid nail biters in breaking their habit. According to stopbitingnails.com, CONTROL-IT is a gentle and natural alternative to help prevent biting. A mild unpleasant taste helps to remind users to stop biting their nails.

A host of research efforts both in America and Europe sought to ascertain if in fact nail biting was linked to mental illness in one form or another. Most people would have anticipated they found a high prevalence of nail biting among the mentally disordered; however, they found that nail biting, in and of itself, is not systematic of any form of mental disorder or maladjustment.

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Many feel that nail biting is perhaps the most innocuous amongst the so called bad habits. Most of the children and even adults have the habit of nail biting but nail biting should never be taken lightly. It has grave results.

Have you ever thought what the function of your nails is? Well, it has to protect your fingertips. It helps you to pick up small things and yes, how can we forget its function to relive itching. Now think about nail biting and the situation when you don't have those nails to help you out.

What is more, when you bit your nails you are actually breaking your skin and that becomes an entry point for germs. If you have seen any compulsive nail biting person you would find that they engage in nail biting so much so that they actually bleed the finger nails. And that is a sure shot way of getting infections.

Any expert would tell you that germs reside under your fingernails and nail biting results in the transfer of those germs from your nails to your mouth. And if that is not enough, try to visualize all the things you touched all through the day and now think about all those getting an entry into the mouth. Yes, I am talking about your smelly socks, slimy creatures for your lab work and what not?

You can use special nail polish that tastes very awful and that would help you stop nail biting. It tastes so bitter that you won't put your fingers again in your mouth.

Bob has dedicated years to helping people stop nail biting. To find out more secrets on how to stop biting nails, check out Nail Biting Secrets To stop biting your nails today.

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