Biting Cuticles- No, Not Nails

I do the same thing, bella. It started when my brother got sick two years ago. Since then, I haven't been able to stop and it truly is a nasty and painful habit.

I chewed my nails as a kid. Any connection, you think?

I've heard that a standing weekly manicure can help. You won't want to ruin your nails or waste your money.

How 'bout cutting them? At least the cut can be neat and close to the actual, erm, finger part. I get the ragged skin there, too, and biting means that the problem just gets a lot worse, whereas, if you cut 'em, at least they are gone without doing too much more damage. Plus it's probably a good thing to keep 'em out of your mouth, not just because of germs but also because of the very act reinforcing the habit.

I do cut them, and then it just gets raggedy again and I bite. In fact, I carry a clipper around with me for just that purpose.

I get my nails done every two weeks. But it doesn't seem to stop me.

I never bit my nails, eoe....but it might be connected.

I don't bite - I tear 'em off and bleeding ensues.

By this point most winters I have bandages around 2 or 3 fingers to prevent me from getting at them. Very attractive with a suit.

Me too! Oh my, I had no idea it was such a common thing!

Carry around lotion, maybe?

I don't bite, but in the winter when they get dry and annoy me that's what I do -- get out some lotion, apply -- and it's both an action and seems to actually solve the problem...

And make sure you get a lotion that tastes like crap.

That only stops me until I've eaten off all the lotion.

Have you tried keeping a little bottle of hand lotion nearby and slather on the lotion instead of nibbling?

You'd be replacing a habit with a habit.

I type a lot and shuffle papers... it makes using lotion during the day hard. I can try to do it more though...it's worth a shot. But a lot of times, I don't even realize I'm doing it until I bite hard and OUCH!

Is there such a thing as dry lotion?

I need non-slip moisturizer - cuz keyboarding can be difficult with most lotions/potions.

doesn't the 'rubberband' solution help ?
put a rubberband losely around your wrist and whenever you feel like biting your cuticles, you snap the rubberband. i read somewhere, that method can be used to cure certain bad habits.
(if that doesn't work, you can whack yourself over the head with a 2x4 whenever ... i'm so thankful i don't have any bad habits ! really ! i mean it !). hbg

I'm on the computer a lot and don't have any particular problem with lotion -- I put it right on the backs of my fingers and while of course I still have to rub it in, the whole thing's over in a matter of seconds and then I'm good to go.

I use "Kiss my face" lotion, it soaks in really quickly.

Kiss my Face? Who makes it?

How about an elizabethan collar?

I think that's so I can't bite my ass.

Kiss My Face.

http://www.kissmyface.com/

This is what I use, love it:

apparently the 'rubberband' method helps to prevent nailbiting , i imagine it should also help to control cuticle biting ( from 'lifehacker' website ). hbg

How to use a rubberband to stop biting your nails
READ MORE: Habits, MacGyver
Former nail-biter Ken Norton kicked the habit by wrapping a rubberband around his wrist and snapping it just enough to sting when he thought about chewing on his fingernails:

At first, I'd remember to snap myself only after I'd started biting. Or I'd snap myself, but chew anyway. But within 48 hours I noticed that I was chewing less and less. For one thing, I was thinking about nailbiting more frequently, and I was reminding myself how much I hated it. Amazingly, the involuntary habit had given way to my voluntary consciousness. Within a week I was done biting, and have never had the problem again (I ditched the rubber band after two weeks). For the first time in my life I had to learn how to clip my nails.