I have many bad habits, but biting my nails is not one of them. My husband, however, is a nail biter and he's transferring that habit to my kids. For years I've been telling Hubby to stop because it's gross and I am convinced that it makes him catch colds more often than he would if her weren't a nail biter. He listens and agrees, then sticks those fingers right back in his mouth. Well, when he gets home from work today he is going to get an earful because I just found out that 40-year-old John Gardner from the United Kingdom bit his nails so badly that they bled and ended up getting an infection that turned septic and led to a fatal heart attack. The man ended up dead because of his nail biting habit. I realize it is an extreme case, but there is no way I want to take chances with my husband's or kids' health because of nail biting.
I did some research and found out that although most people assume nail biting is relatively harmless, it can in fact be a health hazard.
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Here are three ways biting your nails put your life in danger:
1. It's unsanitary. You touch all kinds of things with your fingers and get some disgusting stuff stuck under your fingernails, then you go and shove them in your mouth and munch on them. Hello bacteria, hello viruses, welcome illnesses.
2. You are setting your self up to get sick. Even when you don't have your fingers in your mouth, you can still get ill. If you bite your nails to the point that you break skin, that can lead to germs and bacteria getting into your bloodstream. That's what happened to John Gardner and look how he ended up.
3. It's bad for your teeth. Yup, your teeth need a rest, they are not meant to be chomping all the time. Nail biting can wear down your teeth faster. Also those bits of nails can cause tears along your gums, which again opens you up to getting infections and so on and so forth.
So if you are a nail biter, stop. Do it for yourself and do it for your kids so that they don't develop this nasty habit too.
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