Nail biting and ADHD under quarantine

[Leilani519]

Hello all!

I was wondering what methods can be used to control nail biting because of the quarantine? I have tried everything including incentive rewards and nothing seems to stick. They have increased her anxiety dosage but nothing.

[Onthemove1971]

Gloves? Day and night?

Many children with ADHD bite and chew nails, pick at skin..

I believe it is part of the impulsivity.

Good luck!

[momwifedaughtersis]

My son has ADHD and I think I probably do too. I bite my nails and chew on my cuticles. I know it's a terrible habit but I've done it since college (I'm late 40s now). Some of my friends would bug me about it and it always made me feel bad and self-conscious. It definitely worsens in times of stress. I realized that since quarantine, all of us in our household is doing something... my almost 4 year old is using a pacifier, my 8yo is constantly "adjusting" his private parts and my totally calm, non-ADHD husband has started to bite his lips in a very weird way. We talked to our son's psychiatrist about the "adjusting" and he thought it's related to anxiety (and sounds like you've already increased medication for anxiety). He said that many people have a habit like this, but some are more socially acceptable than others... seems nail-biting may not the worst thing, and may resolve on its own as life gets back to normal? Just a thought, obviously you know your daughter and your situation best.

[Adam081911]

My 8 year old has issue of thumb sucking. Sometimes biting nail.

Most effective for us is use of anti thumb sucking( anti nail biting) nail polish. Other methods weren't effective. My son won't put finger in his mouth when the nail polish is on. It's safe for kids over 3 years old.

For my son, it's for comfort.

[Elijah1]

A parent told me that they put gloves on the hands continuously and broke the habit.

[Cjkchamp]

I use Macao’s Stop for my son, but definitely have to be faithful with applying the polish. We get it on Amazon.

[Aspen797]

Our son would pick at imperfections on his skin, any bump or mosquito bite. It was so hard to see all the unhealed spots on his legs. He was on a stimulant only. We added guanfacine and the skin-picking went away. It also helped him be less high-strung (anxious-irritable). You may want to check in with a psychiatrist about current meds and dosages and see if a little tweaking might help.

If this a real unrelenting problem (not fixable by tweaking meds) you might want to check out this site on body-focused repetitive behaviors: bfrb.org. It has good information on current treatments and therapy. We were going to try some of those options but the addition of guanfacine really helped us.

One other thing that helps—find a replacement behavior. You might want to check out these finger massage rings, they might satisfy that impulse: amazon.com/Goda-Acupressure...

[anirush]

I have my nails professionally done to keep me from biting nails or cuticles so I chew on my pen at work instead. It is a nervous habit. It may look bad but there are worse habits they could have. Sometimes you need an outlet for the stress.

[penn_adhd]

Spicy nail polish? The pharmacy sells it and the pediatrician told me about it. It didn't help my son a few years ago (now 7) but maybe it's worth a try.