A doctor issued a dangerous warning to nail – biters after a woman got a “deadly infection”. Karen Peat from Scotland showed how serious nail – biting can be by sharing pictures of her friend’s severely swollen finger.
Karen shared that her friend was rushed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary for emergency surgery on the infected finger after consulting two pharmacists first. In the post, she said (via the Mirror), “A message to nail biters out there STOP!!! Someone I know, who wishes to be anonymous, bit their nails too much and got a finger infection, ending up in emergency surgery today.”
She added, “This person visited two chemists and spoke to two pharmacists in the past few days. They were advised to use magnesium sulphate and keep the finger covered, but it still got worse. When they finally went to A&E this morning, they were told that if left untreated longer, it could be fatal as the infection was spreading up the arm, so they had emergency surgery. So please stop biting your nails!!”
Why People Bite Their Nails
Nail biting, or onychophagia, is a self – care behavior, and the reasons are unclear. Some experts link it to anxiety or nervousness, but some studies don’t support this. It may be due to boredom or dealing with difficult problems rather than anxiety.
Health Concerns of Nail Biting
In extreme cases, nail biting can cause dental problems and make you more likely to get sick since it’s hard to keep fingers clean before biting. One major concern is that it can damage the skin and soft tissue around the nail bed, leading to nail – bed infections.
Why the Woman’s Infection Was So Dangerous
Dr Claire said Karen got a “very terrible deep – seated infection” that spread. Sometimes, infections are too deep to be treated by creams or antibiotics. They can form an abscess that needs to be drained to heal. Deep – seated or spreading infections can worsen very fast, and in serious cases, can cause a life – or – limb – threatening whole – body infection.
Commonness of Such Infections
Minor nail – bed infections, or paronychias, are common in nail – biters. But it’s rare for a paronychia to develop into a serious infection that requires surgery or hospitalization.