Onychophagia (nail biting): a body focused repetitive behavior due to psychiatric co-morbidity Onychophagia is an habit of biting one's nails and finger tips. It is also called nail biting (NB). It is a stress relieving oral habit adopted by many children and adults. People usually do it when they are nervous, stressed, hungry or bored. All the above situations are having a common phenomenon between them which is anxiety. Here, we present a case of onychophagia (NB), who had psychiatric comorbidity. Onychophagia cannot be managed without considering some related factors such as comorbidities, precedent and consequences of the behavior. The best way to treat a nail biter is to educate them, encourage good habits and should provide emotional support and encouragement. Behavior modification therapy has proved to be a successful means of treatment along with drug management.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.