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I’ve been a nail-biter all my life and years ago came to realise that the state of my emotional life could easily be read on my fingertips. Times when I’ve felt confused, upset, helpless, etc … no fingernails. But when things have felt more “under control” I would suddenly find myself having to file my nails. Other times I have taken matters into my own hands (sorry…) and, with the application of some lightly tinted nail gloss and a smidge of willpower, have managed to abstain from nail biting long enough to acquire at least the outward appearance of feeling calm and collected. Which actually helps me feel more at ease. A quick glance at my pretty polished fingernails (as opposed to raw fingers ends chewed to a nubbin) always assures me that things are going well, and also gives me a sense of accomplishment. A few weeks ago I turned to the nail gloss again (aptly named “popcorn”) for a bit of help, and as my nails grew the rest of my life started falling into harmony. Coincidence???
You can see the state of my nails (and my life) below the links…
~ image from College Humor ~
casa azahar 
My nails rarely get long enough to file and polish… Generally, they are so brittle and fragile that they just tear. I also have splits which start at the base of the nail and go to the tip and the nail just frays apart at the seams.
My right middle finger has some sort of problem which causes the finger to be very sensitive right at the cuticle and if I don’t trim it right back, both the end of the finger and the nail-bed hurt like Hell.
I remember years ago, there was a book that we sold in the bookstore I worked in which had illustrations of fingernails which show symptoms of various conditions. I wish I had bought one way back then. I remember that white blotched in the nail means a zinc deficiency but that is it… I haven’t had blotchy nails in years because I take a small supplement of zinc. Another symptom is a rash in the fold of your elbows, sort of like diaper rash. Whenever I get that, which is frequently in summer, I use a zinc ointment.
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Don’t look if you’re eating or have a weak stomach…
Nail Diseases and Disorders
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Onychorrhexis
Koilonychia
Brittle Nails
Vertical Ridges
I have a few of them….
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Your hands look great, Az. Wish I had elegant nails. I had to keep mine very short for years – for professional reasons – but even now that I can let them grow a bit longer, my hands still look like they belong to a navvie.
And . . . I’m so pleased life is going well for you – and your nails.
xx
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That’s about as long as I let them get, otherwise they interfere with typing. In fact, this is the perfect length for me because any shorter and they become tempting to chew on again. For some reason I don’t gnaw on longish nails, only already short ones. Weird. But then, you already knew that.
But who knew that fingernails were such an accurate emotional barometer!
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By the way, that “minimalist post” was one I forgot to remove when I was trying to embed something. Stupid WordPress often won’t allow you to embed things even when the code is specifically designed for WordPress… Annoying.
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Such elegant hands you have. Sometimes mine look a bit like that, only with tatty cuticles and big peasant knuckles, and then I have to go and cook in the café and that’s the end of elegance of finger nails, hair, dress, pretty much everything. I shall give the nail disorder page a miss as am currently breakfasting. Big love on you and may your nails stay long. xx
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My cuticles are actually a bit untidy, and I wouldn’t say my hands are elegant. If I’d stretched out my fingers to take that pic you’d see how puffy and wrinkled they are (reallly should remember to use hand cream). And don’t get me started on HAIR.
But the nails are looking good, and that’s what counts. 😉
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Your hands and nails are beautiful; glad it is symptomatic of your life!
I shall pass on sharing my hands. They show my age, and have many battle scars. And my nails have been surgeon short for years because of the massage thing — when I am digging into people’s shoulders and psoas they don’t really want to feel my nails. Even so, I am astounded at how hard it is to keep my nails clean with all the gardening work I do. While I “know” that if I wore gloves when I was out there it would help, the vast majority of the time I find my hands in the dirt before I think about gloves.
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I have “massage nails” too, though when I was younger I actually enamelled them, usually in the oddest colors I could find. I have never understood what could possibly make a person want to bite them — it’s like having a dog or going to raves, I’ll stipulate that it “clicks” for some people but I can’t think why.
When I am tense I just gnaw pencils in half.
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I’ve never gnawed pencils! Or anything else. And it isn’t really a question of *wanting* to bite the nails. Half the time the damage is done before I even realise what I’ve been doing. It’s a very neurotic and unconscious habit. And, unlike pencils, they are always there.
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I know it’s an unconscious thing — I just never understood why it happens at all.
But one thing I just realized is that my bite is so weird, my teeth couldn’t even close on my nails if I tried to. I just never have.
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I have the mildest form of osteogenesis imperfecta and one of the symptoms is particularly bendy nails. They look OK, but bend in ways normal nails don’t bend. Grow like the dickens though, so I usually have long nails unless you catch me the day after I’ve cut them back.
I also have blue sclera, wobbly cartilage, translucent teeth and hyper-flexibility in joints and muscles. Made the whole blob episode slightly more complicated as I was generally speaking as strong as boiled noodles, so flopped all over the place.
Makes people cringe like you wouldn’t believe when I bend my nose or roll up my ears…
😀
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I can’t imagine why … 😯
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My nails are also a guide to my mindset. I am currently sporting 6 nails due to worry about going back to work, being ill and the toddler teething. I take note that I’m having a good week when I see I have 8 or more. And in our house it’s an accepted state of affairs topic, ie I report to Spouse that ‘this afternoon I bit off three nails’ – this is a cry for extra TLC (I may then get an ‘oh dear’ at best).
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Oh I know! Sometimes the nails are just suddenly gone. And that is definitely a sign that things have gone pear-shaped. I don’t think non-biters get the significance of having a three-nail day. Maybe we should set up a support system. Like, last week I lost my pinkie nails one evening (they’ve grown back now), and my right thumb nail suffered some damage the other day. Might be worthwhile keeping a journal for nail loss days…
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Am down to five today 😦
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Jules, you need … colorama! Get over to a Boots and check out the Maybelline section. These are great because they are small and cheap and also have a few nice neutral colours. I’ve used both “popcorn” and “icing sugar” … they go on semi-transparent if you just use one coat and they are a reminder that you are no longer biting your nails.
I think that one fourth from the left is icing sugar.
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