Nail Bitting vs Sickness

This fall I've been pretty sick. The current score is Research 0, Sickness 3. Basically I've been sick for the last three weeks and it's been a pain. The urge to sleep all day, the puffy sinuses, the throbbing headaches, and let's not forget my nose.

What gives? I'm usually really healthy. In fact, I'm usually the one who picks something up, walks around with it for a few days with no symptoms giving it to everyone, and then marvelously gets over being "sick" in a matter of hours. I'm the carrier! I don't get sick! I've attributed this tendency to my hearty Minnesota blood but uh, that seems to have failed me now. Plus there was this article last week in the New York Times about how my body may not have been "making the normal amount of inflammatory agents. "

So what's this different about this year as opposed to all the previous ones? This year I suspect my nail biting habit may be playing a part in my ceaseless illness. I'm a horrible nail biter, especially in times of stress (can you say graduate school?). Countless times I have bitten my nails down to bloody, painful stubs. Countless times my eyes have welled up with tears because of how much it hurts to try and grasp something with a finger who's nail I've bitten down too far.

I can't say that nail biting is a particularly good way to relieve stress but it is a good distraction -- hold on, I've got a hang nail -- but it does pass the time. Thankfully I've been biting my nails less and less. I'm attributing it to better time management. For the first time for as long as I can remember I have finger nails that I can use to scratch/open/use and it's amazing. I am a bit fixated on them - they look so pretty now! And I'm sure George is sick of hearing "look at my finger nails! Aren't they pretty?!?!" But perhaps biting my nails was a blessing in disguise.

I started noticing something about when I got sick this fall. It always seemed to occur a day or two after I bit a couple of nails down. I was hoping to find statistics on the number of times nail biters get sick as compared to non-nail biters but all I found in my very scientific Google search was this article from a dentist. According to Dr. Connelly:

Your fingers are pretty much involved in almost everything you do. Even with frequent hand-washing, your fingers are still dirty. Your fingernails are almost twice as dirty as your fingers. Since fingernails are not the easiest places in the world to clean, there's all manner of germs and bacteria underneath there-- germs you really don't want in your mouth. And when you bite your nails, you are inviting these germs into your mouth (and chewing them, etc.) Plus, bitten nails can be jagged, and may cut the gums, allowing these undesirable germs to easily access your bloodstream. [emphasis mine]

What he said makes sense and truthfully it's a little scary. But perhaps decades of biting has helped me build up an immune system that can take on anything! Or perhaps it's just a coincidence that I'm getting sick when I bite my nails after going cold turkey in the summer. In any event, it's one more reason why I really need to keep these nails looking pretty.

"Look at my finger nails! Aren't they pretty?!?!"

I do hope George never tires of me asking him what he thinks of my nails. Especially if not biting them keeps me healthier!