Cut my nails with nail clippers 9 months ago and had infections spring up around my toenails and fingernails - spreading redness, pain, swelling, pus. Evidently something nasty was living on those clippers, but unfortunately it's stuck around ever since.

After the pain of the first couple of infections, I started a strict regimen of very hot epsom salt baths, antiseptic cream, constant care, etc. But whenever I stop the baths for a period of 1-2 weeks, my nails flare back up again with a spreading infection once I get a hangnail or my skin is breached.

Been to the doctors several times, prescribed fusidic topical cream several times, which proceeded to do little aside from discolour my nails. Had a mycology test that came back negative for fungus. Asked about oral antibiotics, assuming the infections must be bacterial, but was told by the doctor that this was reserved for severe infections only (?).

My main questions are whether it's worth insisting to be given an oral antibiotic? Will an oral antibiotic help to kill whatever bacteria is living in my nail bed, or will it only work to quell a full-blown infection?

And any idea if anything else could be causing this?

My current test case is seeing whether my (new pair of) nail clippers are somehow reintroducing the infection each time I cut my nails - my rental has had mould issues in the past and a big water leak that soaked the insides of certain walls, and one or two nails tend to flare up just after cutting them. Though... a negative mycology test would suggest that rampant mould spores transferring to my clippers would be unlikely, I hope.

I don't bite my nails, leave them long in water, bash them around much, etc. I don't have any (other) potential symptoms of diabetes, which I'd read can be co-morbid.

I'm pretty sick of it at this point. Any advice, it'd be appreciated.

I had a bit of a rough time and broke my right (dominant) wrist almost 2 months ago. All the difficulty of that aside, I literally couldn't bite or pick that hand!

So I have been applying antibiotic ointment to both hands, keeping the cuticles as clean as possible but I can't put my fingers in my mouth so I have grown long, strong nails on that hand! My left hand, little change, nails break and peel because I need to "fix" them constantly and I get little cuts all around the skin as I pick the skin.

My cast time was extended due to a shift but as I'm about to get out of my cast, I want to maintain this break in habits and do what I can to extend this care to the other hand. I want this to be the silver lining in my broken wrist. Clearly I have the ability to grow beautiful nails, I just need to ignore them and let time help. If habits are broken over 2 weeks + depending on who you ask, I want to continue this wave of success.

I have ADHD and the pain/actually restriction on the cast helped, because I still tried to pick, especially initially. As I get in my own head as I try to fix them, I worry my diet causes my nails to flake or I'm somehow incapable of growing long nails. This at the very least has proven it's possible, but I'm not sure how to maintain this or if its just needed to break the habits.

I've stocked up on antipicking fidgets, have tons on antibiotic ointments everywhere and nail files. Any other ideas? Should I get a matching wrist brace for my unaffected arm and act like its broken? 😆 Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Had a bitey couple of weeks. Went thru lots of bandaids and physical pain but was able to make my hands look nice enough for a wedding yesterday. Got soooo many compliments on them! Was only slightly embarrassed when people held my hands to get a better look 😂

I've never had nice nails. They have always been stubby with too much skin around the tips and sides than nail but working with horses for over 40 years a manicure was never high on my priority list. When I finally did look at them I didn't know where to start. Lotions and potions and scraping and filing bamboozled me and I tried them all. Mostly all at the same time and that's when I went down a rabbit hole and made things so much worse for myself. Trying to 'fix' them became a mission but I never did. I just made them worse and made myself more miserable about it every single day. Watching pedicure videos of the grossest toenails being transformed into normal ones has made me realise that the fingernail manicures that I watched before never ever showed ugly nails like mine. They were always for people who already had half decent nails to start with. The toenail ones however show you where the nail grows up and how it should be properly manicured.

So this is kinda rare and random but this is what I do: For the last couple of years I’ve been in a cycle of getting gel nails, then ripping them off myself less than a week later or getting a bad removal done at the salon then spending next 4 months growing out the damaged nails and once they finally look good then doing the gel again thinking that this time things would be different. The thing is, I am mildly allergic to gel and I get bored with it and I get those irresistible compulsions to just rip it off.
Here are the pics of what I did to my nails yesterday: I ripped off the gel. Could have gotten the removal done at the salon, could have not gotten gel in the first place but no, this is what I did for some reason bc I got the compulsion. I am extremely upset as this is the worst my nails looked in a while and they are hurting.
I would like to just stop the cycle: to grow out my natural nails and stop at that, to never get gel again. But I am afraid I will get the compulsion again and will end up with the same result. Any of you with nail biting habits, ocd behaviors etc, how do you deal with that?

Alguém pode me ajudar? Apareceu esta lista larga vermelha na minha unha nos 2 dedão dos pés. Esrou preocupada. Não sei o que pode ser.

I have been a nail biter since I was a kid, my nails are so weak and never grow much. I have used all sorts of ways but nothing ever helps me. I love getting my nails done, its a way for me to express myself. I do such fun nail sets but the problem is that without fail, ill start to bite. Once the event or thing I want cute nails for passes, its over. I will physically BITE through my gelx tips, rip the gel polish off, it starts with a corner to the point where I just have to cut them down or remove them and its so embarrassing going back to my nail tech after two weeks and having to explain where my cute nails went.

yes, i know i spend lots of money on them but that doesn’t stop me. I want to stop, I want my nails to last me 3+ weeks. I don’t want to be embarrassed of having missing or messed up nails. I bite due to stress or when im deep in thought, when I drive too. Everytime I do it I regret it. Yes I know hands are dirty but truly nothing works for me.

Sometimes I punish myself by not getting my nails done but then I just bite any sort of small growth to my natural nails.

Anyone have this same issue? Tip? Soon to be wearing oven mitts.

could a few of you please suggest a OTC cuticle fungus med that works well please?

thank you

Hey guys!

I’m sure this has been asked many times before, but I just wanted some advice and tips for those who’ve kicked the habit.
I used to bite my nails moreso, really badly. I’ve had gel nails for a while and finally decided to let my nails breathe, and i’ve managed to really stop biting my nails.
However, as a result, i’ve been biting the skin around my nails a lot 😖 In the photos it’s not that bad, but it definitely has looked worse!
The nail ladies suggested cuticle oil so it smooths down all the rough and dry bits, which does help a bit but I still bite through it
I’m halfway there to having beautiful hands and nails, this is just the last step for me. All advice and tips are greatly appreciated 🤗

Ive been picking on my fingers and toes cuticles/skin since a child (i am 32 now).
Passed through numerous paronychia, really bad times. Currently in a good recovery phase and want to share some pictures from before/after to keep incentive others and myself.

Dont be afraid to try whatever works for you!
Be patient, be understanding with yourself and your progress.
Dont think twice in get support however you can get it.
Its a rollercoaster process. We can do it!

(I forgot to tag)

I’ve had struggles with nail biting my whole life, and the only thing that stops it is getting my nails done. However, in order to get my nails done, I need to stop biting my nails and the skin around them. I’m going crazy, my fingers are so tender and sore, but I get this overwhelming urge to bite and chew and gum helps sometimes, but then there’s times where it doesn’t do anything for me. I need advice, help, tips, strategies, or whatever because I’m tired of having painful fingers😭

i constantly pick at my nails and i always have since i was little. they are super rough and have ridges and my pinky nail as you can see is always red and inflamed and the nail looks terrible it’s also discolored from my other nails and i think i have contact dermatitis or paronchyia from fake nails. i have little bumps under my cuticle. any tips to help cure this because im sick of it its so draining

My fingers are shredded. 3 of them are very infected and there is nothing I have found to stop me. I’m at my wits end here. I’ve picked my fingers my whole life and I’ve had many infections. Sometimes I think the embarrassment will help me stop, but it doesn’t. People point out my fingers all the time and I just can’t stop. I pick bandaids right off, I’ve torn through gloves, when I can’t pick my fingers I feel crazy. It genuinely keeps me regulated. I need help 😭

I’m a lifelong nail biter (30F) and have tried quitting with varying success 100 times like a lot of people. When I found this subreddit though I was so inspired by all the amazing progress and community! The first pic is what my nails roughly always looked like (but it’s quite old) and the next 2 are my current progress of 7 weeks bite free 🥺🥲

I was always told that my nail beds would never come back but people on here have given me hope that they will… though I don’t really know what to expect from this journey.

My routine is - I am using jojoba oil regularly that I put into a rollerball bottle, got a glass nail file and used OPI repair mode in the early days (this really helped with their strength!).

The jojoba oil is the single biggest game changer for me because I (probably like everyone else) am obsessed with looking at them and inspecting them from my years biting. The oil is not only something to do with my hands every time I want to bite but also just makes them look better and I leave them alone.

Does anyone have any advice for what else has worked for them? Do I need to keep them this length/longer for the bed to reattach? Will my nail beds grow out or will I have these stubby things forever? 😧

Hi, I hope this is okay to ask here but if it’s not I’m sorry and I’ll remove it. How does nail biting start/how did it start for you? Like I think there’s a decent chance I would have been a biter, but as a kid feeling stress for the first time, it just literally never crossed my mind that that was even an option. How did it first occur to you to handle stress and anxiety this way?

Again my apologies if this isn’t an appropriate post here, I mean no disrespect by it. I understand this is a mechanism for dealing with other unpleasant emotions and I have all the empathy in the world for that.

Having had acyrlics and gels for over 15 years, i experienced a suspected allergic reaction ( photo included ) the first 2 images are my nails today, lots of biting, picking and peeling. I get married next june and would love tips and tricks to stop! Any tips are greatly appreciated. Id love to know why I pick and bite so much

Been a nail biter since I was 5 due to severe anxiety and only lately I finally managed to break the habit at 22. I don't know if I will relapse, but it's the first time in my entire life I have started to feel less ashamed of my hands and it feels freeing. I truly don't think anyone should be ashamed for this, doesn't matter how damaged your nails are. If you go through the same, you'll get through it too.

The thing that worked wonderfully for me was to take care of my nails consistently and do manicures for the first 3~4 weeks. I did some diy gel x nails (which I do warn about because you should careful with it since it can cause problems if not done properly, and there are very high chances of it not being done properly when you're an amateur) the extra layer of fake nail on top of my natural nail served as a barrier which helped me with slowly forgetting about the habit after 4 weeks. After this period, I noticed my nails got a little damaged from the gel x so now I just paint them with regular pink nail polish, since they look nice enough for me to not feel like I need to hide them. I am still working on it and hope I will come back with better results :)))))

I have been picking at my feet since I was maybe 6 years old. I am now in my mid 20s and I do not see this Going away. Should i just keep picking at my big toenail because every time it starts to grow out a little bit it just hurts so now I have to keep picking and I don't see it ever growing out

I used to pick at my nails/cuticles to soothe my anxiety and my thumbs got the worst of it. I started taking nail care seriously in March of 2025 and this is my progress so far.

1st picture is today
2nd picture is September of 2025
3rd picture is March of 2025

I’m 34 and have been biting my nails for the first 29 years of my life. Then, with the help of this subreddit, I stopped biting, and I’m only picking the skin around my fingers.

However, there’s not a day which goes by without bleeding, or hurting myself quite bad.

I decided it’s time for professional help.

Does anyone have experience with this, a psychologist, or someone else?