StreetTest

StreetTest: Ways to Stop Biting Your Nails

We tested 3 methods of quitting nail biting:

• gloves (light cotton) - to cover the hands, thereby preventing you from biting. The idea here is "outa sight ..outa mind."
• elastic band around the wrist - snap it every time you catch yourself biting. The elastic band should fit on your wrist, just tight enough to stay put.
• awful tasting nail polish - to gross yourself out so you won't bite any more

Three testers each picked one of the above methods. All three were motivated to quit - an indication that they would test the method fairly and consistently.

We asked the testers to:

• Treat any lapse as a temporary correctable wrong turn, not as an excuse to give up. Get right back on track again - but please note the lapse.
• Keep a log of personal thoughts as they go through this process to help them remember specific points.
• Try not to change any other behavior during this two week period.

Results:

After three weeks using the methods:

Gloves did not work. Jennifer wore them and said they did not work because she couldn't keep them on.

Bad tasting Nail Creams (UNDISCLOSED BRAND) worked. Jamie said the bad taste was a helpful reminder of the goal at hand, and managed to stop biting altogether.

Elastic Bands worked. Tamar said it was painful at times, and she would have preferred using the polish first to see if that could work for her. But after wearing the elastic every other day for three weeks, she stopped biting her nails.

NOTE: This test did not evaluate whether the testers managed to keep from biting their nails after they stopped using the methods.

Send feedback to: streetcents@halifax.cbc.ca