Mum Pulls 27 Fingernails From the Gums Of Her Son

I do it. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Although I do wish I could stop it. Yes, nail biting. That unconscious trait which sees you eat yourself alive.

And with the final exams (GCSE's, A-Levels and university degrees) all starting, plus the end of the football season, I'm sure I'm not alone in the chewing.

Credit: PA

There's always that person nagging: "Stop biting your nails."

All I can say is, after watching this video, I may think twice next time my finger gets wedged in between my teeth.

Sara Guidry, from Louisiana, US, posted a video of her pulling 27 (yes, TWENTY-SEVEN) fingernails from the lining of her little boy's gums, with just a pair of tweezers.

It's not for the faint-hearted...

Credit: Viral Hog

In a Facebook post she wrote: "Kale [her son] has always kept us on our toes. Looking in Kale's mouth I see something white in his gums. I get a tweezer and pull it. It looked like a fingernail.

"I continued to pull four more out. I then search his mouth and find another area. I pulled 27 out of the second spot. YES 27!"

Jesus, the little chap has some mighty chewing ability.

She added: "The dentist has never seen anything like this. We figured out that Kale bites his nails and plays with them in his mouth.

"He pushes them up towards his pallet. The nail penetrates the skin and goes into a pocket between the baby teeth and permanent teeth."

She finished with: "Don't let you children bite their nails!"

The art of biting your nails is known as dermatillomania. And two out of seven of us reportedly suffer from the condition.

While it may settle you down, and relieve stress, apparently chomping on your nails means that you ingests more germs than you should be doing.

Even worse though, you're opening up the under layer of your skin to bacteria, which could cause serious infection in that area.

Credit: PA

But how do you stop? Netdoctor understands the difficulty.

The online service says: "It's an automatic, often subconscious habit, driven by a strong compulsion that gets worse at times of stress.

"There is no medical evidence that supports a particular approach to treatment."

The online doc does have some recommendations, however.

It suggests: "Transparent nail paint with a bitter taste - it will make you aware when your fingers are in your mouth, file your jagged nails down - as opposed to using your teeth to do the trick.

"Wear gloves for a couple of weeks - whenever possible to begin the healing process."

Featured Image Credit: Viral Hog

Topics: dentist

Michael Minay

Mike Minay is a trending journalist at LADbible. He’s co-ordinated interviews with some of the big names from the world of news and sport including ITV’s Robert Peston, Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling and darts champion Michael van Gerwen. His reporting days began on University radio in Birmingham, before moving to BBC Sport Online – creating content for large events such as Wimbledon and the FA Cup final. Mike still commentates on Football League matches at the weekend. A Manchester LAD at heart.

@MikeMinay