r/calmhands

i got this on my finger 3 days ago and noticed swelling with a small green spot after hitting it. i found paronychia online, but there’s no pus. warm soaks haven’t helped, and it feels tight like a rubber band with pressure/pain when bumped. i bite my nails. i can’t see a doctor right now 🥲 could walgreens help? i’m unsure about my medical card/insurance after turning 18, moving out, and changing my info. the color is hair dye 😭

also the pic w circle im pointing out seems to be like a white area ish i cant rlly tell? should i try to pop that w a small needle or leave my finger as is. i just dont think theres puss but if that is i for sure want to have some relief

I struck my nail against a thick blanket at a weird angle (I know — how pitiful/pathetic), and it snapped all the way backwards, it happened in a split second, before I even had a chance to process it, much less to try to stop it from happening. It was too late; it had suffered a severe crack. There was no way to undo it. That nail was just thin and wreak and fragile, I guess.

So sad. It’s a shame, I loved that nail! That nail was the prettiest one. (My ring finger was the nail that got damaged.) And it took several months to reach that length. I am so disappointed. It was pretty painful, too! (It was throbbing/bothering me, so I put a bandage over it…) 🩹❤️‍🩹🏥⛑️ My nails were completely naked/bare when this happened. Super delicate.

I am so upset that this happened.

It broke SOOO FAR DOWN on the finger, too. I’m like— ”Noooooooooo!” 😩 (as I yelled into the void… 🕳️📣)

I feel so discouraged. My nails are all random lengths now: short, extra short, medium/long. It seems like as soon as I finally get my nails to a nice length that I like, I suffer a nail break inevitably. I don’t mean to be rough with my hands, but sometimes, it happens. It was an accident. I’m not even a clumsy person, usually. They were finally starting to look somewhat uniform in length and shape. Now they look all wonky. ☹️

Normally when this happens, I would big chop. But this time, I don’t want to big chop, because currently I have 7/10 “good“ nails, and the other 3 nails are in the struggle/regrowth phase.

💔❤️‍🩹🙏📿 Please, I need encouragement... 💀🥺😖😞😟😢🤬🫩😑😬😪🤕

I am sooo impatient, just even thinking about how long it’s going to take for that nail to grow back. Ugh. 😣

Unfortunately, there is no “instant gratification.” It takes time, and good nail habits, to see results… I am completely free from all acrylics and press-ons, for the past few years. Embracing my natural nails, without nail enhancements, is totally my lifestyle now. It takes sooooo much time, like it takes several weeks, if not months, to see a few mm of growth.

Wish me luck. 😔

I still catch myself doing it but omg it like does not cut as deep or something so then there’s not something to keep picking… it is so much better already 🥺🥹

I don't remember exactly when I stopped but i am getting to a stage where the nails are reaching the tips of my fingers.

But now im running into a problem, it's incredibly uncomfortable to write on my keyboard.

The nails start hitting the keycaps and the feeling is driving me nuts.

I already trimmed my thumbnails because I couldn't take it anymore.

Does anyone have any tipps on better fingerposition or a different keyboard?

Biting has been the worst ever this summer. I finally bought ”stop nail bite” and now it’s been 12 days!!! My friends doesn’t seem to see any difference, so I’m posting here in the hope that maybe someone does!! (Been biting since 7 years old)

i’ve been picking my nails/skin around it since I was a kid, and it’s only got worse. For some reason, I pick only two nails, my index fingers. They are so short and this picture doesn’t even do it justice how bad it gets. I need someone to knock sense into me that bad things will happen if I continue picking like this. Give me some scary facts that can happen, I think that’ll be the only way I can try preventing myself from picking if I keep going back to this post and seeing the comments.

I’ve also tried EVERYTHING. Stress toys, picking toys, and acrylic nails. Acrylic nails are the only thing that doesn’t make me pick my nails but they are expensive to get done, so i can’t do it all the time. And sometimes if I can’t pick at my nails, I pick at my eyebrow instead.

This is my first time posting on reddit so if there's anything wrong with this post please let me know

I always hear a lot about people either biting their nails or picking loose hangnails but I have never seen anyone who picks their cuticles this way.

I usually only pick my thumbs (mostly on the left hand even though I'm right handed) and I really go under the cuticle which is why you can see my nail being so wavy. The skin around it is quite damaged too since that's what I resort to when my cuticle is too injured to pick it anymore.

Does anyone else do this too? Tips are appreciated, but this is mostly just to find out if there's anyone who dies this too, sine I always feel like I'm on my own with this :(

I've been picking my nails and the skin around my nails for as long as I can remember. It is such a tough habit to break and I've tried to stop millions of times. but I finally decided that it's time to stop destroying my hands.

This is 1 month of progress :)

I have always bitten my nails, started biting the skin around a little bit later. I have always hated my hands and hid them. I don't have clear pics of my starting point so I had to take a screenshot from a video friends took of me.

Started competing in bodybuilding shows where it's custom to have nail extensions. That was the moment I decided to take care of my hands. I realized I could have beautiful hands. Stopped biting anything for 2 months now. My extensions fell off and the nails under it are now paper thin but I really want to continue.

I'm bad at applying nail polish but until my nail beds recover (if they ever do) Ill try to improve.

Thanks for this reddit. Ive been lurking for a while and it's been such a huge help.

I’ve been pretty quiet here for a while, so I figured it was time for an update!!
For anyone who’s new (or doesn’t remember me): I have personally picked my cuticles forever and work in behavioral health and see it all the time in my job too. Sooo I’ve been developing a reusable silicone sleeve that covers the nail and cuticle to help redirect skin picking, nail biting, and other BFRBs.
We’re finally getting close to launch, but I’ve learned that making the product was only half the battle. The real problem has been SIZING 😳
I wanted to launch with multiple sizes because accessibility has always been a core part of this project. But every additional size means another production mold, which gets expensive fast for a small business.
So lately I’ve been obsessing over things I never thought I’d know this much about:
average thumb vs. finger measurements,
how much silicone actually stretches comfortably,
which fingers people pick most often,
and how to make this thing fit as many people as possible without leaving people behind.
One thing I’m really excited about is our Fit Finder. Instead of asking you to guess your size, it’ll ask a couple of simple questions and recommend the best fit for you. Would be happy to share the specific Fit Finder questions ahead of time if people are interested!
This community has influenced so many design decisions over the past year, and I’m incredibly grateful for that. Thank you to everyone who’s shared feedback, encouragement, or even just followed along.
If you want to see the final prototypes, behind-the-scenes updates, and be the first to know when we launch in the next couple of months, I’d love to have you over on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tranquilitips/ The waitlist is open too and is going to flip to honest to gosh preorders in the next couple weeks! https://tranquilitips.com/

It feels surreal to finally be this close. Thanks for sticking with me. ❤️

Hi! Hoping for some good advice since I'm going to a wedding tomorrow and want to look put-together. My entire life I've had issues with biting/picking my nails, and starting in my teenage years sometimes the skin around the nail when I don't feel satisfied wanting everything to feel smooth. I know, I just make the unevenness worse with this, but BFRBs are illogical.

I've never gotten my nails professionally done in my 24 years of life, since I never saw myself as worthy of it. I'm hoping cleaning myself up for a wedding is a good excuse to start taking care of my nails better.

Is there any saving this? What would make the most sense? Press-ons from a store? Painting these little nubs? A salon? If I did go to a salon, what would I ask for?

Thank you so much in advance! ❤️

My hand has been like this for two weeks by now :(

I’m afraid this is a wart and I’m so embarrassed I was doing so good with not biting my nails. After it’s been like this I haven’t been able to stop biting them now. Is there any way I can treat this on my own?

Ive recently developed this infection/sore on my right thumb super painful as i work with my hands igs become unbearable. Ive tried soaking it everyday and hes been like this for the better part of a week. Seeing a doctor today

>!my thumbs and some of my fingers regularly look like this. Its painful and makes washing, cleaning and generally touching things difficult. the worse they get the more inclined i am to bite because of lifted/peeling edges that i can feel. been biting for 10+ years, i don’t know how to stop. the problem is less my nails and more the skin, so acrylic nails/nail polish dont work. !<