摘要：每個(gè)都有自己沒(méi)有意識(shí)到的“小怪癖”：咬吸管，抖腳，咬指甲，輕微潔癖等。據(jù)調(diào)查，全球數(shù)百萬(wàn)人愛(ài)咬指甲，然而這癖好頗為“自殘”，有些小痛苦，而且比吸煙還難戒掉，但大多數(shù)人并不以為這是什么壞習(xí)慣而忽視它，其實(shí)這是強(qiáng)迫癥的體現(xiàn)。

                                                                          Nail biting is more than a bad habit

                                                 
       Millions of people around the world suffer from a self-mutilating and often painful addiction to biting their nails, which can be harder to quit than smoking cigarettes, but is often overlooked as a relatively benign habit.

Medical experts are now taking a closer look at the addiction and have decided to change its classification from a mere habit to a full-fledged obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The American Psychiatric Association is preparing to change the designation of nail biting from ‘not otherwise classified,’ to ‘obsessive compulsive disorder’ in its upcoming issue of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, NBC News reported.

Habits that are commonly associated with OCD include repetitive hand-washing and hair-pulling. The disease is characterized by unreasonable thoughts and fears that lead to such repetitive behaviors.

The occasional chewed nail isn’t an indication of the disorder, medical experts assure.

‘As with hair pulling and skin picking, nail biting isn't a disorder unless it is impairing, distressing, and meets a certain clinical level of severity,’ Carol Mathews, M.D., a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, told NBC News.

‘That is not the vast majority of nail bitters,’ she said.

Nail chewing is considered severe when the habit becomes destructive – when it impairs use of the hands or leads to repeated infections.

Sometimes a nail-biter’s hands and fingers can become infected, but more often, the habit leads to an increased risk of contracting colds and other illnesses because it encourages the spread of germs from the nails to the lips and mouth.

Nail biters looking to quit their addiction may find they are less inclined to stick their fingers in their mouths if they put lemon juice or hot sauce on their digits.

Former nail biters who quit the habit said it also helps to wrap nails in tape or Band-Aids and to keep their hands well-manicured.

全球數(shù)百萬(wàn)人愛(ài)咬指甲，這嗜好頗為“自殘”，有些小痛苦，而且比吸煙還難戒掉，但經(jīng)常被人們忽視，認(rèn)為不過(guò)是一種相對(duì)沒(méi)什么壞處的習(xí)慣。

醫(yī)學(xué)專家目前正對(duì)此進(jìn)行進(jìn)一步研究，而且已經(jīng)決定將其從一種習(xí)慣劃分到強(qiáng)迫癥。

據(jù)美國(guó)國(guó)家廣播公司報(bào)道，美國(guó)精神病學(xué)會(huì)正準(zhǔn)備在下期《診斷和統(tǒng)計(jì)手冊(cè)》中將“咬甲癖”的名稱從“無(wú)其他分類”改為“強(qiáng)迫癥”。

與強(qiáng)迫癥有關(guān)的習(xí)慣包括反復(fù)洗手和抓頭發(fā)，通常以過(guò)度思考和恐懼而導(dǎo)致重復(fù)同一種行為為特點(diǎn)。

醫(yī)學(xué)專家明確說(shuō)，偶爾咬指甲不代表患上強(qiáng)迫癥。

美國(guó)舊金山加州大學(xué)精神病專家、醫(yī)學(xué)博士卡羅-馬修斯告訴美國(guó)全國(guó)廣播公司：“和抓頭發(fā)與抓撓皮膚一樣，咬指甲在造成一定的損害，給人帶來(lái)煩惱，并在臨床上達(dá)到一定的嚴(yán)重程度時(shí)才會(huì)劃分為強(qiáng)迫癥?！?/span>

她說(shuō)：“而大多數(shù)愛(ài)咬指甲的人都到不了這個(gè)程度?！?/span>

當(dāng)咬指甲的習(xí)慣具有破壞性時(shí)，我們才會(huì)考慮情況很嚴(yán)重了，也就是當(dāng)它影響到了手的使用，或者導(dǎo)致反復(fù)感染。

在有些時(shí)候，有咬甲癖的人的手和手指會(huì)感染，但這種習(xí)慣在更多情況下會(huì)增加人們患上感冒和其他疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，因?yàn)檫@增大了細(xì)菌從指甲中傳染到嘴唇和嘴里的幾率。

想要戒掉咬甲癖的人們可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，如果在手指上涂上檸檬汁或者辣椒醬，就不太會(huì)咬指甲了。

戒掉咬甲癖的人說(shuō)，在手上纏膠帶或者創(chuàng)可貼也很有幫助，要保持精心修正的手型。
 Vocabulary:
   obsessive-compulsive disorder: 強(qiáng)迫癥，強(qiáng)迫性精神障礙