Stress leads to nail-biting, but a promising aid may help
Q: I have been feeling anxious about being stuck at home because of the coronavirus.
Stress has led me to start biting my nails again. My thumbs look awful, and my wife gives me a lot of grief about them.
I have sometimes used instant glue to stop myself from chewing on the rough spots. I figure that it’s not healthy to swallow the dried glue. Do you have any other ideas about how to overcome this horrible habit?
A: Nail-biting is a particularly bad habit when you are trying to avoid infection with COVID-19. No amount of preaching about keeping your hands away from your face (and your fingers out of your eyes, nose and mouth) will give you the willpower to just stop cold turkey. Neither will the impressive name doctors call it: onychophagia.
However, Australian scientists may have come up with a promising aid almost by accident. According to The Wall Street Journal (Dec. 28, 2020), they were testing a nutraceutical, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), for its ability to help people with bipolar disorder. Unexpectedly, a few of the people in the study stopped biting their nails while they were taking the supplement (CNS Spectrums, Nov. 7, 2014). It may be helpful against other obsessive behaviors such as hair pulling as well.
A randomized controlled trial found that NAC was more effective than placebo in helping youngsters stop biting their nails (Anti-inflammatory & Anti-allergy Agents in Medicinal Chemistry,
Nail-biting is a particularly bad habit when you are trying to avoid being infected by COVID-19.
2013). The study was small, however. We’d really like to see more research before we become overly enthusiastic. NAC is inexpensive and safe, so you might want to give it a try.
Q: I’ve had IBS with explosive diarrhea since my 30s, decades ago. As a result, I was afraid to go out unless there was a restroom close by. Then I read your article about the folks in New Zealand who used a raspberry powder remedy for Montezuma’s revenge while traveling.
I decided to try it, and I’ve only had two diarrhea episodes in the past month! I found an electrolyte raspberry powder drink mix online, and I use it once a day, after dinner. I also take psyllium husk capsules morning and evening. Now I’m no longer afraid to leave home!
A: Thank you for sharing your experience. IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) can be extremely challenging. Some people, like you, have severe diarrhea. Others may suffer from chronic constipation or a mixture of the two.
We have found regrettably
little research on raspberry fruit to treat diarrhea, although the leaves are a traditional anti-diarrheal remedy (Current Medicinal Chemistry, June 2004). A related plant that grows in Mexico and Central America, Rubus coriifolius, contains compounds that are active against diarrhea caused by the parasite Giardia (Journal of Ethnopharmacology, February 2007).
Some other approaches for diarrhea include probiotics, plant pectin, berberine, psyllium and coconut. The person who told us about coconut suffered from Crohn’s disease, which can also cause diarrhea. Coconut macaroon cookies changed his life.
A possible explanation involves lauric acid, a component of coconut oil. This fatty acid has antimicrobial activity against dangerous gut bacteria that have been associated with chronic diarrhea (Cell Transplantation, December 2019).