The strange health benefit to biting your nails

It’s one of those nasty habits people find hard to kick, but nibbling on your nails when you were young may have set you up later in life, says a new study.

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Researchers at McMaster University's School of Medicine in New Zealand found people who bit their nails or sucked their thumbs as tots were less likely to suffer from allergies.

And if you did both? Well, congrats because you’re even less likely to be react to things such as dust mites, smoke and pet hair - even now as an adult.

The theory is that nail biting and thumb sucking exposes children to dirt and germs, which helps strengthen their immune systems.

OK, kind of gross, but also interesting because it plays into the theory that we’ve made our living spaces too clean and we’re not giving our immunity the chance to develop.

"Our findings are consistent with the hygiene theory that early exposure to dirt or germs reduces the risk of developing allergies," explained Professor Malcom Sears.

Now, we’re not saying you should embrace a messed up mani now, but instead, take comfort if you were a secret childhood nail biter that it wasn’t all bad…

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