Finger Trouble
Nail biting is an active process, whereas thumb and finger sucking are passive. The former is a habit that comes on as soon as the child learns to control movements of the hands and continues up to 12 years of age or more. When the habits extend beyond age three or four, they can lead to baby talk, bed-wetting and worm infections. Extreme nail biting and thumb and finger sucking can, at times, lead to dental problems and finger necrosis.
Hair Twirling
This tends to affect girls more than boys. Hair twirling first appears in early childhood as a forerunner to hair pulling. It may be accompanied by hair loss, or no loss. Most children give up the habit once they grow up. When the habit extends to adulthood, it is often difficult to break. In such cases, anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are most likely the underlying triggers.
Nose Woes
Nose picking as a habit usually begins in childhood; it may continue into one’s adulthood. In an interesting study of adults, published in 1995, researchers found that almost 91 per cent picked their noses regularly. What’s worse is that about 8 per cent of them reported that they actually “ate” what they picked!
Homeopathic Healing
Homeopathy does not limit treatment to the physical symptoms. Each child may present their own unique distinctive pattern of symptoms, which is subject to one’s temperament and environmental factors. Individuals with the same illness may not be prescribed the same homeopathic remedy. The medicine may be prescribed as per the respective symptoms and individuality of the child.
Two homoeopathic remedies have been very useful in treating nail biting and thumb and finger sucking. They are Arum Triphylum, for nail biting, and Calcarea Carbonica, for thumb and finger sucking. In case of hair twirling and pulling of hair, Kali Phosphoricum is suggested to be a useful remedy. However, it would be imperative for one to seek the guidance of a professional homeopathic physician for tangible results.