Issues With Cutting Fingernails

[CyborgSpaceKitten]

So I have this issue that I was hoping someone else in here has some experience with and maybe someone can offer me some advice; I can't STAND cutting my fingernails. It's not the act of cutting them that bothers me, it's how my fingers/nails feel after that is the issue. I have serious problems with touching things that have certain textures (a lot of types of paper, fabrics, and things that snag/get stuck to my fingers) and this problem becomes EXPONENTIALLY worse when I cut my nails. The effects of this last almost a week, so every time I have to cut my nails, my next few days are pretty much completely ruined. I'm constantly getting overwhelmed and freaking out, and completely just breaking down because I am constantly uncomfortable and can barely touch anything. Is there any way to prevent this, or does anyone else have this problem? I often just let my nails get really long because I can't stand cutting them, but then they end up breaking eventually which makes them snag on MORE things. It's driving me insane.

 

[tree]

I file my fingernails.
I don't like the effect of trimming them with scissors or clippers.

Also, my fingernails are long, to me, if they reach the ends of my fingertips.
Some people have large, long fingernail bases.
I don't.

There is a lot of white showing even when they don't extend past the
end of my finger.

 

[janie]

Like tree, I thought to suggest filing.

For me it's toenails.

Ha!

 

[Southern Discomfort]

Yep, I used to be like this growing up. I couldn't stand the pressure applied to freshly cut nails. I would avoid it as long as possible. I had one girl claim that I had girl's nails at one time, how we all laughed.

 

[Judge]

As I child it really bothered me. That feeling while cutting them and the feeling afterwards. As I got older, it's one sensory issue that seemed to have waned with time.

I trim them down and keep them filed regularly with a sanding block, though what really does bother me now are any rough spots if they should catch on certain surfaces, usually cloth.

 

[Guppyfry]

Keep your fingernails short - trim them a bit every other day or so. I'm the opposite: If I reach for something and my nail(s) makes contact before my finger tips do, THAT freaks me out and causes distress that takes a long time to go away. I used to bite my nails when I was a teen, to the point that I almost didn't have any nails at all.

I stopped chewing on my fingers (a deliberate change I consciously implemented), and my nails grew back normally, but they MUST not be longer than the end of my fingers, or the world will end!

Anyways, I suggest trimming them of filing them often to keep them short.

 

[Buzzerfly]

My daughter (who's four) just trims hers with her teeth. We never have to clip them. Seems easiest for her. We clip the toes.

 

[toothless]

i am supposed to have my nails trimmed by other people as i cant do it myself but i refuse to allow it most of the time as it feels even more painful when its someone else doing it so i just chew them off when theyre bad,i really hate it when they catch on things they irritate me a lot and they split down the sides a lot which makes it even worse,i just end up sticking plasters on them,i cant have them filed as the sensation makes me feel extreme pain and cause me to bite myself or bang my head.

 

[CyborgSpaceKitten]

Filing pretty much has the same result for me. I just can't stand the feeling of the edge of the freshly filed nails. I guess it's not quite as bad as cutting them, so maybe that would be more tolerable than cutting them. I don't think i should bite them because i have bad teeth.

 

[Lady Penelope]

I hate using scissors on my nails too. The edges feel blunt and sharp and it takes days to get used to the new feeling. I file them and keep them short. Luckily i have long fingers and uniform nails but i still hate the filing feeling and how my nails feel after filing. I won't let anyone give me a manicure and a pedicure is so off limits it's not funny.