A 21-year-old woman is lucky to still have her finger after a lifelong habit turned into a serious infection. Gabby Swierzewski has been biting her nails since childhood. But the habit more recently came back to bite her.
Videos by Wide Open Country
In February, her finger became infected after biting her nail too short.
"This began on Feb. 6; it initially began as a hangnail, and it was extremely painful," Swierzewski told People. "Hang nails are a common occurrence for me, so of course, I thought it would go away, as I have been biting my nails since I was 8."
However, instead, her finger became very swollen and red. Her doctor prescribed her antibiotics and an ointment, but the treatment wasn't working. "They went on to try and pop the abscess and cut under my nail, they could not get anything, other than blood," Swierzewski explained. "They prescribed me a second antibiotic."
Almost Lost Her Finger
But as the days went by, her finger turned a new shade of purple and became unbearably painful. She drove herself to the emergency room. Doctors had to drain an abscess in the finger, but that still didn't treat the infection. She next saw a hand specialist who said it was "the worst case she's ever seen."
Swierzewski would need surgery. They performed an irrigation and debridement procedure, but if the infection had gone to her bone, they would need to amputate the finger. Fortunately, they managed to stop the infection.
Since the infection, Swierzewski says she struggles with her nail-biting addiction. But she is trying to stop the habit. The last thing she wants is another infection like the one that she has got.
"It is a very important awareness topic, and it seems like not many people knew that nail biting could cause such a big issue, including myself," she said. "I still catch myself attempting to bite my nails, but instead of biting hard, I have just been nibbling on them. I quickly stop and reassess what I am doing. I fully believe that I will be successful this time and that the habit will stop."
