14 DAY TRIAL // TLC's “My Strange Addiction” is again bringing viewers at home one of the most curious and rare cases of addiction: Ayanna can't – or won't – clip her nails even though her health is depending on it.
A brief video from the latest episode is below.
Ayanna has Type 2 Diabetes and, as such, she's supposed to keep very active and exercise as much as possible. She can't, though, with her toenails.
As you can see in the video, Ayanna can't wear any kind of shoes except for flip-flops. Occasionally, she cuts a pair of tennis shoes to wear outdoors, making sure she doesn't break a nail.
“Luckily,” she doesn't go out that much.
In the same episode, the grandmother reveals she started growing her fingernails when she was 24, but the addiction “spread” to her feet about 5 years ago, when she stopped clipping her toenails.
To make sure they remain intact, she doesn't wear socks or shoes, doesn't sleep on her belly, and always makes sure she doesn't bump into furniture.
She even climbs stairs on the side to prevent accidents.
Ayanna believes she's like a “nails goddess” and thinks her finger and toenails are “sassy.”
When her friend Vincent takes her to a dance class to show her how good she'd feel if she exercised more (see video), she constantly stresses that he will step on her toes and ruin her “babies,” as she refers to her extremely long claws.
Not even Vincent's honest plea, the kind anyone would want a friend to make in dire times, makes Ayanna understand that she's at risk if she doesn't clip her nails and get the exercise she needs.
“They are 50 per cent of who I am. I will absolutely not cut them,” she says, determined to do it her way.