It hurts, it hurts, I can't stop tearing my barbs! It's not because of vitamin deficiency, but because of this habit...

Expert of this article: Zhou Xiaobo, Doctor of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

After autumn, the weather gradually becomes drier, and it is easy to get hangnails on your fingers.

At first it was just a small piece of dead skin that was raised, but most people couldn't tolerate it and had to tear it off or bite it off, which resulted in a long cut that left excruciating pain.

In those years when I was young and ignorant, my hands were covered in blood...

Some people even tore off their thorns and sent themselves to the hospital.

Why is it so dangerous to tear off barbs? You will know after reading this.

Does hangnails mean vitamin deficiency?

This small piece of dead skin is medically called "reverse peeling". Its main feature is the tearing and curling of the skin around the nail, and it is mostly in the form of a long longitudinal triangle. Because it more directly exposes the free nerve endings in the skin, the slightest touch will cause intense discomfort.

There are always rumors that hangnails are caused by eating too little vegetables or lack of vitamins. As for which vitamins are involved, there are different opinions from A to E.

In fact, to date, few studies have been able to directly confirm that a certain vitamin deficiency can cause local skin lesions.

Although a lack of vitamin A may cause dry skin and aggravate hangnails to a certain extent, it may also cause decreased vision and multiple skin spots.

A lack of B vitamins such as vitamin B2 and B6 can lead to symptoms such as seborrheic dermatitis and chapped lips.

Lack of other vitamins often causes other systemic changes in addition to skin symptoms. Therefore, vitamin deficiency is not the direct cause of hangnails.

Why do people have hangnails?

To understand this problem, we must first realize that the skin is composed of multiple layers of cells. Sebum exists in the outermost stratum corneum, which locks in their moisture and ensures that each layer of skin is tightly adhered together.

Unfortunately, most skin has enough sebaceous glands to secrete sebum, except for our periungual area.

The skin here is thin and lacks sebaceous glands and sweat glands. It neither produces oil nor sweats, and can only rub the oil from the surrounding skin to barely maintain its stability.

However, some people love to wash their hands because they have a strong sense of hygiene. This process will take away the sebaceous gland secretions around the nails, which are already insufficient, causing the skin there to become drier, making it easier for the epidermis to peel off and produce hangnails after being stimulated.

Can the barbs be torn off?

I guess everyone has tried pulling off hangnails. Although in most cases, apart from causing a heart-wrenching pain, it generally doesn't cause much harm.

But in some cases, it may lead to serious consequences, the most common of which is inducing paronychia.

Paronychia can be mild or severe. In mild cases, the pain may persist for several days to weeks, while in severe cases, local suppurative infection may occur. If some cases are not treated in time, they may even require the tragedy of finger amputation!

Even though some people know the dangers of tearing off hangnails, they still can't help but want to deal with it themselves. In addition, they often have compulsive symptoms such as picking their nails, tearing off dead skin on their lips, and pulling out their hair. They may even cause normal skin and skin appendages to bleed, but they are still happy despite the pain.

At this time, you need to be alert to the possibility of suffering from certain mental illnesses!

There is an obsessive-compulsive disorder-related disease called compulsive skin excoriation disorder, the main symptom of which is the inability to stop peeling the skin. If you find that you have tried many times to change this habit but always fail, in addition to carefully handling skin wounds, you should also seek help from a psychologist in a timely manner to gradually change this compulsive behavior.

What should I do if I have hangnails?

If you have unfortunately developed periungual hangnails——

First of all, you need to be patient and resist the urge to tear it off or bite it off.

Then soak the local skin in warm water to soften it, disinfect the nail clippers or small scissors with alcohol, and trim along the roots of the long barbs until there is no obvious peeling.

Follow with a hand cream or moisturizer to protect your skin.

The importance of preventing thorns is more important than post-treatment.

First of all, you need to avoid excessive cleaning of your hands. For people who have heavy housework, it is recommended to wear rubber gloves to protect the skin of their hands. In addition to preventing hangnails, it also has a good preventive effect on other skin diseases of the hands such as dyshidrotic eczema.

In addition, it is recommended to always have hand cream on hand and apply some after washing your hands. The skin around the nails secretes insufficient oil, so we use hand cream to supplement them.

In winter or in areas with dry climates, you can use a humidifier to increase the humidity of the environment and prevent excessive loss of skin moisture from the air.

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