Why do I often get hangnails on my fingers? What should I do?

In autumn and winter, I tend to have hangnails on the edges of my nails. What's going on?

Also, every time I get a hangnail, I can't help but tear it off, and the result is as you can imagine, bleeding, pain, and small wounds. May I ask, how should I deal with hangnails properly?

Hangnails around the nails (scientific name: periungual hangnails) are mainly caused by the cuticle being too dry and separating.

As we all know, the surface of human skin is the stratum corneum. The stratum corneum of most parts contains hair follicles and sebaceous glands, and the sebum secreted by them is the natural moisturizer of the skin.

Don't underestimate this moisturizer. It can reduce the evaporation of moisture in the stratum corneum, lock in local moisture, and make the stratum corneum fit closely with the underlying skin and not easily separated.

But the problem is that the skin around the nails is special. It lacks hair follicles and has almost no oil protection. Therefore, the cuticle in this area can easily peel off from the underlying skin due to dryness, thus forming hangnails.

In addition, in addition to frequent physical friction, the fingers themselves are also easily exposed to dirt, detergents, etc., which will further damage the already weak and unprotected cuticle around the nails.

Coupled with the dry weather in autumn and winter, this will make the already dry nail area even worse.

As a result, it is completely normal for the cuticles around the nails to dry out and peel off!

From this we can also know that in order to prevent the occurrence of hangnails, we should try to avoid the above-mentioned harmful factors on a daily basis, pay attention to protecting the skin of the hands, and keep them moisturized.

Once you have a barb, don't bite or tear it, otherwise it may cause infection or suppuration. In mild cases, it may cause a mild skin infection, or in severe cases, it may cause paronychia, or a subcutaneous abscess or subungual abscess.

If subcutaneous abscesses and subungual abscesses are not treated, they may develop into purulent dactylitis and even cause phalangeal osteomyelitis, which may require surgery.

The correct way to deal with hangnails is:

Soak your hands in warm water for 5 minutes to soften the nails and surrounding skin. Use a sharp and clean nail clipper to neatly cut off the hangnails at the base. Then apply a layer of hand cream and massage around the nails appropriately.