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This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.
Hangnails are a problem that disturbs a large number of people regardless of their age, hand condition, and the amount of completed work that needs to be done by hand.
The hangnail causes not only discomfort and sometimes pain but untidiness of the hands as well. So, the manicure preparations for important events oftentimes go down the drain, and in personal meetings, you try to hide your hands.
What irritates the most is that it is often even impossible to predict the hangnail’s appearance. However, aware means armed. It is possible to minimize the inconvenience hangnails cause if you know how to treat a hangnail. Moreover, it is possible to prevent the problem when you know basic things about how to deal with hangnails.
What Is Hangnail and Main Symptoms?
In spite of the name, hangnails do not hurt the nail itself. Actually, hangnails are pieces of skin that separate from the skin cover around the nail. To be more precise, a hangnail is a rupture of the skin of the nail fold. That is why it has such a name.
Why does a hangnail hurt? The point is that more often, hangnails occur at the nail’s base or sides — the places with many blood vessels and nerve endings. So, when the hangnail begins to inflame and swell, it causes pressure on nerve endings, which increases discomfort.
In fact, it is quite difficult to confuse a hangnail with something else since its symptoms are well known to many from the very childhood. Thus, the main symptoms of hangnails are:
- A visible piece of skin that sticks out next to the nail.
- Redness of the nail fold.
- Swelling of the skin.
- Discomfort or even pain on any touch.
Of course, if you have symptoms and have already had experience in how to get rid of a hangnail, it is easy for you to take your cuticle cutter scissors and solve the problem. However, you cannot be sure that hangnails will not return. In fact, it is necessary to not just know how to remove hangnail but be aware of how to prevent it. Therefore, you need to get to know the main reasons for the hangnail appearance.
The Main Causes of Hangnails
The main reason for the hangnail appearance is dryness and thinning of the skin around the nails. So, it is necessary to discover what causes such a skin condition.
There are external and internal factors, which cause skin dryness and hangnails.
External influences include:
- Contact with cold water;
- Contact with detergents;
- Cold air;
- Lack of proper hand care;
- Biting nails habit;
- Unprofessional manicure and pedicure;
- Use of low-quality varnish or artificial coating;
- Skin treatment with alcohol, salicylic acid, retinoid, etc.
Internal reasons include:
- Deficiency of trace elements and vitamins A and E;
- Disturbances in the intake of nutrients into the body;
- Digestion disorders;
- Lack of fluid in the body;
- Bacterial imbalance in the intestines;
- Hormonal failure and disorders of the thyroid gland.
Of course, more often, the causes of hangnails are external. Though, if you know that you have excluded all possible external causes, but hangnails still disturb you, it is necessary to pay attention to the internal reasons and visit your doctor.
How to Heal a Hangnail at Home?
To heal a hangnail at home, you need to provide a small procedure. Follow the guide:
- Wash your hands with soap.
- Prepare the necessary tools and sterilize them with alcohol.
- Soften the hand skin (fill any bowl with warm water, add a few drops of olive oil and essential oils of tea tree, bergamot, or rosemary, and soak your fingers in the bath for 5-10 minutes).
- Carefully cut off the torn pieces of skin with sharp tweezers or nail scissors (try to remove hangnails under the root so that they do not cling to clothes or hair — this can lead to new wounds).
- Treat the cuticle with an antiseptic.
- Use revitalizing and moisturizing hand cream.
There is also a guide that can help you to cope with hangnails on your toes. So, how to deal with a toe hangnail:
- Wash your feet or at least wipe them with a damp cloth.
- Prepare the necessary instruments and sterilize them.
- Fill the foot bath with warm water and soak your toes there for 10-15 minutes (you can also add different oils).
- Take your feet out and pat them dry with a towel.
- Put a clean towel under them.
- Cut off hangnails and treat the skin with an antiseptic.
- Use a revitalizing and moisturizing body cream.
Consider that if you feel constant pain, the hangnail swelling increases in size, and there are blisters and a feeling of warmth, your hangnail is infected.
It is better not to look for instructions on how to treat an infected hangnail but seek medical attention. Self-deletion of the infected hangnail can cause more problems than just discomfort from a healing wound.
How to Prevent Hangnails?
There are some simple rules that can help you to prevent the appearance of hangnails:
- Use special gloves when washing dishes or cleaning.
- Use hand cream all the time.
- Use sunscreen during the summer.
- Do not forget about gloves in winter.
- Find a reliable manicure and pedicure master.
- Use high-quality products and tools for home hand care.
Hands are always in sight, so your interlocutors simply cannot ignore them. That is why hands have become one of the waymarks that can help to know a person better. Thus, today, the beauty and neatness of hands and nails are an indicator of grooming.
So, such details as uneven nail edges, skin peeling, and so common hangnails do not improve your image at all.
What is more, hand and nail care is not limited to the assurance of external attractiveness only. Hands are exposed to various liquids and objects on a daily basis, which means they need protection.
Therefore, the prevention of hangnails can not only relieve you of discomfort but maintain the health of your hands.
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This content is brought to you by Kyryk Oleksandr.
