Hangnails - What Do I Do About Them?

A hangnail is that annoying little flap of skin around your cuticle. It's nothing more than dead skin. The skin in that area, which does not contain a good supply of oil to begin with, simply dries out. Women who have their hands in water a lot or who bite their nails commonly get them, but anyone with dry hands is at risk. People who work with paper tend to get them because the paper absorbs oil from their hands. (I'm not sure why I get them, but in the winter, my cuticles tend to look awful!) So what should you do if you get one? First of all, (and this is the part I have trouble with!) don't bite hangnails. Doing so can cause cuts around your fingers which can get infected. Instead "clip it short, and clip it early," says Joseph Bark, M.D., a Lexington, KY, dermatologist. And before you clip it, soak it in a little water or a water and oil solution to soften it. Clipping it when it's hard can end up ripping the skin more. How can you avoid getting them all together? Soak in an oil-and-water solution. Mix 4 capfuls of bath oil to 1 pint of water and soak your fingertips in it for 10 to 15 minutes. Another solution is to rub an emollient cream or ointment on the affected finger(s) at bedtime, wrap it in a piece of plastic wrap and secure it with a bit of tape. The plastic keeps the moisture in overnight. (Remove in the morning.) You should also moisturize your cuticles every day. Every time you apply moisturizer to your hands, take extra time to rub some into the cuticles. Finally, cuticle-removing solutions are not a good idea. Many contain sodium hydroxide which can destroy skin tissue and cause irritation if left on too long. And, it's the cuticle, that provides the vital function of protecting your nails from harmful bacteria and fungi. Protect your cuticle - protect your nail! Source: The Doctors Book Of Home Remedies, The editors of Prevention Magazine Health Books, 1990