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Hangnails on the fingers
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Almost everyone has encountered such a small nuisance as a hangnail near the nail. However, not everyone knows that they only seem harmless. In addition to the fact that hangnails on the fingers create discomfort and look unaesthetic, they can become very inflamed and cause pain, and can fester in the future. In addition, epidemiological data confirm that even a small wound can cause a dangerous infection to enter the body.
Causes hangnails
There can be many different reasons for hangnails to appear on your fingers. Let's look at the most common ones.
When cleaning or washing dishes, very rarely does anyone protect their hands with rubber gloves. And in vain. The skin dries out greatly due to the action of household chemicals. And the main risk factor for hangnails is skin with roughened nail folds.
A poorly done manicure can also cause hangnails to appear on your fingers. This happens when a master who does not have enough experience has injured the skin near the nail. Although if you do not do a manicure and do not take care of your nails at all, you can find the same problem.
It is very common to notice hangnails on the fingers of a child who has just been born. This is due to postpartum dryness of the epidermis.
Another common cause of this pathology is the bad habit of biting nails.
The reason can be much more serious - hangnails appear as a result of a dermatological disease, the source of which is located near the nail fold.
A significant factor in the pathogenesis of the development of the disease, as a result of which the skin becomes very dry, are atopic dermatitis, eczema and others.
The formation of hangnails can be associated with dysbacteriosis, with disruption of the functioning of any organs, or with a deficiency of microelements (iron and calcium) and vitamins A, E, B2 and nicotinic acid.
Complications and consequences
The main mistake that many people make when a hangnail appears is tearing it off. Such actions are dangerous because the area will become inflamed and cause pain, a secondary infection may occur, which is fraught with serious consequences and complications: paronychia and panaritium.
Paronychia is a purulent inflammation of the fold near the nail. In severe cases, the inflammation can lead to deformation of the nail or its detachment. If the disease is mild, paronychia can be treated with medication and various procedures, and in advanced cases, surgical treatment cannot be avoided. Paronychia is characterized by infiltration or suppuration, local increase in temperature. Then the patient may complain of twitching pain. Pus may be released from the wound. When the process is controlled and the treatment gives results, you can notice the cavities that have appeared or the shape of the nail has changed.
Panaritium is a purulent inflammation of the fingers. Staphylococcal infection usually plays the main role in the infection. Complications of this disease are extremely dangerous, up to sepsis. Panaritium causes severe pain, swelling, and an increase in temperature in the inflammation site. In the most difficult cases, there is a significant increase in body temperature and severe intoxication. In severe forms, the prognosis may be unfavorable regarding the further restoration of finger function.
Diagnostics hangnails
Usually there is no need for any specialized diagnostics. When hangnails on the hands appear again and again with proper care, it is necessary to consult a specialist. An experienced dermatologist, armed with the results of additional tests (biochemical blood test, microelement test, dysbacteriosis test) will be able to establish the true cause of the development of this pathology.
Treatment hangnails
In case of vitamin deficiency, complex therapy for hangnails is carried out, which will include physiotherapy procedures (most often, local darsonvalization) and taking vitamin preparations.
Treatment of hangnails on fingers at home
If you notice a hangnail on your finger, the best solution is to cover the area with a bandage and cut it off at home. As a last resort, you can carefully cut the skin with manicure scissors and then treat the wound with any antiseptic (hydrogen peroxide, chloramphenicol alcohol).
Before removing a hangnail, hold your fingers in warm water for a few minutes. Then the skin will have time to steam and it will be easier to remove the hangnail without consequences.
If after removing a hangnail the skin begins to become inflamed, you can resort to using deperzolone, oxycort, geocorton, or another similar local antibiotic.
Folk remedies
It is undeniable that the best way to fight is prevention. If hangnails do appear, folk remedies offer many recipes.
The simplest and most effective way to treat hangnails on your hands is a bath. It is very easy to prepare a bath, and it also takes excellent care of your hands and nails. Any warm vegetable oil will do for the bath, but olive oil is ideal. You can do the bath as often as you like, even every day. If hangnails have already appeared, add regular soda to the bath. For prevention, you can do baths with sea salt and essential oils, such as orange and tea tree. All baths - oil, soda, salt - will help in the fight against hangnails. You can alternate different baths, but do them regularly.
If there is a slight inflammation, hot pepper will help. It is cleaned of the stem and seeds, vodka is poured into the pepper itself. The finger with the hangnail is dipped into the pepper so that a small amount of vodka remains in the pepper, and a bandage is made. It is better for the bandage to remain overnight. If the wound still hurts a lot because of it, then the bandage should be kept on for as long as possible.
Mix cocoa butter and honey in equal proportions, heat in a water bath and apply to your hands.
You can make beer compresses: apply cotton wool, previously soaked in warm beer.
If you lubricate your fingers with sea buckthorn oil or rosehip oil, then the wounds will heal quickly, and the skin near the nail plate will soften.
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Herbal treatment
To help hangnails on your fingers heal faster, apply a compress of crushed fresh chicory leaves to the wound twice a day. The compress is bandaged and left for a while.
They also make dressings from crushed wheat. They put it on the wounds, cover it with a cabbage leaf, and then bandage it. This dressing is done twice a day.
Houseplants can also help to cope with hangnails. For example, Kalanchoe juice is famous for its antiseptic properties and ability to relieve inflammation. Thanks to the use of Kalanchoe, hangnails will heal quickly, and your hands will look much more attractive.
Prevention
Women whose skin vessels are close to the surface and whose male hormones are in excess have rough cuticles. If you cut them too deeply, the cuticle will give a jagged edge, which can later cause hangnails. Then it is better not to cut it all the way.
Be careful with the tools you use for your manicure. If the tool is dull, the cuticle will not be cut, but torn off - and, as a result, hangnails will appear.
The best prevention is gentle and regular skin care:
- Minimize contact with harsh chemicals.
- do softening herbal baths weekly;
- regularly lubricate the cuticle with a specialized nourishing product;
- if your skin has come into contact with household chemicals, apply a nourishing cream;
- After washing your hands, wipe your skin dry;
- When cleaning or doing laundry, wear rubber gloves;
- In winter, pay special attention to hand care. During this period, the skin dries out and becomes chapped faster, so do not forget about hand cream.
A hangnail that appears not only spoils the impression of the appearance of your hands, but also interferes with everyday activities, clinging to everything that comes across - gloves, tights and other clothes that you put on. And if it tears the adjacent skin, then a big problem is just around the corner. However, to forget about hangnails on your hands forever, you just need to be patient and remember to take regular skin care, eat right and protect your hands from contact with household chemicals.