​Hanging next to the nails

Babies living in rural areas will play with clay as their childhood toys. They will use clay to make small houses or small animals in various situations. Due to long-term playing with clay, thorns will grow next to their nails. If the thorns are pulled out abruptly, it will be painful or even bleed. Therefore, when barbs grow next to the nails, the most scientific way is to cut them off with a nail clipper, and they will get better after a while.

What is the reason for these barbs? What should we do if hangnails appear?

The healthy periungual skin of an average person should look like this:

But sometimes, for unknown reasons, one or two hangnails will suddenly appear around the nails, which is very distressing.

Many people believe that the reason for hangnails next to the nails is that the skin is too dry or is exposed to external stimuli, such as friction when playing ball or working; excessive contact with daily chemicals such as soap, detergent, etc. is also a cause.

In fact, the root cause of hangnails is poor gastrointestinal function. Western medicine believes that the heart is the body's blood supply organ, but in traditional Chinese medicine, the spleen and stomach are considered to be the source of the body's power; when gastrointestinal function declines, problems may easily arise with the nails and skin of the hands and feet. The nails are prone to uneven pits, vertical lines, etc., and the skin around the nails may develop conditions similar to hangnails. In other words, hangnails grow next to the nails because of problems inside the body.

When hangnails appear on the hands, some people find them annoying and like to tear them off immediately with their hands. This is absolutely not allowed. The skin near our fingers is arranged very tightly and grows vertically. If we pull it out with our hands, we may pull out the good flesh as well, and in serious cases, even damage the dermis.

So the correct way to do it is to gently cut off the barbs with small scissors, and then apply some papaya ointment or Vaseline.

If you want to prevent the appearance of hangnails, you must first regulate your spleen and stomach and supplement certain vitamins. Also, after strenuous hand exercise or after doing housework, you can apply hand cream on the areas prone to hangnails (friends who use kerosene hand cream can use lip balm instead).

The way to deal with hangnails is to cut them off, soak them in olive oil and apply hand cream. Alternatively, you can soak in warm water with fruit juice (such as lemon, apple, grapefruit) for ten to fifteen minutes to nourish the skin.

Lack of vitamin A, E, zinc and selenium can cause dry skin, so you need to take in enough nutrients to supplement them. Carrots, cantaloupe, eggs, and cheese are rich in vitamin A. Vitamin E can be obtained from dried fruits (especially almonds), fruits, green vegetables, etc.; seafood, milk, and fruits and vegetables contain selenium and zinc.

Lack of vitamin A, E, zinc and selenium can cause dry skin, so you need to take in enough nutrients to supplement them. Carrots, cantaloupe, eggs, and cheese are rich in vitamin A.