How to Get Rid of a Hangnail

Q: I get frequent hangnails — and they hurt. Is there anything I can do to speed up the healing process?

A bad hangnail can ruin your day. Swelling, throbbing, tenderness — that tiny skin tear can cause considerable pain.

“There are a lot of nerve endings in the fingers, so the skin is very sensitive,” said Dr. Amanda Zubek, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine.

Hangnails usually go away on their own, but experts say there are ways to speed up the healing process and to protect your fingers against them.

What is a hangnail?

A hangnail isn’t actually a hanging nail — or even a nail at all.

“Hangnail is a funny term,” said Dr. Ida Orengo, the chair of the department of dermatology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “It’s really a small piece of skin next to the nail.”

When that sliver of skin lifts away from the cuticle, it can feel hard because the skin is usually dry and brittle, Dr. Zubek said. The drier your skin, the more vulnerable your cuticles are to rips and snags, she said.

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