Hangnails Fix-Ups for Fingertips

Fix-Ups for Fingertips

A hangnail isn't a nail at all--and it might not even be a problem. It's just a little flap of dried skin on the side of a nail.

But a kid's hangnail is just asking to get chewed on, torn off or covered with playground grime. And with that kind of abuse, a kid's hangnail is more than a nuisance--it's a potential source of infection.

''Teach your child the right way to treat a hangnail, and you'll nip a lot of tough problems in the bud,'' says Patience Williamson, R.N., a certified school nurse at the Rand Family School in Montclair, New Jersey. Here's how.

Cream those cuticles. Hangnails are often the result of dry skin. ''It helps to keep hands well-moisturized,'' says Williamson. She recommends that your child apply some hand cream around the cuticles after each bath.

Teach gentle care. Ask your child not to push the cuticle back or to pick at dry skin at the edge of the nail. ''The cuticle is a natural protective barrier for the nail, and if your child cuts it or forcibly pushes it back, she may cause a hangnail, or introduce bacteria that may trigger an infection,'' says Scott A. Norton, M.D., staff dermatologist at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu.

Ask your child to wash it and wait. If your young child can recognize a hangnail, she should let you take care of it, suggests Williamson. ''A child should wash and dry the affected area very carefully, cover the hangnail with a Band-Aid and then get an adult's assistance,'' she says. ''But don't advise your child to try to fix the hangnail with a nail clipper or scissors. She can do far more damage than good,'' Williamson says.

Snip off the problem. ''A hangnail should be removed with a clean nail clipper that has been rinsed with alcohol to prevent the spread of bacteria,'' says Dr. Norton. By trimming the far end of the hangnail promptly, you'll be removing any temptation for your child to pull or chew on the dead skin. ''If you pull on a hangnail, you'll just tear some of the live skin,'' he says.

Fight infection with warm water. Examine the area around the hangnail every day for signs of infection. ''If the skin around the hangnail looks as if it is getting red or tender, apply warm compresses to the area or soak the finger in warm water,'' says Dr. Norton. This treatment should be repeated three or four times a day for one or two days to increase the blood flow. Increased circulation brings antibodies to the area, which help fight infection, Dr. Norton explains.

Anoint it with ointment. Apply a dab of over-the-counter antibiotic ointment such as Aquaphor Antibiotic Ointment or Polysporin Ointment to the infected area three times a day and cover it with a Band-Aid, says Richard Garcia, M.D., a pediatrician and vice chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio. Continue doing this until the infection clears and the hangnail can be loosened and trimmed without trauma. ''Be sure that the antibiotic ointment you select does not have neomycin in it, because that often causes an allergic reaction,'' cautions Dr. Garcia.

Protect the site. To prevent sore spots from developing, encourage your child to practice good hygiene, says Dr. Garcia. ''Stress the importance of keeping fingers out of the nose and mouth, washing hands frequently and cutting nails straight across so that the skin beside the nail is not traumatized,'' he says.

Discourage nail-biting. Nail-biting is at the root of many a hangnail, so encourage your child to break the habit. ''Unfortunately, that's easier said than done,'' notes Dr. Garcia. ''And nagging often makes the problem worse.''