What do you do about hangnails?

[asthmaticeog]

I've got a painful one going, and I don't want it to get infected from washing the dishes or something like that.

:shrug:

[kick-ass-bob]

1. I bite them off.

Then suck the blood till I faint.

[shraby]

5. If the hangnail is part of the nail,

clip it as short as you can. If it's part of the skin, clip it short or pull it off by pulling toward the end of your finger. If you pull toward your knuckles it makes it tear bigger, but toward the end of your finger, it won't.

[Lex]

10. LOL! n/t

[Cary]

2. In this country we elect them to be President!

[politicaholic]

3. I usually post something about my hangnail on a bulletin board.

Then, when that doesn't help, I painfully tear it out, supress the bleeding, soak it in peroxide, and put on a bandaid.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

4. I seem to get these all the time

In various stages of severity. I was just reading about this online the other day. You should moisten it and clip it with fingernail clippers, and if you want to, put something like Neosporin over it. Mine never get infected, and I usually don't moisten them, but just clip them with clean nail clippers.

[Kire]

6. I had my toenail surgically altered.

Apparently, all my nails are bigger than the nail bed, so I'm prone to hangnails. My podiatrist suggested we numb it up, cut a little bit from each side down to the bottom, put some kind of poison to stop the growth of new nail there, and now my left big toe nail is smaller than my right one. I wish I could do that to all of my toes, but I really have to wait for an emergency. Those hangnails I had back then (5 or so years ago) were dreadful. I haven't had a comparable one, since.

Edit: if yours is really painful, you should see a podiatrist. Unless it's a fingernail, then ask your primary care physician. They might be able to fix it right there in their office.

[merwin]

7. Cuticle clippers work wonders

Soak your finger(s) in warm water for 5-10 minutes and then clip it (the hangnail, not the finger)

[yellowcanine]

8. Amputation of the offending digit gets rid of the problem forever.

[HeeBGBz]

9. Superglue

eom

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

11. Actually I think the Band-Aid Liquid Bandage would work

So the adhesive idea is not that out there.

[kick-ass-bob]

12. do they actually grow back in?

I wouldn't think so, but then again, you can see what I do in post #1.

:P

[raysr]

13. Bag Balm

no shit!

[kick-ass-bob]

14. Ha! I see your Bag Balm and raise you some Udder Cream!

[barackmyworld]

15. Cut it off with nail clippers?

If you get it right at the skin level, it usually doesn't "peel back" any further