Whether the nail clippers are “flat” or “round” actually affects whether you get paronychia?

Audit expert: Zhang Yuhong

Chief Physician of Dermatology Department, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University

Nail trimming is a common thing for everyone. Every once in a while, when the nails grow longer, we need to trim them. However, this small action of nail trimming actually has a "big knowledge".

Source: pixabay

Some people like to cut their nails very short so that they don’t have to cut them often. However, there are serious health risks behind cutting nails too short. What is going on?

The structure of the nail

Before cutting your nails, let's take a look at what nails really look like. A complete nail actually includes the nail plate, lunula, hypoungual cuticle, cuticle, nail bed, nail matrix, proximal nail fold and lateral nail fold.

The "nails" we see with the naked eye are just the nail plate in the nail structure . It is a layer of hard keratin plate that grows from the nail matrix at the root of the nail. Its main function is to protect the nail bed.

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

In the human body structure, nails are a very special part. Except for the nail matrix which has a cell structure and can grow the nail plate, other structures have no cell structure. Once damaged, they cannot repair themselves and can only wait for new nails to grow.

Nails grow very slowly, with fingernails growing about 1 cm every three months and toenails growing about 1 cm every nine months. The specific values ​​vary depending on each person's age, living environment, physical condition, etc.

So, what are the adverse effects of cutting nails too short?

The dangers of cutting your nails incorrectly

If the nails are cut too short, it can easily lead to ingrown nails (i.e. the nails grow into the flesh), and in severe cases it can even cause paronychia .

Why does ingrown toenails occur? As we all know, our skin is elastic. If the nails are cut too short, the ends of the nail plate will be wrapped by skin tissue, just like being "ingrown".

Paronychia of the middle finger Source: Wikipedia

When the nails continue to grow and the edges go deep into the nail groove, it will cause local redness, swelling and pain on the toes. Some people choose to cut their nails to reduce the pain, which forms a vicious cycle: the more painful it is, the shorter it is cut, and the shorter it is cut, the more painful it is... If the nails accidentally pierce the skin and cause bacterial infection, it will cause more serious consequences - paronychia.

The nail groove is a concave structure on both sides of the nail . Paronychia is an inflammatory reaction caused by bacterial infection after the skin is damaged due to squeezing and other factors between the nail and the nail groove skin. If not handled properly, it will not only cause unbearable pain, but also cause the nail groove skin to be damaged and suppurated. In severe cases, it may cause sepsis, posing a threat to our life safety.

In addition, the editor would like to remind everyone that in addition to cutting nails too short which can cause paronychia, other external injuries, tearing hangnails, wearing shoes that squeeze the feet, etc. are also common causes of paronychia and require special attention.

In short, if your ingrown nails are very serious and have a tendency to become inflamed and pus-filled, and the pain symptoms are obvious, it is recommended that you go to the dermatology department of the hospital as soon as possible and find a professional nail disease doctor or dermatologist for treatment to avoid further damage to the nails.

Never go to a pedicure technician casually, because for severe cases of ingrown toenails, the pedicure technician can only "treat the symptoms but not the root cause", and ingrown toenails can easily recur.

Source: pixabay

If paronychia is confirmed, there are two treatment methods: anti-inflammatory and nail extraction. The former is mainly for mild paronychia. When the nail is obviously loose and there is too much pus, surgical extraction will be considered. Nail extraction can effectively eliminate the paronychia abscess and avoid more serious infection. However, surgery is not a permanent solution. It may recur later, so patients need to develop good nail care habits after surgery.

Learn to cut your nails correctly

It turns out that cutting nails incorrectly can cause so much harm. So what is the correct way to cut nails?

First, we should avoid the habit of cutting our nails too short. Keep 1-2mm of the nails that have grown out, and don't cut them all off. Second, when cutting your nails, keep the ends roughly level with the middle to avoid cutting them too short.

Source: unsplash

In daily life, we should also pay attention to the maintenance and hygiene of nails, such as not biting or picking nails at will; if nails grow barbs, use nail clippers to cut them off instead of tearing them roughly, causing larger wounds.

In addition, for those who like manicures , when doing manicures, if you need to remove dead skin on the nails, trim the nail epithelium, etc., you need to pay attention to the disinfection of tools and proper operation to avoid improper operation that may cause bleeding, damage to the nail epithelium and infection, etc.; also, the nail lamp should not be used too frequently, as it can easily make the nails and surrounding skin drier, increasing the risk of bacterial infection.

Nail art source: pixabay

For patients who have already suffered from ingrown toenails, paronychia, or are recovering from surgery, they should also pay attention to wearing loose shoes as much as possible to avoid squeezing the toes after surgery, inducing ingrown toenails, and causing recurrence of inflammation.

Finally, I want to say that although nails seem to be small "hard" parts, they actually also need our careful care.