A
hangnail or
agnail is a small, torn piece of
skinThe skin is the outer covering of the body. In humans, it is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of mesodermal tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and internal organs. Skin of a different nature exists in amphibians, reptiles, birds...
near a fingernail or toenail. Unlike
whitlowA whitlow or felon is an infection of the tip of the finger. The terms are also sometimes misapplied to paronychia, which is an infection of the tissue at the side or base of the nail....
s, hangnails are usually caused by dry skin or (in the case of fingernails)
nail bitingOnychophagia or nail biting is a common oral compulsive habit in children and adults, affecting around 30% of children between 7 to 10 years and 45% of teenagers.-Negative effects:...
, and may be prevented with proper moisturization of the skin.
When attempting to remove a hangnail, additional skin may be painfully ripped off if its attachment if not broken properly. This may lead to a painful infection called
paronychiaThe nail disease paronychia [par'onikeea] is an often-tender bacterial or fungal hand infection or foot infection where the nail and skin meet at the side or the base of a finger or toenail...
. Therefore, hangnails should usually be cut using nail scissors or a
nail clipperA nail clipper is a mechanical device used to trim fingernails and toenails.-Design:Nail clippers are usually made of metal. Two common varieties are the plier type and the lever type. Both are common household objects. Most nail clippers usually come with another tool attached, which is used to...
; biting them frequently makes it worse. People with a hangnail should be careful to cut it all off and rub hand lotion into the cuticles two to three times a day.
The term "hangnail" is misleading, as a hangnail is not an actual part of the nail. It is dead, dried skin, not nail, the latter being mostly made up of
keratinKeratins are a family of fibrous structural proteins; tough and insoluble, they form the hard but un-mineralized structures found in reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals...
, a tough fibrous protein. It can, however, also include a bit of nail, hanging loose from the rest of the body of the nail, attached to the nail bed.
Colloquial terms for hangnail in the UK include "catchy" and "stepmother's blessing".
Etymology
Agnail is the
Middle EnglishMiddle English is the name given by historical linguists to the diverse forms of the English language in use between the late 11th century and about 1470, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing...
term meaning "corn." It comes from the Old English term
angnægl (from
ang- tight/painful +
nægl- nail).
Agnail was adapted to hangnail by a process of folk etymology.
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