What does dry skin around nails mean? Get more insights on causes including during pregnancy, as well as thick, peeling, sore, rough, dry skin around nails and cuticles, and how to get rid of this peeling and dryness.
Meaning
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This usually implies that there is inadequate water supply in the body of an individual despite other underlying causes.
According to Bhupinder Kaur, MD, a dermatologist based in India, this condition – and on any other part of the body – means that there isn’t “enough water in the stratum corneum for it to function properly”.
Causes
Causes of dry white skin around toenails or fingernails include:
Winter period (harsh weather)
Dry weather conditions make the atmosphere to have low humidity in air may cause skin dryness, cracking, peeling and other symptoms including around your toe and fingernails.
Yeast infection
They may develop fungus growth that may also cause dryness This is typically characterized by yellow discoloration of the affected finger or toenails.
Washing detergent and sanitizer
Harsh soaps do not moisturize your skin while protecting it against harmful pathogens but instead they strip it of its invaluable moisture and rank among the most common reasons why the skin in the nail area dries out.
Exposure to moisture removing substances
Do you have a beauty shop where you spend long hours working with nail polish removers? They could be the major cause of the drying. Other occupations that involve work constantly with paints, solvents, detergents, and other chemicals could also a victim of this nail problem.
Health conditions
Dry skin may be a sign of medical conditions such as diabetes, atopic dermatitis, hypothyroidism, and psoriasis, says the WebMD. If due to conditions like atopic dermatitis tends to be itchy and have a characteristic hard and scaly (rough) texture.
Age of a person
The hormonal level changes that go hand-in-hand with this natural aging process set precedence for a thin, parched skin that is less capable of holding in moisture and thus prone to drying and cracking. Although you cannot turn back the hands at a time, moisturizing frequently can help to keep the dryness at bay.
Daily washing
Even if you don’t use harsh detergents, washing your hands too much could as well make the skin around this areas dry out.
Vitamin deficiency and minerals
Actually, the deficiency of these minerals only cause dryness directly, which is most likely to flake and it may then peel off in the end. People believe that vitamin or calcium deficiency might be the reason for the dry skin around nails.
Biting and picking at the fingernail
This sounds a warning to those individuals who love to biting the skin around your nails or and picking them and they have made it like a habit. This also is a cause of dry skin around them.
The damaged or wounded skin might also be caused if the hangnails are ripped off instead of being clipped gently at the bottom using a sterile tool.
Skin Diseases
The peeling around nails can be caused by skin diseases too. Psoriasis, eczema, and dyshidrosis are among the common diseases which can cause this problem.
During pregnancy
Hormonal imbalance in pregnant women has a positive effect towards the skin in most occasion since their skin glows during this period resulting in dryness of nails, hair fall, among other changes related pregnancy.
According to George Kroumpouzos, MD, Ph.D., a dermatologist at South Shore Medical Center in Norwell, Massachusetts, “The body goes through a lot of changes during pregnancy including hormonal fluctuations that can affect the skin, the hair, and the nails.”
But, you can reduce this problem during pregnancy by using a good moisturizing lotion always and protecting them when working with water and detergents by wearing rubber gloves.
A thick dry skin around toenails
The thick skin under the toenails, often caused by a fungal condition known as onychomycosis, can make the toenails themselves appear thicker than normal and even take on a yellow or brown discoloration.
Onychomycosis can cause it to thicken along the outer edge of the nail and directly underneath, according to Columbia University.
Other causes include:
- Yeast or fungal infection
- constantly exposed induced elements when in sandals.
Dry and peeling
The skin around nails peeling off due to:
Allergy
Various form of allergic substances can stimulate various serious skin reaction. Exposure to nail polish, use of too much soapy water, being allergic to nickel and latex or irritation caused by solvents and detergents can all cause peeling fingernails.
Skin infections
A low-level chronic infection, which is usually caused by the moisture of yeast, can lead to the peeling of skin around the cuticle.
Sore with hangnails
One annoying situation that even the most carefully groomed hands experience is the dreaded hangnail. They may seem rather insignificant in the grand scheme of health problems, they can become infected and lead to a handful of other issues such as being painful.
When the skin around your fingernails peels off, it opens up entrance for infection, especially when you consider all the bacteria your hands are exposed to every day, not to mention dishwater, cold weather and all the other things that dry out your hands in the first place.
Treatment of hangnails: Antibacterial lotions can often do the trick, and in more serious cases, a prescription antibiotic might be in order.
Dry and rough
According to HealthTap, the hard skin around nails of the toe or fingers could be due to the exertion of more pressure, especially by the shoes. It can also cause contracture of the toe and hardening at the tip of the toe
Dry cuticles
Your hands do a lot of work through a minefield of irritating substances and conditions. Dry skin around the fingernails, in form of scraggly cuticles or rough fingertips, can be more than just an aesthetic annoyance if cracks let in harmful bacteria.
Substances that trigger this condition include:
- Drying Elements
- Polish Pitfalls
- Bad Habits
- Poor diet
How to get rid of this dryness– remedies, and cures
Some of the common cures that have proven effective include the treatments and home remedies we are going to discuss below:
Take Multivitamins Tablets
Drying and peeling caused by vitamin deficiency can be removed by taking daily multivitamin tablets. Your pharmacist will recommend the appropriate dosage for you.
Use a humidifier in your house
A humidifier helps to raise moisture levels in your house and thus keep your skin moist. This helps to treat and prevent this problem on nails and other parts of the body.
Adopt the best Nail Care Regimen
Your beauty parlor shop manicure attendant will give you specialized nail treatments to ensure adequate miniaturization of your nails and cuticles and reversal of the dryness in the skin. At the very least, try to get one manicure session each month.
Sleep with a Pair of Socks Overnight
For if on toenails, apply Vaseline (or any other petroleum jelly) or a moisturizing cream, then put on a pair of socks before bedtime.
Home remedies
Some of the natural remedies you should give a try to heal this problem include the following:
Apply Honey
Due to its natural humectant, it draws moisture to the skin when applied to it. It also has powerful natural healing properties that can help keep it moisturized.
Warm Water
Rinse your hands with warm water to make it supple.
Cucumber
Wash the skin where you had been applying the grated cucumber with lukewarm water and repeat this exercise daily.
Apply Aloe Vera
Apply this gel over the affected part multiple times in a day. This will reduce the dryness.
Olive Oil
Olive oil has powerful moisturizing properties and goes a long way in treating dry, cracked fingertips, and even peeling skin around the nails at home.
Treatment
If you are looking for more treatments, better see your dermatologist or doctor for diagnosis and effective treatments.
References
- https://www.quora.com/Peeling-skin-below-finger-nails-What-could-be-the-problem
- http://www.footvitals.com/toes/fungus.html
- http://www.enkivillage.com/skin-peeling-around-nails.html