Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Nail Terminology Tuesday

My Hyponychium (the skin under my nail tips)

More Hyponychium

Welcome to another week of Nail Terminology Tuesday!  This week's term that I want to review is Hyponychium.  This is the thickened skin between your fingertip and the free edge of your nail plate.  If you are looking at your nails, it is the thick skin underneath the tips.  This skin serves a big function.  It forms the protective barrier that keeps pathogens from getting in and infecting your nails.

Since the hyponychium is so important, it is crucial to stop biting your nails if you are a biter.  You are placing yourself at risk of infections, viruses, and fungus.  It is also important to pay close attention when clipping your finger nails and toe nails.  If you have ever cut them too short, and your skin hurt and was red, then you cut your hyponychium.  Please watch out for this area of skin when you get a manicure or pedicure in a salon.  The nail tech should NEVER cut or nip this area!

I hope that this information is helpful to you.  E-mail me if you have any questions about the nail anatomy or a disease or disorder of the nail.  Come back tomorrow for another Pink Wednesday manicure and I will post more technical nail info. next Tuesday.  Enjoy your day!

2 comments:

  1. I saw your post about the skin under your nail and on my index finger on the right side of it that skin seems to of grown thicker and it is like the skin has grown and attached to my actual nail, I might of cut it super short and clipped it in the process I just wondered if you knew what it was and a way to get rid of it, any tips would be great!

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  2. Is there any way to make it go down? I have had it happen to my big toes and it is very painful to touch and I can hardly trim then anymore :(

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