What is the Cause of Hangnails/Agnails?

What Causes Hangnails/Agnails?

Hangnails/agnails can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'worrying' to 'needs attention'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

Diagnose your symptoms now!

check your overall health status
have a doctor review your case (optional)
identify any nutritional deficiencies

Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose hangnails/agnails, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "hangnails/agnails" as a symptom. Here are four possibilities:

Protein Deficiency
Increased Folic Acid Need
Zinc Need
Vitamin C Need

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

raw food diet

deformed toenails

history of polyps

copper supplementation

grooves across fingernails

absent sexual desire

high coffee consumption

low folic acid level

zinc test metallic/fuzzy/sweet

adult acne

macrocytic red cells

diuretic use

... and more than 30 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of hangnails/agnails:

Cause	Probability	Status
Vitamin C Need	99%	Confirm
Zinc Need	29%	Unlikely
Protein Deficiency	4%	Ruled out
Increased Folic Acid Need	2%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

In the Fingernail/Toenail Symptoms section of the questionnaire, The Analyst™ will ask the following question about hangnails / agnails:

Do you suffer from hangnails/agnails (torn skin around the fingernails or toenails)? If there is a physical cause such as biting, picking, cutting or regular exposure to water/soaps/chemicals then select that response.

Possible responses:

→ No / don't know
→ Yes, from a known physical cause
→ Occasionally - A few times a year
→ Regularly - A few times a month
→ Frequently - I usually/always have them

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate occasional hangnails, regular hangnails or frequent hangnails, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Folic Acid Deficiency

Protein Deficiency

Because nails are found at the extremities, they are the last to receive oxygen and nutrients carried in the blood. Therefore, they often show signs of deficiencies sooner than other tissues.

Vitamin C Requirement

Zinc Requirement

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™