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:

Zinc Need
Protein Deficiency
Vitamin C Need
Increased Folic Acid 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:

unpleasant smell sensations

history of adolescent acne

significant mouth sores

past calcium-based antacid use

reduced sense of taste

low folic acid level

a few white spots on fingernails

very sparse head hair

macrocytic red cells

calcium supplementation

abnormal taste in mouth

moderate frequency of sex

... 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
Increased Folic Acid Need	91%	Confirm
Protein Deficiency	24%	Unlikely
Vitamin C Need	5%	Ruled out
Zinc Need	0%	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.

Zinc Requirement

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™