Rumor: Finger long barb is a common phenomenon, the reason is the lack of vitamin B6 or vitamin C, as long as more supplementation of these vitamins, the problem of barbs is not difficult to solve. In addition to taking some vitamins, you can eat some vegetables, fruits and other foods that contain vitamin B6 and vitamin C. Truth: Finger barbs are indeed very common, but the vast majority of them have nothing to do with a lack of vitamins, but rather due to physical friction or too much hand washing. In the northern region in the winter, many people around the nail skin will be barbs, barbs are small, poorly handled can lead to a very scary situation, however, casually go to tear out the growth of the barbs is indeed prone to cause the skin to expand the wound, thereby increasing the risk of skin infections, gingivitis and other complications. How do peri-nail barbs come about? The perinail skin has a slightly different structure than the rest of the hand, covering the proximal 1/4 of the nail plate, called the proximal nail fold (PNF), which lacks hair follicles, skin lines and sebaceous glands, and is thinner than the skin of the fingers of the hands and feet, making it a common entry point for inflammation, chemical irritation, and allergic reactions. A common problem is the peri-nail impaction (known as “back flaking”). Reverse flaking occurs when the stratum corneum becomes too dry and separates, often triggered by recent labor, ball sports, or laundry. The stratum corneum is a thin layer of “dead skin” on the top layer of the skin and is the first barrier of the skin. A layer of sebum on the surface of the stratum corneum is the skin’s natural moisturizer, which reduces the evaporation of water from the stratum corneum, ensures its proper water content, and makes the stratum corneum and the skin underneath fit closely together. Removal of the sebum from the skin surface by soaps, detergents, etc. or physical friction causes the stratum corneum to lose its protection, and the stratum corneum dries and peels as a result of excessive water evaporation. Is it a vitamin deficiency? Vitamin deficiency can indeed cause a series of skin problems, for example, a lack of vitamin A can lead to excessive keratinization of hair follicles, a lack of vitamin B2, B6 and other B vitamins can lead to seborrheic dermatitis, dry and cracked lips, and a lack of vitamin C can lead to poor wound healing, easy to crack, and so on. However, in modern society, nutritional diseases caused by vitamin deficiency have become more and more rare, and the vast majority of people will not develop vitamin deficiency diseases as long as they eat normally. And, if you do have vitamin deficiency, absorption or utilization disorders, you will not only have skin problems, but also other symptoms, such as eye and vision abnormalities caused by vitamin A deficiency (referring to night blindness, conjunctival and corneal dryness, dry eye and corneal softening, etc., rather than myopia), neurological abnormalities caused by B vitamins deficiency, and scurvy caused by vitamin C deficiency. If you simply have perineural barbs, most of them are just localized skin abnormalities rather than a reflection of systemic disease, and are not caused by vitamin deficiency. [2] Most people think that vitamin deficiencies can cause disease, so they might as well take some supplements, which are harmless anyway. But the fact is that vitamins are not more good, some vitamins (such as vitamin A and vitamin B6) excessive intake can lead to a variety of diseases and even poisoning. Some studies have shown that taking selenium, beta carotene and vitamin E increases the chance of esophageal cancer in older people, taking vitamin D and calcium increases the risk of kidney stones, and in one clinical trial, a group of people taking multivitamin tablets had a higher rate of prostate cancer. [3] The important physiological role of vitamins cannot be denied, but these experiments also remind us that a balanced nutritional intake is most important, and too much is not enough. How to prevent peri-nail impaction? Sebum is the body’s best moisturizer, no matter how the hand cream can only simulate the effectiveness of sebum, so for some occupational skin problems, wearing latex gloves is a better choice, which can reduce the number of hand washing, but also reduces the loss of sebum. The exception, of course, is students with latex allergies. For physical friction and unavoidable hand washing, hand cream should be applied immediately after hand washing to protect the moist cuticle. The main ingredients of hand creams are mostly silicone oil (dimethicone), lanolin and other hydrophobic ingredients and glycerin and other hydrophilic components of a homogeneous mixture of glycerin can “pull together” around the water molecules, to ensure that the skin is moderately moist, the oil prevents the evaporation of water, so as to achieve the role of skin protection. It is important to note that glycerin alone will draw moisture from the skin when the air is particularly dry and will not have a moisturizing effect, so it is not recommended to use glycerin alone to protect the skin for those who often get hangnails. TIPS for treating peri-nail impaction: 1. Do not remove or bite off the impaction, which may lead to skin tearing and infection. 2.Cut off the barbs neatly with sharp and clean nail clippers. 3.Use hand cream immediately after each hand wash and spread evenly. 4.Pay attention to wearing rubber gloves to protect your hands when doing housework or labor. For an advanced tutorial on skin moisturizing care, please poke here Skin Moisturizing, Can’t Rely on Hydration Alone.