Every year in the winter I have this problem where the cuticle half detaches from the nail, creates a slit (perpendicular to the nail), is somewhat painful, and sometimes bleeds. As it is I apply moisturizer a couple times a day and I try to drink lots of water but it still happens. It's particularly bad on my index finger. Any ideas how to fix / prevent it?
Ouch! I sometimes have that happen. I find it helps to trim away the dead / dry skin that is peeling away from the nail so that it doesn't continue to catch on things and get worse. Then, other than hand lotion, I'm not sure there is anything else you can do. Some of the ladies might have some suggestion... I seem to recall my wife putting some kind of oil on her cuticles after she had done her nails, so there might be a more intensive treatment you could use. I'm certainly not an expert.
Do you push your cuticles back down off the surface of your nail from tile to time? A good time is after a bath or shower when the skin is soft. I normally do it the same time as I cut my nails, about once a fortnight. I don't know whether it would solve your problem though.
What is commonly called a "hang nail". Most often due to the dry weather of winter, but also if you are cleaning and using harsh chemicals without gloves (scrubbing counter tops or floors) or washing your hands a lot. Also, yes, can be a sign of chronic dehydration. Drinking plenty of water will help and so will the lotions and potions, but with the lotions, you have to use them a lot, a whole lot, not just a couple of times a day, but like up to 6 or 7 times a day. Pushing back the cuticles as Paul suggests above will help too. Good luck.
Once they are soft how should I go about pushing them back? Use a fingernail? The side of a nail file, etc? Also how far? Just push until I hit the live tissue?
Just put lotion on them every day or chapstick. If they're in really bad shape, try putting them in a bit of warm olive oil for about 10 minutes twice a day. You should be able to push your cuticle back with the pad of your finger. Just push until it's mostly off the nail, just to keep it loose.
A finger nail is fine, or if you have a nail care kit there is probably a thing specifically for doing that. Yes, just back to the live tissue. You are just pushing back the layer of skin that is stuck to the surface of your nail, not trying to harm anything live.
