How to Treat a Torn Nail.

It can happen so fast: you hook your finger in the car door , you stub your toe, or chip absently away at your nail polish, and suddenly you're left with a broken nail - in severe cases , You can even separate the nail from the nail bed . Many things can cause broken or separated painful nails, but the nails are cured if proper measures are taken.

To understand how the nail breaks , it helps to know what a nail. Nails - fingers or toes - are composed of a bed of nails and nail plate . The nail bed is the soft area of ​​skin beneath the nail plate , which is the hard surface of the nail. Cells in the bottom of the nail bed are the nail matrix and produce layers of a protein called keratin - keratin builds the nail surface and anchored to the nail bed . When tears nail or separated , the parent of the new nail nail grows .

The ways you can rip your nail plate are endless, but the most common way that people nails tear is cut incorrectly - they cut the nails at the wrong angle , leaving a tear or stepfather [ source : Bruno ] . Your nail plate can also separate from your nail bed if crashed between two things , such as a door and a door frame , or if you have a condition that causes it to fall, as a fungal infection . The nails may also be more prone to breakage if you have nail psoriasis , if you use chemicals such as acetone to remove nail polish or take certain medicines or receiving chemotherapy.

Both nail tearing and separation of the nail can be painful , not heal quickly - you have to wait for regrowth. But there are some simple steps you can take to help the nail to grow back and to prevent tearing and separation of the nails in the future. Read on to learn what you can do to help heal your broken or separate nail.

The best way to treat a broken nail is given time to grow. You can help ensure that grows back safely, and you can also take steps at home to reduce pain and discomfort as it grows .

You have several options for treatment of a broken nail : can tape the torn portion in place and then cut off as the nail begins to grow, or you can cut away the broken part to a slight angle toward the outside so that the nail grows back normally. If you try the first option and the tear is small, you can apply clear nail polish to prevent the nail from tearing more and then trim the nail as it grows .

If your nail plate is completely separate from your nail bed , there is no way of replacing it - you just have to wait for a new nail to grow . As with a broken nail, you can tape the nail in place while waiting for the new nail to grow , trim as needed. You may also want to consider the separate completely removed and nail bind nail exposed while waiting. A doctor can help you determine the best solution for you. If your nail tears or separated because of an infection, then you need to see a doctor for treatment. Keep the area around the nails dry can help prevent an infection from developing .