Hangnail and ingrown nail are two nail conditions related to each other. Both conditions can affect fingers as well as toes. However, these conditions have different causes and risk factors.
The key difference between hangnail and ingrown nail is their cause. ingrown nail develops when the corner of finger or toenail grows down into the skin while hangnail develops when small portions of skin get a tear near the cuticle of finger or toenail.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Hangnail
3. What is Ingrown Nail
4. Similarities – Hangnail and Ingrown Nail
5. Hangnail vs Ingrown Nail in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Hangnail vs Ingrown Nail
7. FAQ – Hangnail and Ingrown Nail
What is Hangnail?
A hangnail is a small, torn piece of skin next to a fingernail or toenail. It can happen by dry skin, trauma to the fingers, or excessive fingerpicking. The symptoms of this condition include discomfort, swelling, redness, and tenderness surrounding the injury, pus surrounding the nail bed or hangnail area, skin feeling hot to the touch, fever or chills, and increased pain or throbbing in the finger.

Figure 01: Hangnail
Hangnails can be diagnosed through health history and physical examination. Furthermore, the treatment options for hangnails are clipping the loose piece of skin with a clean nail clipper or nail scissors, applying over-the-counter antibiotic ointment, and surgery for persistent conditions.
What is an Ingrown Nail?
Ingrown nails occur when the nail grows into the skin instead of over the skin. This occurs due to cutting nails too short, rounding nail edges, wearing ill-fitted shoes, injuring toe by stubbing or jamming, putting repeated stress on parts such as toes, and inherited genes. The symptoms of this condition are redness, pus coming out of the finger or toe, bleeding, pain, and feeling hot or shivery.

Figure 02: Ingrown Nail
Ingrown nails can be diagnosed through family history, physical examination, and genetic testing. Furthermore, treatment options for ingrown nails are applying warm compresses, prescription antibiotics, lifting the nail, removing some of the infected nails, or removing all of the infected nails through surgeries.
Similarities Between Hangnail and Ingrown Nail
- Hangnails and ingrown nails are two nail conditions.
- Both conditions affect fingers as well as toes.
- These conditions cause swelling, redness, or tenderness in the skin.
- Both conditions can be diagnosed through physical examinations.
- They can be treated through medications and surgeries.
Difference Between Hangnail and Ingrown Nail
Definition
- A hangnail is a torn piece of skin that may appear near the nail.
- An ingrown nail is a condition that develops when the corner of the nail grows down into the skin.
Cause
- Hangnails are caused by dry skin, lacking oil, and trauma.
- Ingrown nails are caused by wearing improper shoes, cutting nails short, having a fungal infection, genetics, having curved nails, and certain medical conditions.
Symptoms
- Symptoms of hangnails include discomfort, swelling, redness and tenderness, abscess, warm or fill with pus.
- Symptoms of ingrown nails include pain and tenderness, inflamed skin, swelling, and infection.
Diagnosis
- Hangnails can be diagnosed by health history and physical examination.
- Ingrown nails can be diagnosed by family history, physical examination, and genetic testing.
Treatment
- Hangnails can be treated by gently clipping using a pair of sterile nail clippers, applying antibiotic ointments to the area and surgery.
- Ingrown nails can be treated by lifting the nail, tapping the nail, placing a gutter splint under the nail, partial removing the nail and removing the nail and tissue fully.
This summarizes the difference between hangnail and ingrown nail.
Summary – Hangnail vs Ingrown Nail
Nail conditions can affect the health, strength, and overall appearance of fingernails and toenails. Hangnails and ingrown nails are two nail conditions. Both these conditions affect fingers as well as toes. An ingrown nail develops when the corner of the finger or toenail grows down into the skin, while a hangnail is a piece of cuticle skin next to a fingernail or toenail. This is the basic difference between hangnail and ingrown nail.
FAQ: Hangnail and Ingrown Nail
1. What are the symptoms of hangnails?
- The symptoms of hangnails include a hard piece of skin along the nail edge, bleeding, mild discomfort, redness, swelling, pain, pus filled blister and change in nail color.
2. What is the main cause of hangnail?
- Dry skin is the main cause of hangnails, where the skin gets dry and breaks easily. This can be due to not drinking enough water. The other causes are lacking oil, trauma to the fingers, or excessive fingerpicking.
3. Why do ingrown nails happen?
- The ingrown nails are caused by cutting nails too short, wearing improper shoes, nail infections such as fungal infection genetics, having curved nails, and certain medical conditions.
4. How do people know if a nail is ingrown?
- The symptoms of ingrown nail are pain if pressure is placed on the finger or toe, inflammation of the skin around finger or at the end of the toe, a build-up of fluid in the area around the finger or toe and overgrowth of skin around the affected finger or toe.
5. How do people get rid of an ingrown nail?
- The treatments for ingrown nails include lifting the nail, placing a gutter splint under the nail, cutting the visible nail corner or the ingrown spur away to help relieve the pain and pressure, and removing the nail or tissue fully.
Reference:
1. “How to Get Rid of Hangnails.” Cleveland Clinic.
2. “Ingrown Toenails.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Hangnail on left hand pinkie 01” By RickP 12:45, 25 March 2006 (UTC) – Own work (CC BY 2.5) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Ingrown.nail therapy.by.stick EN” By Dayslypper – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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