Magazine Health Books. To send a link and summary of this article to a friend, click here . Unlike your appendix or other body parts that you can live without, cuticles are there for a reason. They serve as barriers to protect nails from infection, says Loretta Davis, M.D., associate professor of dermatology at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine in Augusta.
Many women insist on trimming the cuticle away from the curve of the nail.
But performing self-surgery on cuticles is not advised. Here is women doctors' advice for keeping your cuticles problem-free. Soak up some suds. Soften cuticles in warm, sudsy water for several minutes. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago.