ozzybug

Hello all-
I don't post much in this section, but I have a question. Please forgive me in advance if it's really rediculous, but if I don't ask, I won't know.

Sometimes on my middle fingers and on my pinky toe, I get a little "thing" that grows. It looks and feels like a sliver of nail, and it isn't actually attached to anything other than the actual point of origination, down at the base of the nail.

These growths are usually not soft like cuticle or skin, but rather more hard like a fingernail and again, are just "slivers". They catch on clothes and such and are pretty painful if just pulled off. If I cut it down as short as possible, it still catches on clothes and becomes red, irritated and feels warm to the touch and kind of swollen/inflamed.

Are these things actually nail material, or a thick cuticle overgrowth? I will add that it's not only the middle finger and pinky toe, but does happen sometimes on other nails, but more often than not the middle finger & pinky toe.

Thanks in advance for not laughing at what may be a silly quesiton.