Paronychia
Paronychia is a nail disease caused by an infection. It occurs around the skin of the nail or a toe, causing a swelling, discomfort, and inflammation around the nail. The infection develops around edges from the bottom or the sides of the nail. There are two types of paronychia that one can develop (1);
- Acute paronychia – it comes abruptly and develops in hours or a few days. Acute paronychia does not spread deep in the finger usually, but treatment help reduce the symptoms relatively fast.
- Chronic paronychia – caused by infection, chronic paronychia symptoms lasts over six weeks. It develops in quite a slow pace and become more serious. It also develops in many digits at once.
Paronychia affects all people of different ages, and in some rare cases, it can spread to an entire toe or finger. In case a person encounters such a whole finger infection, it is good to seek medical assistance.
Symptoms
Paronychia symptoms may resemble other infection of the skin, but on top of it, the nail is affected with other symptoms. Therefore the symptoms include:
- The affected toe or finger often appears swollen and erythematous on the affected area.
- Puss may occur and collect under the skin and in the lateral fold in more advanced cases of paronychia.
- Eponychia develops if the paronychia is left untreated until the infection in the affected area extends until it reaches the eponychium.
- Redness occurs around the affected place that may cause a bit of irritation.
- Deformation of the nail or its damage is another symptom.
- At a later stage, the nail separates from the nail bed.
If left untreated one must understand that the infection will lead to both involvements of the lateral folds as the folds track and go under the nail sulcus. The physical progression of the disease in chronic paronychia may have symptoms such as;
- Erythematous, swollen and tender nail folds that are without fluctuance.
- Thickened nail plates with pronounced transverse ridges which eventually discolor.
- Nail plates and the cuticles separate forming an invasion space for microorganisms.
Causes of Paronychia
Paronychia is caused by some habits people develop that end up bringing the infection. The infection is developed when the skin that is around the nail or toe becomes damaged, hence allowing the germs to enter. Common causes include;
- Biting or chewing of the skin that is around the nails. Also chewing or biting the nails.
- Clipping of the toe or fingernails too short.
- Manicures performed on people may cause the disease if not done properly.
- An ingrown toenail usually causes paronychia.
- Excessively exposing the hands to moisture or even sucking the fingers frequently.
- Irritant dermatitis condition can also cause paronychia.
Paronychia is common in people such as bartenders, housecleaners, dishwashers, adult women or diabetic people. People with the weak immune system are at risk to contact paronychia.
Diagnosis
It is only a doctor who can diagnose paronychia by observing it. From a sample of pus from the infection, the doctor can send it to the lab if the treatment doesn’t help. This is to get the exact infection so that the doctor can get exactly the best medicine or treatment for the same.
[ Read: How To Treat an Ingrown Fingernail? ]
Treatment
In the treatment of mild cases, home treatment is always very successful compared with other treatments. You can treat pus underneath the skin by soaking the infected area in warm water as many times as possible and drying it afterward very thoroughly. This soaking which is done is to make the infected area drain on its own.
If the infection is more severe, the doctor can prescribe an antibiotic for the treatment when the home treatment fails to perform or yield results.
For speed healing and relieve discomfort caused by the blisters, they are drained of fluids to achieve this. This should not be done by anybody else but by the doctor to avoid further infection or to spread it all over to the other part of the body. When draining it, it should be done by the doctor who can also take a sample from the wound to go and determine what is causing it then get the best treatment for it.
It is difficult to treat hence recommended that you get the doctor for better treatment because the home treatment might not actually work to the best. The doctor after examination can prescribe an antifungal medication and then thoroughly advice you on how to dry it carefully.
Prevention
To prevent paronychia, good hygiene is very important and plays a significant role in preventing this disease altogether. Always make sure that your hands and feet are clean to prevent the bacteria from getting between the nails and skin. Avoid too much exposure to water and very wet environment; otherwise, your hands and feet should be dry and clean as possible always.
A mild case of the disease is easily treatable and chronic ones may last for weeks and months. This may seem not easy to manage, and early checkups and treatment are necessary.