Paronychia

Paronychia






The term paronychia is given when the nails develop infection. It is actually the skin infection occurring in the fingernails or toenails. Two types of paronychia are recognized namely acute paronychia and chronic paronychia. Acute type occurs all of a sudden and the infected nail area develops swelling, redness and warmth. It is typically caused due to injury on the nails or due to bacterial infection. This type is more painful than the chronic type. In chronic paronychia, the infection will develop as a slow process. It is usually caused by Candida infection and it starts affecting one finger eventually spreading to other fingers. There will be swelling and tenderness with bearable pain around the nails.

Causes :

Paronychia infection is caused due to nail injury due to accidents, biting off the tip of the nails and bacterial infection. Even fungus and Candida bacterium can affect the skin around the nails causing infection.

People who often have wet hands doing lot of washing and people who are diabetic are more prone to infection than others.

Symptoms :

Some of the common symptoms of paronychia are redness in nail, warmth or tenderness, swelling and pain. In severe cases, pus like liquid gets collected in the nail or around the nail. The range of symptoms depends on the type of paronychia. In case of acute type, the pain is intense and there will be inflammation around the nails. In chronic type, there will not be many symptoms. The infected area will be slightly swollen and probably the cuticle around the nail would be missing. The skin may become boggy and there will be infection in more than one finger.

Diagnoses :

Your doctor can easily identify the disease by simply looking at the skin around the nails. It takes 5-10 days for acute form of paronychia to be treated, whereas in chronic type it may take several days and even weeks.

Prevention :

You should keep your fingernails clean and dry. Make it a point to dry the fingers after using water. You can wear rubber gloves if your work involves repeated working with water or harsh chemicals. Be gentle while trimming your nails. Do not bite your nails or pick your skin around the nails. For diabetic people, you need to monitor the blood sugar levels often to avoid getting infected.

Pictures of Paronychia :

Images, Pics, Pictures and Photos of Paronychia

Treatment :

Simple home remedy of soaking your infected fingers in warm water will provide great relief. You can repeat this process for several times a day and mild infections will settle down with this therapy.

You can visit the clinic and consult your doctor for getting proper antibiotics like Dycill, cloxacillin, trimethoprim or cephalexin. In case of pus collection, your doctor will give a shot of local anesthesia for draining off the pus inside.

You need to take the course of antibiotics in case of fungal infection or bacterial infection. In severe form of infection, oral antibiotics are given for destroying the microorganisms that cause infection.

Paronychia – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Prevention, Pictures

Paronychia – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Prevention, Pictures

What is Paronychia?

This is an infection that develops on the edge of the toenail or fingernail. It is one of the most common hand infections and when left untreated can grow to a much more severe infection of the total finger or toe. This complaint is seen very often in children because of biting their nails. Paronychia is divided into two types acute paronychia as well as chronic paronychia, dependent on the total interval that the infection has existed.

Paronychia Symptoms

This condition or infection can begin as swelling and redness surrounding the nail. It is more frequently very sore or tender to the touch and sometimes, can be a green-yellow color which points to a pool of pus forming beneath the skin and that an Abscess is forming.

The most frequent symptoms or signs are:

• Redness


• Swelling


• Tenderness and pain to touch


• Pus collection

An individual should call their physician if this redness starts to extend past the skin surrounding the fingernail or to the finger pad. This indicates an infection could be developing into a serious finger problem in the deeper tissues of the fingertip, known as a felon.

A call to the physician should also be made if an abscess starts forming. Abscesses need draining by a medical professional. Opening up or incising abscesses to drain the pus from the wound should never be done in a casual matter at home.

At the very first symptom that pus is collecting, the individual should pursue medical care for potential drainage. If there are signs of swelling as well as redness extending down the finger or the individual is not able to move the joints of the finger that is affected, it is important to go to the hospital’s emergency room as quickly as possible. This situation may or may not be linked with chills or fever, indicative of a serious infection.

Paronychia Causes

Both acute as well as chronic infections start when there has been a break in the skin or the epidermis. An acute contagion is mostly linked to an injury to the skin for instance an ingrown nail, hangnail, or nail biting. This break in the skin leaves an opening for bacteria to invade. The most frequent bacteria that causes acute infections is usually Staphylococcus aureus. But there are other bacteria that less frequently cause infections and are commonly of the Streptococcus species as well as Pseudomonas species. Chronic infections are normally linked with irritation that is repeated for example exposure to water as well as detergents. Many infections that are chronic are started by Candida albicans as well as other fungi.
Acute Paronychia
Acute infections begin as warm, swollen, painful, as well as redness of skin surrounding the finger or toe nail. This can progress on to the development of pus which can separate the nail and the skin. Lymphatic nodes located in the armpit or elbow can swell.

You're reading Paronychia – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Prevention, Pictures posted by minhhai2d, the information is for reference only.

Chronic Paronychia
With chronic infection, the tenderness and the redness are much less obvious than infections that are acute. The skin surrounding the nail may get boggy. Also the nail can have a greenish coloration because of Pseudomonas infection.

Diagnosis
This is diagnosed mostly based on the clinical symptoms. Often when there is the involvement of pus, a culture can be obtained to define the type of bacteria involved. This isn’t essential since the bacteria are usually associated with a Streptococcus or Staphylococcus species. The infection of chronic paronychia is much harder to diagnose. A KOH test of a smear from the fold of the nail can often expose a fungus.

Paronychia Treatment

Soaks that are warm may be done three or four times each day with acute infections in order to encourage drainage as well as diminish some pain or tenderness. Many acute cases need to be cured with antibiotics for example dicloxacillin or cephalexin. Antibiotics that are topical or ointments that are anti-bacterial do not treat effectively paronychia infections. When there is an abscess or pus involvement, the infection will require an incision as well as draining. Very rarely, a part of the finger or toe nail may also require detachment.

Chronic infections are treated with antifungal topical drugs such as ketoconazole cream. A milder topical steroid such as hydrocortisone can additionally be used with the antifungal drug in order to reduce any inflammation. Steroids should not be used alone with a chronic infection.

Special Cases
Individuals with any of the following problems are inclined to develop infections that are more extensive and should be treated with a lengthy sequence of antibiotics.

• Damaged immune system from HIV/AIDS or long-term use of corticosteroid


• Poor circulation to the extremities


• Diabetes

Paronychia Prevention

The below are guidelines that can help to prevent the development of this problem:

• No biting of cuticles or nails


• Avoidance of soaking hands in water while not using waterproof gloves

Paronychia Pictures