Is paronychia painful? How to prevent and treat paronychia?

Paronychia is a disease that troubles many people. It is usually caused by bacterial infection or improper wearing of shoes. Paronychia can cause severe pain and even swelling, making it difficult for patients to walk. Therefore, paronychia must be treated actively. Of course, patients who do not have paronychia also need to pay attention to prevention. Here I will introduce you to the relevant knowledge about paronychia.

1. Introduction to Paronychia

Paronychia is a purulent infection of the soft tissue around the nails and toenails, which is caused by bacteria invading the subcutaneous tissue through micro-injuries in the skin around the nail and growing and multiplying. In the fingers, it is usually caused by injuries such as puncture wounds, tearing of flesh thorns or trimming the nails too deeply. In the toes, it is usually caused by ingrown toenails or tight shoes, and most often occurs in the big toe. Paronychia is more common in teenagers or women. Generally, it can occur on the fingers or on the toes. Those who have it on the fingers often have the bad habit of biting their fingers, while those who have it on the toes are often caused by secondary infection of ingrown toenails. In the toes, it is usually caused by ingrown toenails or tight shoes, and most often occurs in the big toe.

2. Does paronychia hurt?

The symptoms of paronychia are obvious. This disease can cause intense pain, and sometimes the skin in the nail groove of the elderly may also swell. Although paronychia generally does not cause much harm to the human body, the distress it brings to people cannot be ignored.

Sometimes paronychia will improve on its own in a few days, but in some cases, not only will it not improve on its own, but the condition will become more and more serious. It will start to fester within a few days and form a crescent-shaped abscess in the nail groove. If you go to the hospital for an incision and drainage of the abscess, you will find yellow and white pus flowing out.

Paronychia can sometimes be caused by a sharp object from the outside penetrating the area where the root of the nail is connected to the skin. If the foreign object is not removed in time, it may cause hematoma and cause serious infection. If no active treatment is taken at this time, it is likely to develop into chronic paronychia, and even eventually develop into phalangeal osteomyelitis.

3. Daily prevention and treatment

1. Take good care of the skin around your nails and avoid any damage to them. Nails should not be cut too short and you should not pull out "hangnails" with your hands.

2. Take precautions before they happen. Wood thorns, bamboo thorns, sewing needles, fish bones, etc. are the foreign objects that are most likely to injure the nail groove in daily life. You should be extra careful when participating in labor or doing housework.

3. Pay attention to the care of your fingers and do not cut your nails too short.

4. When there are minor injuries on your fingers, apply 2% iodine and then bandage them with a Band-Aid to prevent infection.

5. If the wound has become purulent, you should go to the hospital for timely incision and drain the pus. Prevent the spread of infection and cause phalangeal osteomyelitis.

6. If there is pus accumulation under the nail, the nail should be removed to facilitate adequate drainage and complete healing. Or apply ingrown nail cream.