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Occasionally infection occurs on the toes or on the nail cuticle. Herpes whitlow can be caused by infection by HSV-1 or HSV-2. [ 1 ] HSV-1 whitlow is often contracted by health care workers that come in contact with the virus; it is most commonly contracted by dental workers and medical workers exposed to oral secretions.
Hangnails can become infected and cause paronychia, a type of skin infection that causes inflammation around the nails. [ 2 ] Hangnails may also cause pain if pulled as they may remain attached to living skin.
Here’s how to ID signs of a developing infection so you can treat it before it causes real trouble.
A whitlow or felon is an infection of the tip of the finger. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ a ] Herpetic whitlow and melanotic whitlow (subungual melanoma) are subtypes that are not synonymous with the term felon . A felon is an "extremely painful abscess on the palmar aspect of the fingertip". [ 6 ]
It enters through small cuts in the skin to cause a fungal infection. [1] In cases of sporotrichosis affecting the lungs, the fungal spores enter by inhalation. [1] Sporotrichosis can be acquired by handling cats with the disease; it is an occupational hazard for veterinarians. [1] Treatment depends on the site and extent of infection. [1]
Chronic paronychia is an infection of the folds of tissue surrounding the nail of a finger or, less commonly, a toe, lasting more than six weeks. [4] It is a nail disease prevalent in individuals whose hands or feet are subject to moist local environments, and is often due to contact dermatitis .
People who have dermatophagia can also be prone to infection as when they bite their fingers so frequently, they make themselves vulnerable to bacteria seeping in and causing infection. Dermatophagia can be considered a "sister" disorder to trichophagia , which involves compulsively biting and eating one's hair.
The relative rarity of this condition in the fingers suggests that pressure from the ground or shoe against the toe is a prime factor. The movements involved in walking or other physical disturbances can contribute to the problem. Mild onychocryptosis, particularly in the absence of infection, can be treated by trimming and rounding the nail.