Paronychia is inflammation of nail folds (where nails meet meat) on both sides of nails and behind nails. Symptoms include redness, suppurative ulcer, nail deformation and so on. , and divided into acute paronychia and chronic paronychia.
Acute paronychia is usually caused by the infection of bacteria and mold in the small wound on the finger, which leads to the inflammation of the skin near the nail fold. This situation is particularly easy to happen to people who have too short nail clippers, bite their nails and pull out their nails at will. Because people are exposed to a large number of bacteria every day, as long as there is a wound and there is no maintenance treatment, it may be inflamed; In addition, people who use cancer-targeted drugs may also have side effects of paronychia.
Chronic paronychia is a reaction of the immune system, but it is a long-term infection, so the inflammatory reaction is relatively slow, and most people who are exposed to chemicals and other liquids for a long time and immersed in water are prone to it, such as housewives/husbands, medical staff, chefs, cleaning staff and so on. In addition, people who have been exposed to allergens, dermatitis, herpes zoster and eczema for a long time are also relatively easy to get.
Treatment of paronychia
Because acute paronychia is caused by bacterial or fungal infection, it is usually treated with antibiotics or disinfectants, but if the wound has suppurated, a dermatologist should be asked to help drain the pus.
Chronic paronychia can lead to nail fold swelling, nail bed atrophy and nail deformation. In addition to antibiotic treatment, steroids are also used to slow down the inflammatory reaction, but the most important thing is that patients should avoid contact with allergens again and keep their hands dry.
However, if acute paronychia is complicated with "ingrown nail", it is also a common "frozen nail", because the nail fold is partially embedded in the meat, and if only treated with antibiotics, it will continue to attack; However, most people with ingrown toenails often wear too tight shoes, too wide nails, too short nails and so on. , causing external forces to embed nails in the meat. If the deformation is too serious, even nails need to be pulled out.
However, in the process of waiting for the nails to grow back after pulling out, in addition to the problem of possible infection, the meat lacking nail protection may turn over, and the nails are more likely to be embedded in the meat; Therefore, in addition to nail removal, nail bed plastic surgery can also be used to cut off the nails at the edge and remove the infected tissues, so that the nails become smaller and smaller and avoid repeated infections in the future.
"Cleavage of Nail-cutting" to prevent paronychia
Everyone knows that nails should not be cut too short, but what is "too short"? The correct nail length should be that the endpoint is longer than the finger and the edge is smooth.
(Source: Reprinted from kosodatedou website)
When you cut your nails, you should "cut them flat" and then cut off the sharp corners on both sides. If there are barbs on both sides of your nails or thorns on your fingers, don't pull them out yourself. If you feel uncomfortable with barbs, you can gently cut off the extra places when your nails become soft after bathing because of soaking in water.