Paronychia is an infection of your nail fold caused by bacteria or a fungus. The nail fold is the skin around your nail. Paronychia may happen suddenly and last for 6 weeks or longer. You may have paronychia on more than 1 finger or toe. What increases my risk for paronychia?

Yip KM, Lam SL, Shee BW, Shun CT, Yang RS. Subungual squamous cell carcinoma: report of 2 cases. J Formos Med Assoc. 2000 Aug. 99(8):646-9. [QxMD MEDLINE Link].Mary L Windle, PharmD Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference Tosti A, Piraccini BM, Ghetti E, Colombo MD. Topical steroids versus systemic antifungals in the treatment of chronic paronychia: an open, randomized double-blind and double dummy study. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2002 Jul. 47(1):73-6. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. Fowler JR, Ilyas AM. Epidemiology of adult acute hand infections at an urban medical center. J Hand Surg Am. 2013 Jun. 38(6):1189-93. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. Germs (bacteria)- These tend to cause sudden-onset (acute) paronychia which is painful. A bacterium called Staphylococcus aureus, which often lives harmlessly on our skin, is most often the cause. Micelle J Haydel, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Sigma Theta Tau International, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Southern Medical Association

The German ToenailCare™ Removal Paronychia Oil cures and gets rid of the bacteria that are the cause of the infection, softens calloused tissue and buried toenails, prevents ingrown toenails, encourages healthy nail growth, and straightens the nails.Wash the area with clean water 2 times a day. Don't use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, which can slow healing. Tosti A, Piraccini BM, D'Antuono A, Marzaduri S, Bettoli V. Paronychia associated with antiretroviral therapy. Br J Dermatol. 1999 Jun. 140(6):1165-8. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. An abscess looks like a swollen mass and is tender or painful to touch. Without an abscess, your finger might only feel swollen and throbbing, while an abscess will be more painful and feel like it's filled with something. Od té doby, co jsem začal používat tento úlevový olej, všechno jde dobře. Zdá se, že nahromadění paronychie zarostlého nehtu vysušuje díky jeho pohodlí při používání. Je to jedna z mála ošetření, které jsem vyzkoušela a která alespoň trochu změnila vzhled mých nehtů.“ Pěstujte si nehty zdravě! Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Tomková H, Kohoutek M, Zábojníková M, Pospísková M, Ostrízková L, Gharibyar M. Cetuximab-induced cutaneous toxicity. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2010 Jun. 24(6):692-6. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. van Diepeningen AD, Feng P, Ahmed S, Sudhadham M, Bunyaratavej S, de Hoog GS. Spectrum of Fusarium infections in tropical dermatology evidenced by multilocus sequencing typing diagnostics. Mycoses. 2015 Jan. 58 (1):48-57. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. Some medications can also cause paronychia. Some of these medications include retinoids, anti-cancer medications, HIV medications and some antibiotics.Kapellen TM, Galler A, Kiess W. Higher frequency of paronychia (nail bed infections) in pediatric and adolescent patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus than in non-diabetic peers. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Jun. 16(5):751-8. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. Candida- This is a yeast (a type of fungus) and is another common cause. Paronychia with candida tends to develop slowly and cause persistent (chronic) infection. They do not cause pus to appear. Shaw J, Body R. Best evidence topic report. Incision and drainage preferable to oral antibiotics in acute paronychial nail infection?. Emerg Med J. 2005 Nov. 22(11):813-4. [QxMD MEDLINE Link]. [Full Text].

When a bacterial infection causes acute paronychia, a doctor may recommend an antibiotic, such as dicloxacillin or clindamycin.Individuals claim that a person can cure the infection by cutting a slit in a lemon and sprinkling salt into the hole before placing the affected finger in the lemon for a few minutes. They advise repeating this until the infection goes away. However, there seems to be no scientific evidence to support the idea that this can cure paronychia. David F Butler, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American Medical Association, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, American Society for MOHS Surgery, Association of Military Dermatologists, and Phi Beta Kappa