Fingernail Infection

Fingernail infection is one of the many problems and is caused by many conditions, one of them being an unhygienic lifestyle. We take care of our body, our face, hands, legs, akin, hair etc. but one should also take proper nail care to avoid any further infections. But how do you know whether your fingernail is infected and which symptoms to look for? Well, let us look at some of its symptoms.

Infection Symptoms

Paronychia: The symptom of paronychia starts showing when the area that is next to the fingernail starts swelling and becomes red. Sometimes, pus is also visible under the skin or the nail. What happens here is that, the pus actually is leaking out of the wound. If this infected area is being touched, one might feel pain and the area will also be tender. The drainage from the area, can be identified as it is whitish-yellow color.

Herpetic Whitlow: In this infection, the area of the fingertip will appear red and will be tender with a burning or an itchy sensation. There may be swelling, but mild. Sometimes there may also be a lot of open wounds in the infected area. After the formation of a small blister-like lesion, these open wounds occur. This fluid has a cloudy color, but are mostly clear. If you have the symptoms of herpetic whitlow, then you might have a low fever and tender lymph nodes in the area that can also be swollen too.

Felon: This infection starts showing its symptoms when you have a swollen fingertip that is painful. This pain could be felt if the fingertip is touched. You can also see the swelling, that has developed for over a couple of days, which makes the area become red. With the continuation of swelling, you might notice that the area is strained and feels tender on touching. Here, the pus is collected under the skin and can be visible too.

Cellulitis: The area is warm, tender to touch, red and slightly swollen. This might restrict the movements of the fingers a little or cause might be very painful. The cellulitis infection is quite superficial, so the deep tissues structures are not much involved.

Deep Space Infections: The spaces between the fingers become red and they swell which causes pain. This area becomes warm. As the pus increases, it becomes difficult for the fingers to stretch or spread apart. You may also notice a spot. This spot, under the skin, is filled with pus.

Flexor Tenosynovitis: The first symptom of flexor tenosynovitis is that the area on the palm side of the finger becomes tender. There might be uniform swelling of the finger followed by extreme pain if the finger is straightened or extended. Lastly, the finger may appear a little bent or flexed. These signs are known as Kanavel cardinal signs.

These were the symptoms of an infected fingernail. If you notice these symptoms, instead of ignoring, rush for medical help as these infections might turn out to be serious. There might also be fingernail fungus infections. In short the symptoms of this fungal infection are, discolored nails, nails that are separated from the nail bed, jagged edges of the nails, brittle nails, too thick nails, or crumbly nails.

Home remedy for this infection includes tea tree oil. This oil has a lot of antifungal properties which will help cure the fungus on the fingernails. Another home remedy is juice of smashed neem leaves. Neem, also has antifungal and medicinal properties that help to cure the wounds.

Before I end this article, here are some tips that you can make use of to avoid such infections.

• Always keep your nails cut short and filed.
• If you have any infected nails, do not use your nail cutter, or nail filer for the ones that are healthy.
• Go for a manicure once in a month.
• File your nails in the areas where they are thicker.
• Do not over grow nails.
• Brake the habit of nail biting.
• With a toothbrush, brush under the nails using an antiseptic soap.

Here were some tips on how to nail the infections in time. Keep all these things in your mind. Stay clean, and stay away from skin infections.