Paronychia, commonly known as 'frozen nail', is a type of nail bed inflammation. It refers to the inflammation of the tissue around the nail, including the lateral nail grooves on both sides and the proximal nail fold at the bottom, with general symptoms of redness, swelling, and pain, and may have purulent phenomena in severe cases.
Paronychia refers to the suppurative infection of the soft tissue around the nail (toe) plate, which is caused by bacteria invading the subcutaneous tissue through micro-wounds on the skin next to the nail and multiplying. In the fingers, it is often caused by injuries such as punctures, stripping splinters, or trimming nails too deeply. In the toes, it is often caused by ingrown toenails or tight shoes, mostly occurring in the big toe. At the beginning of paronychia, there is mild pain and swelling on one side of the nail, which then becomes severe and suppurates, spreading pus to the other side or under the nail, forming an abscess under the nail. Yellowish pus can be seen under the nail, causing the deep nail to separate from the nail bed. On the side of the ingrown toenail in the toe, there is often chronic granulation tissue hyperplasia, causing the wound to heal for a long time.
Paronychia refers to the suppurative infection at the junction of the nail plate and the skin crease, which is one of the common finger (toe) infectious diseases in clinical practice. The pathogenic bacteria are Staphylococcus aureus on the skin surface. It can occur after various minor injuries, and the infection can be controlled with local anti-inflammatory treatment in the early stage. After the abscess forms, it must be treated by incision.