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Scher and Daniel’s Nails pp 215–225Cite as

Acute and Chronic Paronychia

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Abstract

Paronychia refers to the inflammation and/or infection of the nail folds. It occurs in to forms commonly: acute paronychia and chronic paronychia. Both forms are caused by a disruption of the normal seals of the nail apparatus. The disruption of the seals in the nail apparatus is commonly caused by irritants, contactants, as wells as repetitive trauma from manicures. Acute paronychia often demonstrates a distinct collection of pus or abscess formation within a nail fold. The most common cause of acute paronychia is Staphylococcus aureus. It may also be caused by other organisms including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Chronic paronychia refers to paronychia that lasts more than 6 weeks. The treatments for acute and chronic paronychia are distinct. Chronic paronychia is considered to be an inflammatory process, although there can be secondary colonization by Candida and hypersensitivity to Candida may play a role in persistence and exacerbation of the process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Adam I. Rubin

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Dermatology & Surgery of the Skin, Jackson, MS, USA

    C. Ralph Daniel III

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  1. Adam I. Rubin
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  2. C. Ralph Daniel III
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Correspondence to Adam I. Rubin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Adam I. Rubin

  2. Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Nathaniel J. Jellinek

  3. Department of Dermatology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA

    C. Ralph Daniel III

  4. Department of Dermatology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

    Richard K. Scher

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Rubin, A.I., Daniel, C.R. (2018). Acute and Chronic Paronychia. In: Rubin, A.I., Jellinek, N.J., Daniel, C.R., Scher, R.K. (eds) Scher and Daniel’s Nails. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65649-6_13

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