Nails Infections

1. Nails are horns – like envelops covering the tips of fingers and toes and are responsible for tactile perception.
2. Various changes in terms of structure, surface and colour of nails can be an important diagnostic clue to cutaneous and systemic pathologies.
3. Onychomycosis:: fungal infections of nails caused by dermatophytes, moulds or yeast.
4. Periungual warts: commonly presents as a hyperkeratotic lesions over the nail folds.
5. Herpetic whitlow presents as multiple grouped vesicular lesions on the periungual tissue.
6. Bacterial infections: Acute paronychia presents as painful, red swollen nail folds with discharge of pus.
7. Nail psoriasis presents with distal onycholysis, subungual hyperkeratosis and nail bed discolouration with involvement of nail folds.
8. Nail Lichen planus: presents with longitudinal ridging and thinning.
9. Subungual hematoma: post traumatic collection of blood generally red or black which moves out with the growth of nail.
10. Ingrowth of nails typically manifests as nail piercing the nail folds and eventually resulting in secondary infections.
11. Age related changes include decrease in nail growth, increased thickening, increased brittleness and colour changes.