Whitlow
Top Contributors - Kehinde Fatola, Joao Costa, Shaimaa Eldib and Temitope Olowoyeye
Introduction[edit | edit source]
Whitlow is a very painful and infectious viral disease of the thumb and fingertips. Rarely, it infects the toes and nail cuticle. It is a self-limiting disease and it is of two types - Herpetic Whitlow and Melanotic Whitlow. Herpetic whitlow is more prevalent of the two. It is a disease of the hand.
Mechanism of Injury / Pathological Process[edit | edit source]
Herpetic whitlow is caused by the Herpetic Simplex Virus (HSV). HSV is of two types - type 1 and type 2. They are both known to cause whitlow. Herpetic whitlow is caused when a wounded and exposed skin comes in contact with body fluids contaminated with HSV. It may also be caused by bacterial fingertip infection.
Risk factors include;
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection
- Nail biting habit
- Wounded finger with exposed skin surface
- Career in health care profession
Clinical Presentation[edit | edit source]
The finger may present with;
- Tingling
- Itchy feeling
- Burning sensation
- Blisters
- Redness, warmth or swelling
The body may present generally with;
- Fever
- Lymphangitis
- Blisters and sores on other parts of the body
- Enlarged lymph nodes in the arm
High fever (temperature over 101°F) and confusion/lack of consciousness may indicate serious infection/progression of the disease.
Management / Interventions[edit | edit source]
Although, there is no known cure of the disease and the disease is a self-limiting one, therefore, it usually resolve within two to three weeks. However, certain measures may be undertaken to improve the symptoms. These include;
- Topical anaesthetics to reduce pain and itching
- Antiviral medications
- Analgesics to reduce pain and fever (if present)
- Electrotherapy
Not much research work has been done on Physiotherapy and Whitlow.
Complications[edit | edit source]
Untreated whitlow can come with serious complications which include;
- Encephalitis
- Meningitis
- Tenosynovitis
- Pain and discomfort
- Spread of infection
- Skin ulcerations and infections
