Paronychia in a newborn?

Hi there - my son is 5 weeks old and since day 3, he's had a problem with his nails.  It started on 1 thumb, where the side of the nail got red & swollen (a paronychia, I'm guessing from my research...), and that was followed by the skin on the tip of this thumb peeling.  It almost looked like a bit of while glue had dried on his thumb.  A few days later, the 2nd thumb went through the same thing, and now the fingers have all started to follow suit, one or 2 at a time, as well as his 2 big toes.  Further details are that his nails seem a bit "dirty" underneath (slightly yellow or green under the distal end of the nail, but not under the nail bed itself.)  There is also a small hard yellow "dot" at the site of the red swollen part, that is strongly attached to the skin but that can be pried loose.  It's not pus-filled - just a  very small hard "dot".

Any thoughts on this? I can't get an appt with his MD for another 2 weeks... he is very healthy otherwise, eating and sleeping well, gaining weight well, a calm baby overall.
Thank you,

Eldyka

[martikadragoon]

does it sound as though he's in pain from this??

it COULD be a paronychia or it could simply be where his skin/nails are growing. my son went through this and hundreds of white bumps on his face (his skin was red)

if you get too worried get him an emergency appointment.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Paronychia is common in infants and may be exacerbated by the baby sucking their fingers or by overzealous trimming of the infant's finger nails.
Most often, the infection can be treated with oral antibiotics after culture sensitivity. For lesions that are chronic, Gram negative organisms or Candida as a potential cause has to be investigated. I suggest you a dermatologist’s evaluation as soon as possible.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.