WHITLOW

The clinical term whitlow is applied to an acute infection, usually
followed by suppuration, commonly met with in the fingers, less
frequently in the toes. The point of infection is often trivial--a
pin-prick, a puncture caused by a splinter of wood, a scratch, or even
an imperceptible lesion of the skin.

Several varieties of whitlow are recognised, but while it is convenient
to describe them separately, it is to be clearly understood that
clinically they merge one into another, and it is not always possible to
determine in which connective-tissue plane a given infection has
originated.

_Initial Stage._--Attention is usually first attracted to the condition
by a sensation of tightness in the finger and tenderness when the part
is squeezed or knocked against anything. In the course of a few hours
the part becomes red and swollen; there is continuous pain, which soon
assumes a throbbing character, particularly when the hand is dependent,
and may be so severe as to prevent sleep, and the patient may feel
generally out of sorts.

If a constricting band is applied at this stage, the infection can
usually be checked and the occurrence of suppuration prevented. If this
fails, or if the condition is allowed to go untreated, the inflammatory
reaction increases and terminates in suppuration, giving rise to one or
other of the forms of whitlow to be described.