If whitlow is diagnosed within 48 hours after the symptoms start, the doctor can prescribe antiviral medication to you. The medicine might be topical (a cream) or oral (pills), and it will lessen the severity of the infection and promote quicker healing. Thus, it's crucial that you seek immediate medical advice.  Commonly prescribed medications include topical acyclovir 5%, oral acyclovir, oral Famciclovir or valacyclovir. Take the medications as advised by your doctor or pharmacist. Dosages will be adjusted for children, but the treatments will remain the same. Since the virus can spread through contact, your healthcare provider may advise you not to touch others, or even to avoid touching yourself with the infected finger. In particular, avoid touching body parts that contain fluids or bodily secretions. These include the eyes, mouth, tongue, genitals, ears, and breast. If you wear contacts, don't wear them until the infection has resolved. Touching the contacts, then inserting them into your eyes, could infect the eye. Your healthcare provider may wrap the infected area with a bandage, cloth, or any form of dry wrap with medical tape. You can do this easily at home, too, by buying the bandages or wraps from your local pharmacy. To keep the wrap fresh, change it daily. To be extra safe, your doctor may advise you to both wrap the infected area and wear a glove over it. It can be difficult enough to be conscious of your hands as an adult, but children often find it quite difficult. You don't want them sucking on infected fingers, touching their eyes, or any other areas of the body that contain or carry bodily fluids. Even after wrapping the infected area, watch them closely to make sure everything is as it should be. The doctor may provide or advise you to use over-the-counter pain medication like Advil, Tylenol, ibuprofen or aspirin. They should ease pain while the infection heals by reducing inflammation to the area. If you saw a doctor within 48 hours of noticing the symptoms, the doctor might not recommend anything beyond pain medication.  Children and teenagers with viral infections are advised not to take aspirin. There's a risk of developing a multi-organ fatal condition known as Reye’s syndrome. Seek expert medical advice before taking over-the-counter pain meds for viral infections. Take all medications as described either by your healthcare provider or on the label. Be careful not to exceed the maximum daily dose. If you try to burst or drain the vesicles on your finger on your own, you give debris and bacteria opportunity to invade. Whitlow is a viral infection, but you can compound the issue with a bacterial infection (this can appear dark, have an odor, and may have a whitish pus discharge).  The doctors will order a complete blood count with differential (to detect immune cells or white blood cells) if they suspect bacterial infection. The white blood cells will be high if you have a bacterial infection. They may reorder this test after you've completed your antibiotic course to check for normal levels of white blood cells. This isn't always necessary if symptoms have calmed and they have no further suspicion. A doctor will likely want to confirm a bacterial infection before prescribing antibiotic treatment. This is because overuse of antibiotics can cause bacteria to adapt and become resistant to treatment. However, once bacterial infection is confirmed, antibiotic treatment is very simple.  Always follow your doctor or the label's directions precisely. Make sure to complete the full course of treatment, even if symptoms seem to resolve.
تناول الأدوية المضادة للفيروسات. اتخذ الاحتياطات اللازمة لمنع انتشار العدوى. قم بتغطية المنطقة المصابة. راقب الأطفال عن كثب. تناول أدوية مسكنة للآلام إذا لزم الأمر. اطلب من الطبيب إجراء اختبار العدوى البكتيرية. تناول المضادات الحيوية على النحو المنصوص عليه.