Whitlow Cured by the Vagina, How True?

Whitlow Cured by the Vagina, How True? Dispelling the myths about Whitlow cure with lime, petrol, shea butter salted water, garlic etc.

Strolling past the streets of Facebook recently, I stumbled on a post where someone shared a picture of her whitlow finger and was asking for cure suggestions. I was utterly dazed when someone suggested she puts the Whitlow finger into her vagina, worse yet, another asked her to put the finger inside pit toilet hole, one asked her to put the whitlow finger inside lime or garlic, some suggested fuel (petrol), still another told her to pour early morning urine on it.. ” Olorun! what will Adamu not see in the desert ?… Hahaha . But of course, that’s what you get when you seek medical advice from the wrong people. As a professional health worker, I think it’s a necessity to put mouth for this matter. Hence, what do you know about whitlow ?

WHAT IS WHITLOW ?

Whitlow is a viral condition where small blisters form on the fingers and the fleshy area around the fingertips. These sores or blisters are often painful and develop after direct contact with a contagious sore.

CAUSE

This condition is caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Therefore it is also known as Herpetic Whitlow.

Your finger may become infected with the HSV virus when broken skin on the fingers, such as a minor cut, comes in contact with HSV-infected bodily fluids. These fluids may come from your own body, if you have a herpes simplex virus infection elsewhere in your body, or from someone else who has a herpes simplex virus infection. For example, touching oral or genital sores caused by HSV infection on yourself or another person may cause a whitlow.

There are two types of HSV :

👉Type 1 usually affects the area around the mouth, lips, and face.

👉Type 2 usually affects the genitals.

Since the same virus causes herpetic whitlow, cold sores, and genital herpes, it’s extremely contagious. For that reason, it’s important that you recognize symptoms of this condition and take steps to protect yourself.

It therefore means that by putting a whitlow finger “inside your body”, you’ll only be introducing herpes simplex virus which will give rise to genital herpes.. the matter don get horn be that.

SYMPTOMS

Finger symptoms of whitlow.

A whitlow usually causes symptoms on your fingers including:
👉Burning feeling
👉Development of small bumps or blisters
👉Itchy feeling. It may be one blister or a cluster of blisters. Eventually, the blister — or group of blisters — ruptures. This forms a shallow ulcer with a crust-like scab.
👉It can take up to 3 weeks for the blisters to heal. Again, this means that using measures such as urine or pit toilet hole will only introduce bacteria into the ulcers and infect them.
👉Redness, warmth or swelling
👉Tingling or other unusual sensations in the hands.

General Symptoms Of Whitlow

In addition to the finger symptoms of whitlow, a herpes simplex virus infection may cause other symptoms in your body. At times, any of these symptoms can be severe:
👉Blisters or sores at other sites on the body
👉Enlarged lymph nodes in arms (near the elbow or underarm)
👉Fever
👉Red streaks on the arms (lymphangitis)

Symptoms that might indicate a serious condition

👉Rarely, whitlow may lead to a serious infection that should be immediately evaluated in an emergency setting. Seek immediate medical care if you, or someone you are with, have whitlow along with symptoms including:
👉Confusion or loss of consciousness for even a brief moment
👉High fever

RISK FACTORS

A number of factors increases the risk of developing whitlow, they include :

👉Career in a health care profession such as dentistry or nursing
👉Herpes simplex virus 1 or 2 infection
👉Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
👉Injury to the finger with broken skin surface
👉Nail-biting habit
👉Small children (self-inoculation with unwashed fingers)

TREATMENT

In many cases, a whitlow infection will heal without treatment after two to three weeks. There are no medications to eliminate the virus. Treatment is aimed at relieving the symptoms using:
👉Analgesics (painkillers)
👉Antiviral medications, such as acyclovir to manage the infection, especially in individuals with frequent or severe infections or compromised immune systems. Also it lowers the risk of transmitting the virus to other people.
👉Topical anesthetics, to reduce local itching and pain on the fingers

HOW TO REDUCE THE RISK

You may be able to lower your risk of whitlow or prevent the spread of herpes simplex virus to others by:

👉Avoiding chewing or sucking on your fingers or thumbs
👉Avoiding direct contact with open herpes lesions, including cold sores or genital lesions
👉Avoiding nail biting
👉Frequent handwashing
👉Practicing safe sex (use condoms or dental dams)
👉Using gloves and universal precautions when at-risk for contact with body fluids, especially if you are in a health care profession
👉As a precaution, don’t wear contact lenses if you have herpetic whitlow. If you touch your eye with the finger containing the affected area, the virus could spread to your eye.

COMPLICATIONS

Complications of untreated whitlow include:
👉Adverse effects of treatment
👉Encephalitis (inflammation and swelling of the brain due to a viral infection or other causes)
👉Meningitis (infection or inflammation of the sac around the brain and spinal cord)
👉Severe discomfort or pain
👉Skin ulcerations and infections
👉Spread of infection
👉Tenosynovitis (tendon inflammation)

PROGNOSIS

Currently there’s no cure for HSV, though researchers are making progress on future treatments.
Once an initial outbreak goes away, the virus may remain dormant in your body for years. So even after herpetic whitlow symptoms disappear, you could experience another outbreak later on, although this is unlikely.

In the event of recurrent outbreaks, antiviral medication can help decrease the frequency of attacks.

In summary, let me quickly answer this questions below which has now become a myth in Whitlow cure:

Can fuel Cure Whitlow: NO

Can lime Cure wicklow: NO

Does Abreva work on herpetic whitlow? No

Shea butter for whitlow? NO

Can petrol cure whitlow: NO

can fuel cure whitlow? NO

Whitlow Cured by the Vagina? How True? NOT POSSIBLE. WILL ONLY INTRODUCE INFECTION.

WRITTEN BY OKOGBENI EJOVWOKE JOANNA RN, RM IN VIEW

SOURCES:

Healthline media
Healthgrades