FIGURE 120.1 Paronychia of the finger (Reprinted with permission from Salimpour RR, Salimpour P, Salimpour P Photographic Atlas of Pediatric Disorders and Diagnosis 1st ed Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2013.) Herpetic Whitlow Herpetic whitlow , a herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection of the fingers, is sometimes mistaken for a paronychia and is the major differential diagnostic consideration Clinically, this lesion is characterized by the appearance of multiple, painful, thick-walled vesicles on erythematous bases most commonly located overlying the pulp space of the digits but can also occur around the nail folds and lateral aspects of the digit During the ensuing few days, vesicles begin