Can paronychia heal on its own?

Paronychia can resolve spontaneously if symptoms are mild. However, in cases of severe symptoms, it generally will not resolve on its own and requires active treatment. 1. Mild symptoms: These are mainly caused by accidentally damaging the protective membrane around the nail while trimming nails, or by improperly handling nail bed hangnails, leading to mild infection. With timely local care and disinfection, symptoms can gradually resolve on their own. Additionally, mild allergic reactions caused by nail polish can also resolve spontaneously once the allergen is promptly removed. 2. Severe symptoms: In cases where pus has formed or the infection is severe, paronychia typically cannot resolve on its own and requires active treatment. In the early stages of paronychia, physical therapies such as local heat application, shortwave ultraviolet radiation, ultra-short wave therapy, or infrared radiation may be used. For paronychia with abscess formation, timely incision and drainage are necessary to remove the pus and promote wound healing.