Housewife onycholysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and microbiological aspects of onycholysis in Iraqi housewives.

One hundred housewives with onycholysis of the finger nails were evaluated clinically in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq between October 2002 to March 2003. Swabs were taken from those patients for microbiological evaluation in the Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq. All cases with skin disorder related systemic diseases like anemia, hypothyroidism and drug intake like minocycline, oral contraceptives were excluded from the study.

One hundred housewives with onycholysis were enrolled in the study. Their ages ranged between 17-70 years with a mean of 41.96 +/- 12.57 years. Married females were 89 (89%), while unmarried females were 11 (11%). The site of involvement was mainly the thumb (76%) followed by the ring finger (12%), the index (7%), little (6%) and middle (5%) fingers. The pattern of onycholysis was distal in 47 (47%), lateral in 30 (30%) and both distal and lateral in 23 (23%) of the patients.

Onycholysis is a major problem among Iraqi housewives, most probably caused by repetitive mechanical, chemical and physical trauma; therefore, special preventive measures should be undertaken to minimize the incidence of the disease. Housewives should be encouraged to use preventive measures like using gloves and washing machines.