Painful Hemorrhagic Lesion of Right Palm

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are ubiquitous in the population in the more than half of all people seropositive HSV-2. While these in cause oral or genital lesions, anywhere on the body Herpetic whitlow class painful swollen, vesicular lesion of the digits due to HSV infection. In some instances, however, the skin lesion of HSV may appear atypical. In the following report, we describe a unique case of a hemorrhagic, pustular appearing herpetic whitlow infection of the hand. This report serves to remind physicians to consider the diagnosis of HV for a painful skin lesion of the hand, as herpetic whitlow can mimic more serious conditions and early detection can limit the spread of the disease.