Red swollen fingertip on my 5 month old

[ejayjay]

I noticed yesterday that my DS has a red & swollen fingertip. I thought he may have bitten his finger as he has just cut 2 teeth but there are no visible marks and it seems hot and hard to touch.
Someone told me that it could be an infected nail bed.
I normally cut his nails when he is asleep or breastfeeding but I did it when he was awake the other day as he had scratched his eye quite badly. He was wriggling loads and the nail does look very short.
Has anyone had any experience of this and if it is an infection is there anything I can treat it with at home?

My DS ( a thumb sucker) had an infected thumb once -it went red, swollen and hot.

He had obviously grazed the skin with his teeth whilst sucking his thumb and it had become infected.

I took him to the GP who prescribed something (although I can't remember whether it was a cream or oral meds??)

As your breast feeding, squirt some milk onto the finger, its full of your antibodies and goodies, whenever my two boys had sticky eye or scratches etc I used to (and still do) squirt away.

If the nail bed is infected, you may have to go to the doctors, but as you have breast milk on tap, it may help.