(People Magazine.October 02, 2018) – A 10-week-old boy is recovering after nearly losing four of his toes when a strand of his mother’s hair became tangled on his foot, cutting off the baby’s circulation for at least 12 hours, his mother says.
“It was a horrible experience,” Alex Upton, 26, said of the ordeal that landed her infant son, Ezra, in the hospital last month.
Upton, of Paignton, England, said she was awakened by Ezra’s cries, and became confused when the baby wouldn’t drink any milk. Then, Upton said, she noticed that four toes on Ezra’s foot were red and swollen.
The concerned mom of two looked closer and saw that a single strand of her long, brown hair had become wrapped around his toes, and was cutting off the baby’s blood circulation. Read More
Stories like these will strike fear and worry in every parent. However, don’t let this stress you too much or scare you into an overly-obsessive worry wart. Use this information to become a more prepared parent! Let it serve as a reminder that even the smallest, seemingly insignificant of things can harm your baby – always be diligent.
With knowledge like this, you know what to look for so you can thoroughly check your baby from tip to toe.
Scientists and doctors have actually given a term for cases like this, called hair tourniquet syndrome.
If something happens like this, you should take your baby to a professional immediately. But don’t panic! As once the problem is resolved the effected area should heal very quickly.
Toe tourniquet syndrome is a rare and dangerous but a preventable condition of young infants. The prompt diagnosis and treatment of the condition is vital to attain a good outcome and prevent further harm to the child. New parents should be warned that if excessive hair loss should occur, then their infant should be carefully checked on a regular basis to make sure that no hairs are becoming entangled in the fingers or toes. The hair tourniquet syndrome is a rare disorder. This syndrome has been described as involving the fingers, the toes and even the genitals. We report a case of hair tourniquet syndrome affecting multiple toes of an infant. After the hair fiber was removed there was a fast healing period and no signs of tissue necrosis were seen. The prompt diagnosis and treatment of the condition is vital to attain a good outcome and prevent further harm to the child. Click Here to Read More