Being a parent is the best, yet, the most demanding job in life, so in order to ensure the safety of their children, parents often consult with each other and share their experiences.
A mother from Michigan, Heather, spread the word far and wide to warn other parents about a medical condition her son, Jacob, developed.
When he was 10 months, Heather noticed that the toes of the baby have turned dark shade blue while he was sleeping.
Jacob’s father, Tommy, entered the room to help get Jacob ready after his nap, as they were planning to go to a party that evening. They wanted to change his diaper and put him in clean clothes.
“I handed him to his dad Tommy to put socks on him when Tommy realized his two toes were blue and tied together with a strand of hair!!! I immediately took off what I could and had to take him to the ER where we spent an hour and a team of 5 doctors trying to get the rest of MY HAIR off his two toes…”
The doctors afterward explained that if the parents didn’t remove the hair before coming to the hospital, they would have probably had to amputate the toes of the baby!
This shock made Heather urge other parents to carefully check their parents in order to prevent this issue known as ‘hair tourniquet syndrome’.
“CHECK YOUR BABYS TOES AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN!!! And if you have a baby boy even his PENIS. Yes, I said penis… they are such tiny babies and our hair can be such a hazard but it’s something that we never really pay attention to.. so plz share this with all your mom friends with little babies!!!!”
Even after 12 hours, the toes of the baby were raw and painful, as the strand of hair has been just like a razor-sharp wire for the soft skin of the baby.
Parents, be aware of this medical problem and do your best to prevent in order to protect your child.
Yet, in case it happens, you need to completely eliminate the hair in a few minutes. Follow these guidelines by HealthLine:
“The easiest way to remove a hair tourniquet may be with the use of a depilatory cream (such as Nair) or another hair removal cream with the active ingredients calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, or calcium thioglycolate. But only try this if the skin around the affected area isn’t bleeding or broken.
To remove a hair tourniquet:
- Take your baby to an area with good lighting. You may even want to ask your partner or a friend to shine a flashlight on the affected area.
- Locate the hair, apply the depilatory cream directly onto the hair, and wait 5 minutes.
- Wash the depilatory cream off with warm water.
- Apply a disinfectant such as hydrogen peroxide to the affected area.
- If the appendage is still red, swollen, or grooved, and your baby is still in pain, seek medical help immediately. Emergency medical care is essential to protect your child from severe complications.
- It may also be possible to remove the hair using needle-nosed tweezers. But this method can be difficult if the hair is thin or the area is extremely swollen.”
However, if the symptoms do not improve after a few minutes, take the baby to a doctor immediately.
