A Missouri mom is urging parents and caregivers to double check their babies’ fingers and toes after a rare condition landed her 5-month-old in the emergency room. In a warning shared to her Facebook page, Sara Ward says her son, Logan, almost had to undergo surgery after a single strand of hair wrapped so tightly around one of his toes that it cut off his circulation.
“This is a warning for all parents of babies and toddlers about Hair Tourniquet Syndrome,” Ward writes in her post. “I had never heard of it until it happened to my child.”
Ward says she first noticed “a line going across Logan’s toe and some redness” on a Saturday night. It wasn’t clear what was causing the issue, so she continued to watch it over the weekend. When things hadn’t improved by Monday, she decided to take her son to the pediatrician. To Ward’s surprise, they eventually ended up at an urgent care facility and then were told to head to the emergency room.
The strand of hair causing Logan’s symptoms had wrapped so tightly around his toe that Ward was unable to see it. “Many of you might be thinking, it’s just a hair, why is it so difficult to get? I know I thought that,” Ward writes. “But the hair strand can wrap so tightly around the limb, and then it begins swelling and constricting the area. The skin starts to form over the hair, and it gets embedded so deep into the tissues. It makes it impossible to see.”
Ward says a team of 12 nurse practitioners, pediatricians and surgeons worked relentlessly to try to find and remove the hair constricting Logan’s toe. “They tried to find the hair with tweezers, scalpels, magnifying goggles and special lights,” she says. “They tried Nair to break down the hair, and they booked an O.R. [operating room] for surgery to try and remove it under anesthesia. In these cases, they have to slice the toe on the side to cut whatever is restricting the toe and make sure they got it all.”
Luckily, doctors were able to remove the hair strangling Logan’s toe before having to resort to surgery, but the ordeal was painful for Logan and extremely stressful for his parents. Not all cases of Hair Tourniquet Syndrome end up being as severe as the one Ward and her son dealt with, but it’s possible for stray hairs to easily become wrapped around any appendage, whether it’s a finger or toe, or even a wrist, ankle or part of the genital area.
Ward says doctors think her son probably had a stray hair in his pajamas that made its way down to his foot and wound around his toe tightly during his usual movements and kicking. Hair Tourniquet Syndrome can happen that easily. In some cases, parents might notice the hair early on and be able to remove it. But the hair can quickly become embedded in the skin and make the condition much harder to spot.
Dr. Rachel Charney, an emergency room physician at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, says parents and caregivers should be on the lookout for common signs of Hair Tourniquet Syndrome, which include:
- Increased and/or unexplained crying.
- An indention on the baby’s finger, toe, wrist, ankle or penis.
- Redness or paleness at the tip of the appendage.
- Swelling.
- Pain.
If you notice any of these symptoms, Charney says it’s a good idea to take the child to a doctor. “When an infant is crying and you can’t identify the reason or console them in a reasonable time, you should seek medical care,” she says. “Care should also be sought for red, pale or swollen appendages.”
Additionally, Charney says even if you spot the hair and are able to remove some of it, the child should still see a doctor if you can’t easily remove all of the hair or you notice any lingering or unusual indentation in the skin. If left untreated, Charney says there is a risk for permanent damage to the appendage from loss of circulation.
Ward says Logan is back at home and recovering after his brush with Hair Tourniquet Syndrome. She’s continuing to monitor his condition to make sure it keeps improving. “While Logan’s case was extreme, we were very lucky that we were able to save the toe and narrowly avoid surgery,” she adds. “Check your babies toes and fingers for hairs. If you see one wrapped around them, try to remove it as soon as you can. If you can’t and the redness is worse, see your pediatrician right away.”
