Toe-Tourniquet Syndrome: Mum's Urgent Warning As Baby Almost Loses Toe
Warning: graphic content
A mum has told how her baby almost lost his toe after a strand of hair became wrapped around it.
Sara Ward, 33, from Missouri, says she first noticed some irritation on her youngster's toe a couple of days earlier, but didn't think much of it.
But over the next few days, baby Logan's toe started to swell and turn red, before a doctor confirmed that the problem was a hair tourniquet, which occurs when a strand of hair wraps around a body part and cuts off circulation.
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Sara says doctors tried numerous methods to remove the hair, including tweezers, scissors and hair removal cream, but nothing would work.
Doctors warned the mum-of-three that if Logan's condition didn't improve he would need surgery to remove the hair strand and ultimately save his toe, which was turning 'purple' due to the constricted blood flow.
"We first started noticing that Logan's toe was starting to look a little bit red and there was a line going across it," said Sara.
"We really didn't think much of it at first, it wasn't looking alarming at that point and we figured maybe it had just got a little bit irritated by something.
"We thought we would just keep an eye on it over the next day or two but as the weekend went on it was starting to swell and get very red so we took him to the paediatrician.
"They spent a good 40 minutes or so trying to get the hair and they had all these different tools that they were using - tweezers, magnifying goggles and special lights.
"They were eventually able to get a very small piece of hair but they just weren't confident that they were able to get it all. They sent us home with warning signs to look out for.
"A few hours later it started to get more swollen and started to look purple so we took him to urgent care and were admitted to the children's hospital.
"The toe was very painful for my son so he was crying and kicking and couldn't keep still as they were trying to get a better look at it.
"They tried hair removal cream to try and break down the hair pieces and some numbing cream to get deeper with tweezers.
"They said if any of those things didn't work then we would need to take him back for surgery to make sure they were able to get all of the hair."
Eventually, after further efforts, the hair was removed and Logan's toe began to return to a healthy pink colour.
Sara said: "I was in shock that it was getting to this point because I had never heard of Hair Tourniquet Syndrome and that there could be this much danger just from a strand of hair.
"A lot of people think 'it's just a piece of hair, how can you not see it and get it?' but it's really difficult with the swelling and the skin starts to kind of form over the hair.
"Plus you have a baby that's kicking and screaming the whole time which makes it more difficult.
"With him being so young it was definitely very scary to think that he could have to go through an actual surgery to be able to remove it.
"But later in the afternoon the colour started to get better and the swelling started to come down and we got to take him home instead, which was a big relief.
"We spent the next couple of days closely monitoring his toe at home and sending pictures to the surgery team.
"Now it's a week later and his toe is back to normal and everything is much better."
Doctors explained the most likely cause was a hair that had become caught in her son's pyjamas, before wrapping around his toe as he kicked and moved.
Sara hopes that by warning other parents about the syndrome, it will encourage them to check their babies too.
"I'm always checking his toes and fingers now and making sure that I'm not seeing any hairs getting wrapped around them," she added.
"It's so difficult because I have long hair myself and two daughters so hair is just everywhere and there's so many different opportunities for it to happen, so it's just about being vigilant now I know how dangerous this can be.
"I would encourage other parents to have awareness about this if they do see a hair wrapping around their child's toes or fingers to remove it as quickly as they can before it starts to constrict and swell and if they can't get it to seek medical attention."
A spokesperson for SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital said: "While not seen frequently, hair tourniquets can be dangerous for young children.
"Parents should keep an eye on fingers and toes as well as the penis in little boys, particularly if your child is crying for an unidentifiable reason."
Lucy Devine