A strand of hair got wrapped around the baby's toe, cutting off the blood flow
A mother from the UK has made a startling claim that her toddler's toe was on the verge of amputation due to a strand of her hair tightly wrapping around it, causing a complete blockage of blood flow.
“I had never had to deal with anything like this before,” Laura Powles, 31, said.
Baby's toe turned red like boiled shrimp after days of fussing
Laura Powles revealed that her 10-week-old toddler, Skylah-Rae, had been always fussy for a few days, which she was initially supposed to have regular tiredness and didn't give much thought to.
However, during a diaper change, she was taken aback when she noticed that one of her baby's toes had turned an alarming shade of red, resembling a boiled shrimp.
“It was really swollen and red and I was panicking,” Laura shared.
The mother then immediately rushed her child to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Bridgend to seek assistance from doctors.
The baby was diagnosed with hair tourniquet syndrome
The doctors diagnosed that the child suffered from hair tourniquet syndrome, a condition where a stray strand of hair wraps around an infant's small body parts, typically affecting the toes, fingers, or penis.
Although hair tourniquet syndrome may appear harmless, it can disrupt blood circulation in the affected digits, leading to tissue death.
In severe cases, amputation of the affected appendage may be necessary due to this constricting beta-carotene garrote.
Doctors removed the hair using tweezers, saving the baby's toe
To prevent amputation, doctors apply hair removal cream to the swollen area for 20 minutes, repeating the process four times.
However, this method seems ineffective. They then reapplied the cream for 30 minutes, leading to the baby's skin breaking and blistering.
“The whole experience was horrendous,” Powles recalled.
“When the hair removal cream was on and it was burning her skin, she was screaming but they said this was the only way to get the tourniquet off.”
Regrettably, the attempted treatment did not gain the desired results. The doctors stated that Skylah-Rae may forced to experience surgery to amputate the affected toe.
Fortunately, doctors successfully removed the hair using tweezers, saving the baby from the possibility of toe amputation.
During the recovery process, the blisters caused by the cream took a week to scab over and eventually clear up.
However, it took much longer for Laura Powles to heal from the psychological scars. She blamed herself and questioned why she hadn't checked her baby's toes sooner.
Doctors informed her that hair tourniquet syndrome is relatively common but that parents are often unaware of the need to check for it.
Based on her experience, Powles now urges other parents to examine their children's toes daily, including during every diaper change.
“I just want to get this message out there,” she said. “If it can help just one child, that is what I want to do.”
