While babies are wonderful in may ways, one thing that often causes parents stress is that they can’t effectively communicate when something is hurting them or wrong. So it’s helpful for parents to be aware of the surprising risks they might not think about.
For Sara and Tony Ward, when their son started displaying some frightening symptoms, they didn’t know what was going on. Fortunately, they have decided to share the story of their son Logan’s experience with Hair Tourniquet Syndrome, in order to help other parents.
First-time parents had no idea what to think when they noticed their son’s toe.
Swollen and bright red, they knew that something wasn’t right. Even more eerily, they saw that there was something that looked like a line going around his toe as well. They had never seen or heard of this happening before, so they immediately took him to the doctor.
The doctor confirmed their son had a strange diagnosis: Hair Tourniquet Syndrome.
View this post on Instagram
This is certainly a rare occurrence. Hair Tourniquet Syndrome happens when a piece of hair gets wrapped around a body part, normally a toe or finger.
The doctor tried to rescue Logan from this hairy situation.
Hair Tourniquet Syndrome is uncomfortable but can be fixed! Over the course of 40 minutes, Logan’s pediatrician used a variety of tools to free him from this situation. It required scalpels magnifying glasses, and tweezers to get the strand of hair off his body.
But even though his doctor tried his best and got rid of some hair, his condition worsened.
View this post on Instagram
Sometimes if the hair tourniquet has been embedded for too long, the swelling can get more intense and make it harder to remove the full thing. His parents were getting more concerned, so they took him to the hospital. There, they tried everything they could to fix the problem. Logan’s mom explains:
“Throughout the day we tried some hair removal creams and some numbing creams, to see if they could get in a little deeper.”
Fortunately, after a lot of trying, the baby was freed from his hair tourniquet.
Logan now lives a pain free life. His time at the hospital eventually got rid of the hair, and he is crawling around like any other happy baby.
Here’s what you should know about Hair Tourniquet Syndrome.
View this post on Instagram
You and your kids don’t want to end up in little Logan’s situation. To avoid having a swollen, red appendage, it’s important to be mindful if you live in a household with long hairs. But, this syndrome can also by caused by thread embedded into the skin.
Additionally, the way that these particles get attached so deeply are often because of the way that the baby is moving their fingers. If they get too excited while they have mittens on, they could inadvertently end up with loose thread wrapped around them.
If you catch symptoms of Hair Tourniquet Syndrome early on, here’s some at-home remedies to try.
If you want to avoid a hospital visit, you should try these ideas. Use Vaseline or coconut oil to get the babies fingers greasy; this should help the hair slip off. Or, soak the toe or finger in warm water. Dry hair constricts and gets tighter around skin, so wet skin will loosen and might be able to take off.
That being said, if your child is exhibiting severe symptoms, you should take them to the doctor immediately.
Learn more about Logan’s struggle with Hair Tourniquet Syndrome in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
