A hair tourniquet could lead, in rare cases, to permanent damage of the affected member.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Awareness on hair tourniquet condition was raised by a Wichita Dad on Facebook. Scott Walker, the father of five months old Molly discovered a hair that was wrapped around the baby girl’s toe that caused it to bleed and swell. The condition, named hair tourniquet, is actually quite common and it could cause plenty of damage in newborn children.
Scott Walker, the Wichita father had no idea that he would become famous after a photograph that he posted on social media went viral. The man only wanted to raise awareness on a condition called hair tourniquet that can affect small children everywhere.
Walker discovered one day that the toe of Molly, his five months old daughter was swollen and even started bleeding a bit. After further examination, the man discovered that the source of the problem was a single strand of hair that twisted itself around the baby’s toe.
The hair tourniquet is a real medical condition that can do real and permanent damage to small children. The tourniquet happens when a single strand of her gets wrapped around the fingers, toes or even penis of a child. The hair can cut off the blood circulation and lead to the loss of the organ. It can also cut through the skin.
The Walker family was fortunate enough to discover the hair tourniquet early before it could do any damage. They were visiting the mother of his wife, Jessica. The baby was washed and dressed in the morning at approximately 9:30. She was then fed and seemed to be well until 12:30 when she became agitated and her parents had no idea why.
Because the little baby girl was already washed and fed they suspected that the problem lies elsewhere. It took his wife and his mother in law approximately ten minutes to discover the source of the child’s discomfort. In only three hours after she was bathed Molly’s toe was already swollen and actually started bleeding a bit.
It doesn’t take long for a hair tourniquet to affect a baby because of their fragile nature and incapacity to express the source of their discomfort. There have been cases in which a tourniquet did lots more damage because the parent thought the child was crying due to cramps.
According to a pediatrician, Amy Seery, the hair tourniquet is extremely common. New mothers tend to shed a lot of hair and it could easily be caught in socks, mittens or diapers. The most common organ that suffers from the medical incident is the penis.
The doctor recommends parents to wash all the babies’ clothes inside out. Also, if a child starts crying and the common causes like a dirty diaper or hunger are eliminated, it is good for the parents to undress the baby entirely and check for any sudden rashes or tourniquets.
Image source: www.pinkmohair.typepad.com