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Sweet baby toes can be the source of a rare but painful condition called toe tourniquet syndrome, in which hair wraps around the tiny digit, cutting off circulation.
When it comes to babies, it seems that danger lurks in the most unusual of places. Certainly one would never see a wisp of human hair as a menace.
But, as it turns out, if a single strand of hair wraps around a baby’s toe, it can cut off circulation and ultimately doom the appendage. Though rare, this happens often enough for doctors to have given it a name: toe tourniquet syndrome.
Michelle Whelan’s baby was one of the lucky ones. One day as Whelan was changing her infant she noticed that several of her baby’s toes were beginning to turn purple. Whelan was sure if she couldn’t find out what was wrong that her baby might lose one or more of her toes.
Fortunately for Whelan, the surgeon at her local hospital on Massachusetts' Nantucket Island, Dr. Timothy Lepore, recognized right away what had happened. He pulled out his magnifying glasses, spotted the culprit strand and cut it away.
Whelan’s story, along with many other intriguing cases handled by Lepore, are described in the new book “Island Practice,” written by Pam Belluck, a New York Times health writer.
“I didn’t know anything about toe tourniquet syndrome when I had my two kids,” says Belluck. “It’s not in any pregnancy books or first-year books. You’d think the hair would break, but it’s apparently very strong and can get 100 revolutions around a tiny toe if you have long hair.”
The actual incidence of toe tourniquet syndrome is unknown, but doctors have documented dozens of reports of rare cases. The problem doesn’t always involve the toes. A 1988 Pediatrics study reviewed 60 cases of what was dubbed “hair-thread tourniquet syndrome.” Of those, 24 incidents involved toes, 14 involved fingers and 22 painful incidents reported hair wrapped around babies’ genitals, including tiny penises.
As recently as this year, the Hong Kong Journal of Paediatrics reported the case of a 2 1/2-month-old girl whose right fourth toe was inexplicably blue and swollen -- until doctors detected an errant hair and removed it.
Lepore says he’s seen only three cases in his 30 years of practice. But he’s still on alert for the syndrome any time he sees a baby with a discolored toe or other digit.
“You’ve got to have a persistent paranoid suspicion whenever you see something that doesn’t look right -- like a blue or a red toe,” he says. “And you can’t let people blow you off. If your kid’s toe is blue there’s got to be a reason.”
The danger, if your doctor doesn’t recognize toe tourniquet syndrome, is that your baby could lose a toe, Lepore says. Don’t be afraid to mention toe tourniquet syndrome to the doctor if that diagnosis doesn’t get consideration, he adds.
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Bacteria is every where.Your food has bacteria too. So are you going to quit eating. Most of the nice hotels have well planned and managed housekeeping operations.Most of the people who has commented on this article are either not stayed in a nice and clean hotel or may be they have only stayed at cheap road side motels
I warned my wife of the dangers regarding toe tourniquet syndrome. I pleaded with her to dye her hair green after the birth of our child, but she refused to do it. Is that child endangerment??
I bet most of the people making snarky/sarcastic/judgemental/hateful comments here are childless. At least I hope so. I have no problem seeing how this could happen, as something very similar happened to my son. He was screaming inconsolably, and we tried everything we could think of. He wasn't hungry, the diaper pin wasn't sticking him (yes, Virginia, once upon a time, people actually used cloth diapers on their babies' bottoms), nothing was obviously amiss. It was my sister who finally noticed the thin white thread from his terrycloth sleeper wrapped around the base of his pinkie toe. He was fair-skinned and it was easy to miss. Once we found it, we cut it off (the thread, not the toe, ha-ha!), and he immediately stopped crying. I can just imagine how much harder to see a hair would have been, especially if it is close in color to the baby's skin. All you smug people out there who are SO SURE that you'd NEVER do anything SO STUPID - you might want to relax the attitude just a bit. I'm sure many other parents out there could testify - sometimes, weird stuff just happens!
Dude come on. Loosen up a bit.
I think the issue warrants further study. We have to toss some grant $$$'s into research devoted to the 'hows and whys' behind 'toe tourniquet syndrome'. Lets fund some federal programs to give all new parents a magnifying glass, scissors, and a 100 watt light bulb in hospital take home bags.
BTW pins are so 1980's. We used clips in the 90's. Still using those things to close potato chips bags even today!
Are all the moms here blonde? Just doing some preliminary research before I apply for grant money.
Thanks SkepticMom-I don't inspect my LOs bodies every moment nor bathe them daily. I didn't read that article and wish that I knew about this hidden danger. My LO was a few months old when one morning I noticed one of his toes was angry red compared to the others. He had several hairs and fuzz wrapped around his little toe. Thankfully, I was able to pull it off and toe was back to normal in a short time. I can't imagine what would have happened if I wasn't paying attention. I'm about positive the culprit was the footed pjs. Maybe hospitals should mention this in their new parent or baby safe classes. After this incident, I made sure to wash pjs inside out and check for fuzz, hair or loose threads.
This really can happen to anyone. My sister noticed her sons penis was swollen and red. She had no idea what was wrong and ended up taking him to the ER. They were able to find a remove the hair that was cutting off the circulation. I couldn't believe it when she told me.
I have seen the tourniquet issue once in my nursing career.. (25 years)..and sadly it turned into an amputation. Long hair is more potentially hazardous than shorter hair..but any hair can get wrapped around a tiny toe or finger. Also just for the record...I've seen hair that resulted in severe infection of elderly persons extremities that ended up requiring months of wound scraping and treatment...and it's not always human hair..pet hair can also pose a threat....Common sense and close scrutiny can make all the difference... No need for all the malicious tripe I've read before posting. It's obvious that different parents have different styles/mores for raising their children...Bathing may be done daily or every other day...or less often depending on the climate and culture. I'm amazed that mankind has made it this far with the way we treat and disrespect one another. There is enough guilt to pass around to keep us all busy...so lay off unless you have walked in the shoes of the person your berating.
This happened to my son when he was little many many years ago, but thankfully a doctor noticed it before any damage was done. My hair is down to my waist (still is today) and it wrapped and wrapped and wrapped around that toe. I would never have thought to even look for something such as this. Young, inexperienced mothers have ALOT to learn.....