Mum urges parents to check babies’ toes and fingers to avoid losing them

"Thank god we noticed when we did!"

A mum made a scary discovery after her baby was up all night crying. She is hoping to raise awareness about hair tourniquet by sharing her story. She explained that she couldn't find a reason why her baby was crying all night until she checked their toes. "We couldn't find the reason for the crying all night, we tried everything," she wrote. "The next day, we found a few hairs wrapped around two toes. Make it a habit to check your babies' fingers and toes," she warned. The mum shared that the hair was wrapped around so tightly that it caused her baby's toes to turn red and swollen. "Thank god we noticed when we did! Toes are doing better!" she said. When hair gets wrapped around an infant's toes or fingers it is known as hair tourniquet. Symptoms include excessive crying, mild to severe swelling of the affected body part, an indication or groove where the hair has wrapped around the body part. The body parts will also appear red or discoloured. Parents have been urged to check not only toes and fingers, but their baby's genitalia, umbilical stump, and tongue too. Others have stressed that checking your baby's socks can also help ensure there are no stray hairs in them. Hair tourniquet can cause serious complications if left untreated. It can cause restricted blood flow, injury and in severe cases, loss of the body part. Mums have been encouraged to seek medical advice if their child has hair tourniquet. The hair can usually be removed with tweezers. The affected area tends to heal fairly quickly once the hair is removed, experts say.