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11th December 2023
11:55am GMT
Laura Powles was faced with every mum's worst nightmare when she learned her daughter might need to have her toe amputated.
It all started when she was changing her 10-week-old baby's nappy and noticed that her toe looked inflamed and irritated.
Laura explained that her daughter Skylah-Rae had been more agitated than usual which she had originally thought was due to the tiny tot not getting enough sleep.
"She had been really grizzly for a couple of days and I didn't know what was wrong with her," Laura said, so she decided to have a closer look at the toe.
@honeycombapp_ It is essential to check your baby regularly for any signs of hair tourniquet, particularly if the mother is experiencing postpartum hair loss. If you suspect a hair tourniquet, try to carefully remove the hair with a small pair of scissors or tweezers, taking care not to cut or damage the baby's skin. If you're unable to remove the hair safely, or if the baby's body part is already showing signs of injury, seek immediate medical attention. #BabyHair #HairLoss #NewMom #PostpartumJourney #HairTourniquet #MomHair #HairCare #MomLife #Postpartum #Motherhood ♬ Tchaikovsky "Waltz of the Flowers" (Excerpt B Edition)(1224041) - LEOPARD
Upon further inspection, the Welsh woman became concerned and rushed Skylah-Rae to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.
It turned out that a single strand of Laura's own hair had become wrapped around Skylah-Rae's toe, subsequently cutting off its circulation.
Staff at the hospital explained to the terrified mother that her little one was suffering from hair tourniquet syndrome, which mostly affects infants when hair becomes tied around toes, fingers or other appendages.
The professionals then sprung into action, covering her toe in hair removal cream in an attempt to remove the tightly wrapped strand before plucking it up with a pair of tweezers.
Thankfully Skylah-Rae soon returned to full health and now Laura is making it her mission to warn other parents to keep an eye out for the signs.
"If we had left it any longer, she could have lost her toes. Her toe was so red and swollen. They told me it was a hair tourniquet but I had never heard of this before," she said.
"In the end, they put hair removal cream into the crack where it was swollen. They left it on for 20 minutes at a time four times. This was still not working and they said she might have to have surgery.
Thankfully they managed to avoid a trip to the operating room.
Laura warned other parents about the condition explaining: "It can happen with hair, threads, cotton off their baby clothes and it can happen to fingers, toes and even genital areas.
"Parents need to check their toes on a daily basis and check every time you change them."
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