Scott Walker, a father from Wichita, Kansas, warns the world about the dangers a single strand of hair poses to the health of a baby after his 4-month-old daughter, Molly, had a horrifying experience.
It all happened one day when the family was having lunch at a restaurant when Molly was flustered and “very upset.”
They tried to calm her down as they usually did but nothing worked
Soon she started to overheat and Jessica removed her socks to help her cool down.
She noticed her infant’s toe was reddish—and she looked closely and saw a strand of hair wrapped around the toe, so tight that it was restricting blood flow
Jessica, a registered nurse, quickly removed the hair using tweezers and a magnifying glass; but the hair had already pierced her skin.
When a baby cries or is agitated, it can be because of so many reasons and not many parents even think to check the baby’s toes.
This is, however, something that you really need to keep in mind because the consequences can be devastating.
Scott and Jessica Walker also had an older daughter, Mya, who was three years old.
Both Mya and Molly were born prematurely, three weeks early
Molly faced additional complications and was kept in the hospital for three weeks after birth.
Molly was doing well, with no other problems until the hair tourniquet scare. Though the hair was removed quickly enough so there wasn’t any permanent damage, this problem happens quite often and other children might not be so lucky.
It’s called “hair tourniquet syndrome,” which basically means the hair has wrapped itself so tightly around an appendage it results in injury.
It is actually not difficult for the hair to wrap itself around the toe like this. A parent might not notice a strand of hair that somehow got itself inside a child’s sock and from there, things are very easy. Through child’s constant movement, the hair can wrap itself around a toe, tighter with every move the child makes.
Hairs can always get caught inside the socks or mittens and this why it is recommended to wash the child’s clothing inside out because this way the accumulation of hairs is prevented.
Scott Walker took the photo 45 minutes after Jessica removed the hair and used it to alert every single parent of this danger. His Facebook post collected over 44,000 likes and 35,000 shares so his message got heard. He has since deleted the post.
Now more parents know the dangers the hair tourniquet syndrome pose on the child’s health. An important lesson that any parent should learn is to always pay attention to a crying or agitated baby. Share this with anyone who might need this information.
Although most of the times the reasons for the child’s discomfort are simple and obvious, it only takes one untreated serious problem for things to go very wrong.
Credit: Epoch Times
