Hair tourniquets: Warning over hidden danger to babies

A paramedic has warned of the hidden danger. Photo / Instagram

An Australian paramedic has shared shocking footage a loose strand of hair can have on a baby.

When babies start to cry, most parents put it down to lack of sleep, something the baby may have eaten or perhaps a dirty nappy that needs changing.

However, Nikki, who runs tinyheartseducation, has urged parents to instead check their little one's fingers and toes for hair tourniquet.

"If your child is suddenly and inconsolably crying don't forget to strip them off and check their fingers, toes and private area for stray hairs!" she said in an Instagram post on Friday.

"Hairs can wrap themselves around their little parts and cut off circulation and cause immense pain and long -term damage."

A hair tourniquet is when a strand of hair wraps around a body part and cuts off circulation. Hair tourniquets can also damage the nerves, skin tissue and function of that body part, according to healthline.com.

Alongside her post, Nikki shared a video showing the painful damage a single strand of loose hair can have on a baby.

In the clip, which has been viewed more than 117,000 times, she tested one out herself to see how painful it was — and it turned her finger purple in minutes.

She advised that instead of trying to cut the hair off with scissors, to use a hair removal cream which dissolves it instead.

"A quick and painless way to remove the hair is using a hair removal cream. Only apply if the skin is not broken!" she added in her post.

She said within 10 minutes of application the strands of hair will start to loosen and may even change colour.

The paramedic said if you still can't remove it after applying the cream, for parents to take their child to emergency.

Related articles

Hundreds of women have since bombarded Nikki's post thanking her for the "valuable" information.

"Such amazing information. I'm going out to buy hair removal cream tomorrow. Something I hope to never use but so handy to have. So many tips on here that literally save lives," one woman wrote.

"Thank you so much for sharing this! This happened to my bub when she was a few weeks old, I felt so stupid for not realising she had hair wrapped around her little toe! It was so hard to remove the hair, I am now going to buy a bottle of Veet in case it ever happens again!!!" said another.

Melbourne paediatrician Luke Sammartino said constant crying, redness and swelling were telltale signs a baby was suffering from hair tourniquet.

"It is vital that parents watch out for hair tourniquets as there is a significant risk if this condition persists for too long and goes undetected," he told the Herald Sun following an increase of cases in the city in 2019.

"Not only can it cut off circulation and cause a lack of blood flow to the affected area, in extreme cases there is also a risk that a baby could significantly injure or even lose the affected body part."

He also advised parents to check clothing or socks for loose threads.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r8bHnqmapJRjsLB6zbNmpaGWmsC1xcueZqGZmad6tbvUq6WiqaWawbR51pqpp6GenHqwwsSrZKGhlJmyr3nDmqWgnaJiwbB5wZqZop2jZICEmrCLfYCLfHemkYKnbYZsfGdnf46AuIaMaA%3D%3D