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I'd had 3 children and never heard of Hair/Thread Tourniquet Syndrome. I wasn't even aware there was such a condition; not until my twins were born that is. Little Ethan would fall victim to this condition before I realized it was even considered a condition; and with a name to boot.

His 4 month old calm, happy demeanor had suddenly, and for no apparent reason, changed to one of constant crying and restlessness. I reviewed the last couple of days over and over in my mind, searching for a reason that may have caused him to act this way.

Was it something he ate? Maybe the formula was tainted in some way. His twin sister wasn't acting any different though, and they'd both feed from the same batch. God, I hope he isn't developing Colic I thought to myself. Both his father and I were at a complete loss to explain his behavior. Uncomfortable with this prominent change of character I scheduled an appointment with his pediatrician the following day. It was when I was readying him for a bath the next morning that I noticed it.

The middle toe on his left foot was red as a cherry tomato fresh off the vine! I inspected his little digit with my naked eye. It was very swollen and bright red. I inspected it again through a magnifying glass thinking he may have picked up a splinter somewhere. He screamed as I gentle lifted his toe so I could see the tiny creases made between it and his tender little foot. My heart bounded as I yelled for his Dad.

There at the base of his toe was what appeared to be a perfect line cutting deeply into his skin. We eventually discovered it was a long strand of hair. It was cutting off the circulation to his toe. I tried to remove it with my finger, but was unsuccessful. I finally used a pair of fingernail clippers as his father held his now extremely pain riddled toe out of the way and removed what turned out to be a strand of my long blonde hair. I showed his pediatrician the toe later that day, and it was then I first heard of the condition called Hair/Thread Tourniquet Syndrome.

Hair/Thread Tourniquet Syndrome is a condition in which a hair or thread becomes wrapped around the toe, finger or genitalia and gradually cuts of the circulation to it. If left unnoticed it will eventually cause the tissue of the appendage to die and in some cases the appendage will self-amputate. In layman's terms that means the appendage will fall of by itself. In some cases, if the appendage can't be saved, it needs to be surgically removed. I'm grateful Ethan's condition

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