Surprisingly enough, a baby's safety can be threatened by even a small hair or thread, with a condition known as, Hair/thread tourniquet syndrome.
Although, this is not very common, parents need to be aware that this syndrome could happen, and what steps parents can take to possibly prevent this occurrence from happening.

To begin with, we need to take a further look at defining, Hair/thread tourniquet syndrome. This condition typically occurs in small infants as young as a couple weeks old to several months old. This syndrome is distinguished by a small hair, thread, or fiber that usually becomes wrapped around a baby's finger or toe, cutting off circulation and endangering the appendage. Cases have been reported involving this syndrome in the genitalia areas as well. A word of caution, this syndrome can happen subtly, without a parent knowing there was any imminent danger for their baby that they needed to protect them from.

One step a parent can take to help in safeguarding their baby against Hair, thread tourniquet syndrome, is to examine your baby's clothing carefully for any hair, thread, or loose fibers that may have surfaced after washing their clothes or even after first purchasing their clothing. Tiny hairs, threads, or fibers can easily cling to clothing without someone directly noticing them, unless they are aware of this syndrome and can search for them.
For example, infant clothing such as an infant sleeper usually has the babies feet enclosed. Then, when the baby is wiggling their toes around inside, a tiny hair can quickly wrap around a toe and cut off their circulation. Another example is, if the baby's hand is enclosed with some kind of mitten that has some small loose threads inside, those could wind around their tiny finger, bearing into the skin and strangling the appendage. A parent will then probably notice redness and swelling on a baby's appendage that has Hair/thread tourniquet syndrome.

Another step is to be careful of an infant grabbing unto your hair, especially if it is long. You may not realize it at the time, but tiny hairs can lodge under the baby's fingernails, later breaking away and encircling their fingers. It's best to keep your hair back or up to prevent this from happening.

Hair/thread tourniquet syndrome can be dangerous if gone unnoticed for any extended period of time, since the strangulation effect can cause irreparable tissue damage, when the blood flow to an appendage has been cut off.

If you suspect your baby has this syndrome, it's best to seek immediate attention from the baby's pediatrician or emergency room doctor to avoid any further complications. Most cases that doctors see with this syndrome usually can be properly taken care of, avoiding any permanent damage to the appendage. This is good news for parents who may be fretful of this syndrome.

Adequate and factual information of Hair/thread tourniquet syndrome helps a parent to better ensure their baby's safety for the subtle circulation danger that Hair/thread tourniquet syndrome could present.

Learn more about this author, Eva Perry.
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