Hair Tourniquet

One of the more benign conditions I saw in the ER last week, was a 3-month baby with a hair tourniquet. A strand of someone’s (usually the mother’s) hair becomes entangled around a toe such that blood-return through the veins is impeded. The toe swells up, and becomes acutely painful. Thankfully, it’s usually recognized, easy to treat, and rarely causes permanent damage. The ER physician used a magnifying glass and forceps to carefully remove the offensive hair. With no further risk of blood-flow restriction, swelling decreases in the toe over a period of a day or two. Perhaps some readers will have heard of this condition before, since I’m told it’s fairly common.