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Redness of the skin
Rashes
Red blotches on the skin
Fingers are red and swollen
Swollen toe
Will not stop crying
Hand skin is dry
Not seeing your symptoms? No worries!
What is Hair Tourniquet?
A hair tourniquet happens when a hair strand wraps around a body part, cutting off circulation. It can damage nerves, skin tissue, and the function of the affected body part. The average age of diagnosis is five months. The average age that finger hair tourniquets occur is 3 weeks old. The average age that toe hair tourniquets occur is 4 months old. When genitals are involved in hair tourniquets, the average age of diagnosis is 2 years old. There may be redness or swelling on a finger, toe or another body part. The area may be tender and cause the baby pain and discomfort.
Typical Symptoms of Hair Tourniquet
- Fingers and/or toes have hair or thread wrapped tightly around them
- Fingers or toes red, swollen, and stiff
- Redness in the affected area
- Finger pain
- Toe pain
- Skin problem over the back of the hand
- Swelling in the affected area
- Swollen toes
Diagnostic Questions for Hair Tourniquet
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this disease:
- Is there hair or thread wrapped tightly around your fingers or toes?
- Are your fingers or toes red, swollen, and stiff?
- Is the affected area red?
- Are you experiencing pain in your finger?
- Are you experiencing toe pain?
Treatment of Hair Tourniquet
The primary treatment is removing the hair tourniquet by dissolving, unwrapping, or cutting the hair. The removal method depends on the condition's severity.
Reviewed By:
Unnati Patel, MD, MSc (Family Medicine)
Dr.Patel serves as Center Medical Director and a Primary Care Physician at Oak Street Health in Arizona. She graduated from the Zhejiang University School of Medicine prior to working in clinical research focused on preventive medicine at the University of Illinois and the University of Nevada. Dr. Patel earned her MSc in Global Health from Georgetown University, during which she worked with the WHO in Sierra Leone and Save the Children in Washington, D.C. She went on to complete her Family Medicine residency in Chicago at Norwegian American Hospital before completing a fellowship in Leadership in Value-based Care in conjunction with the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, where she earned her MBA. Dr. Patel’s interests include health tech and teaching medical students and she currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Arizona School of Medicine.
Yuta Sasaoka, MD (Pediatrics)
Dr. Sasaoka graduated from the Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine. After working in the Department of Pediatrics at Hakodate Municipal Hospital, the Emergency Center at Hakodate Municipal Hospital, and the Department of Emergency Medicine at Tokyo Metropolitan Children's General Medical Center, he joined the Sapporo Medical University Advanced Emergency Medical Center in April 2020. Dr. Sasaoka is well versed in pediatric emergency medicine, covering a wide range of pediatrics and emergency medicine. He is also a certified AHA-PALS instructor and focuses on pediatric secondary life support education at the Hokkaido Training Site.
Content updated on Mar 31, 2024
Following the Medical Content Editorial Policy
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Link to full study:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.29.24312810v1References
Aslantürk O, Özbey R, Yılmaz Ö, Ergen E. Hair tourniquet syndrome of toes and fingers in infants. Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc. 2019 Jul;53(4):306-309. doi: 10.1016/j.aott.2019.04.010. Epub 2019 May 16. PMID: 31104884; PMCID: PMC6738272.
https://www.aott.org.tr/en/hair-tourniquet-syndrome-of-toes-and-fingers-in-infants-133432Bannier MA, Miedema CJ. Hair tourniquet syndrome. Eur J Pediatr. 2013 Feb;172(2):277. doi: 10.1007/s00431-012-1883-5. Epub 2012 Nov 2. PMID: 23117472.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00431-012-1883-5O'Gorman A, Ratnapalan S. Hair tourniquet management. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2011 Mar;27(3):203-4. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0b013e31820d65b7. PMID: 21378520.
https://journals.lww.com/pec-online/Abstract/2011/03000/Hair_Tourniquet_Management.10.aspxHair Tourniquet - Cleveland Clinic
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23332-hair-tourniquet