A baby can get hair tourniquet syndrome from repetitive motion in a confined space where there is hair present. For example, a baby may get a hair tourniquet on a finger after having his hands in mittens. A baby may get a hair tourniquet on a toe after having his feet in confined pyjamas that cover not only the legs but also the feet.
The most common locations for hair tourniquet syndrome are the penis in boys (accounting for 44% of cases), and the toes (accounting for 40% of cases). The fingers account for 8. 7% of cases, and 6. 8% of cases are at other sites — these include the wrist, the scrotum, the tongue, the vaginal labium, the ear lobe, the umbilicus, or the nipple.
If is already too tight to cut off (because the scissors cannot fit underneath it), see if there is a loose end. If you can find a loose end to the hair, you can try unwrapping it. This is a slower method than cutting; however, it is oftentimes quite successful. If you cannot find a loose end, see if there is a knot anywhere in the hair. If there is, you can break the hair at the knot and use that as the loose end from which to unwrap.
Instead of using forceps and sharp tools, your doctor may use a hair removal cream (a depilatory such as Nair) to remove the hair tourniquet. In the most severe cases, where circulation has been compromised and the extremity is no longer viable (it has “died”), amputation may be needed.
