A mum issued a warning over 'scary' find on her baby. Photo / TikTok/@riss_237
A mum in the United States has taken to TikTok to warn parents to check their newborn's fingers and toes after she made a "scary" discovery.
@riss_237 posted a video earlier this week showing how her baby had been "crying all night" but they "couldn't find the reason".
"We tried everything," she wrote.
But the following day the mum discovered what had caused the pain – a few stray strands of hair "wrapped around two toes".
The hair strands had managed to cut off circulation and cause what's known as a hair tourniquet.
"Make it a habit to check your babies fingers and toes," @riss_237 wrote.
In the comments @riss_237 revealed her and her partner have "really long hair and shed like crazy", with the couple now doing daily checks for hair tourniquets.
The video has been viewed more than 4.2 million times, with many saying they were relieved the mum had been able to find what was causing the "scary" problem.
Some joked they now had "another fear unlocked as a new mum", while others said the same thing had happened to their child.
"This happened to my baby and I felt so guilty ended up chopping all my hair off," one person wrote.
"My son was four months old and I have really curly hair so it was on there so good we had to go to the ER. Very scary," another parent commented.
A hair tourniquet usually only affects young babies and occur when a strand of hair wraps around a part of the body and cuts of circulation, according to Healthline.
The hair can wrap around any appendage of the body including the genitalia, wrists, toes or fingers.
They pose a danger to babies if they go unnoticed for long periods of time as they can cause nerve or tissue damage.
Paramedic and CEO of Tiny Hearts Education Nikki Jurcutz shared in an Instagram post last month how hair tourniquets can cause "immense pain" to babies.
"If your child is suddenly and inconsolably crying don't forget to strip them off and check their fingers, toes and private area for stray hairs!" she said.
"Hairs can wrap themselves around their little parts and cut off circulation and cause immense pain and long -term damage."
Jurcutz advised that instead of trying to cut the hair off with scissors, to use a hair removal cream which dissolves it instead.
"A quick and painless way to remove the hair is using a hair removal cream. Only apply if the skin is not broken!" she added in her post.
If the hair removal cream doesn't work then parents should take their child to emergency for help, Jurcutz said.
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