A mum has issued a major warning to parents after her baby girl nearly had to have her toe amputated due to a hair wrapped tightly around it.
Emma Devon, 32, from Cumbernauld experienced a “distressing” three-day ordeal with her four-month-old daughter, Rosie, after discovering the hair around her foot on December 16.
Emma and her partner, James, 32, were preparing their little one for bed when they removed her sock and noticed her big toe was swollen and red. The pair believe the hair had been in the sock they dressed their daughter in that morning.
Unable to untangle the hair, Emma and James sought help from A&E at University Hospital Monklands. They were then referred to The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow for emergency surgery, where doctors informed them Rosie was just hours away from losing her toe due to the hair cutting off her blood supply.
(Image: Supplied)
Two nights later, Rosie was finally allowed to leave the hospital.
Speaking to the Daily Record., Emma said: “I never thought it would’ve been that serious. My eldest son kept asking if Rosie was going to lose her toe and I told him not to be so dramatic.
“Then the consultant said the injury was serious and could’ve led to an amputation. He said the injury is common in babies and toddlers up to two years old.
“We keep playing it over in our heads. How close did she come to losing her toe? I’m shocked that something so innocent could result in something so dangerous.”
(Image: Supplied)
Medical staff at Monklands attempted to obtain hair removal cream but were unable to secure any. They subsequently tried using stitch cutters, but the toe was so swollen that this approach also proved futile.
Following consultation with paediatric services, Rosie was examined by a specialist who deployed various instruments to extract some of the ensnared hair from her toe.
However, the toe started bleeding and became increasingly irritated, prompting an urgent surgical referral.
During the operation, surgeons discovered the hair had become embedded much deeper than anticipated, requiring them to make more extensive incisions into Rosie’s toe to fully remove the hair.
(Image: Supplied)
Emma is now appealing to fellow parents to launder baby socks and mittens separately to prevent hairs becoming trapped in the fabric.
Whilst the condition is challenging to avoid entirely, medical professionals recommended hair removal cream as the initial treatment approach.
Emma warned: “Save yourself and your child a lot of pain and distress by keeping hair removal cream in the house. The last thing I want is for parents to go through this or for a child to lose a toe.”
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