A baby just 6 months old was taken to the emergency room after her parents noticed something concerning about one of her feet.
For three days, the fourth toe on her left foot had become increasingly red and swollen. On examination, doctors observed a deep circular mark around the area that appeared to be strangling it.
The culprit was something tiny: a hair.
The baby had what is known as hair tourniquet syndrome, a condition in which a hair or thread becomes tightly wrapped around a limb, usually a finger or toe.
As the area swells, the hair can tighten around it even more and may even become hidden beneath the skin, making it difficult to discover what is causing the problem.
Although it may seem harmless, the effect is similar to that of a tourniquet: the pressure can progressively compromise circulation and, if not detected in time, lead to ischemia and tissue damage.
The case was reported by doctors at a children’s hospital in Antwerp, Belgium, and published in 2025 by The New England Journal of Medicine.
The journal explains that superficial cases can be treated by carefully removing the hair or using a depilatory product, while cases in which the hair is deeply embedded may require surgery.
A single hair may seem insignificant, but around a baby’s tiny toe it can become a real tourniquet.