Looking after a toddler is a full time job, they’re constantly running around and getting into things you don’t want them to touch. What makes looking after these little ones even more difficult is that fact that everyday household items can be dangerous to them. One family learned this lesson the hard way after their toddler got an elastic band embedded in her arm (1).

How A Toddler Ended Up in Emergency Care Because of An Elastic Band

A four-year-old girl, who goes by the nickname Le Le and hails from Linquan county in China, was recently brought to the hospital by her parents after they noticed a red ring around her arm (1). Her parents failed to notice that she had been wearing an elastic band around her right arm and that her skin had grown around the foreign object (1). Experts were also unable to properly identify her condition when her grandparents brought her to the hospital earlier this year (1).

Once Le Le was brought to the Children’s Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, Doctor Ye Wensong told her parents that the red growth was caused by an elastic band (1). Le Le’s parents didn’t believe the diagnosis at first but later agreed to a scan, which revealed a foreign body (1). Le Le went into surgery and the rubber band was finally revealed (1). She is doing well today and recovering in the hospital (1).

The skin of a toddler is much more permeable to the environment than the skin of adults, which explains why the rubber band became embedded (7). Kids are also more prone to getting eczema, which can further disrupt their skin barriers, though it is unknown why this is (7).

Doctor Ye thinks that Le Le’s grandparents, who were watching her at the time the hair elastic incident happened, didn’t notice that she’d been wearing a plastic band around her arm (1). He explained, “Some kids are still too young to talk, and the band goes unnoticed by their guardians� (1). Le Le’s story is a prime example of how important it is to keep a close eye on toddlers; little habits that go unnoticed can become major problems.

Toddler Safety &  Dangers to Look Out For

What happened to Le Le shows just how dangerous wearing elastic bands can be for a toddler. Like Dr. Ye mentioned, these little ones can’t speak so you need to be extra aware of how they interact with their surroundings. Other dangers to look out for if you have a toddler include them drawing on themselves, ingesting craft materials, having hair in their socks, and playing with household items like keys.

Dangers of Drawing

Drawing is a great way for toddlers to express themselves and be creative, but once they start drawing on themselves this activity has the potential to be dangerous. Although the majority of highly toxic chemicals have been removed from pencils and pens, the skin is still highly absorbent which means that whatever substances are contained in these writing tools can enter the blood stream (2).

Ingesting Crafting Material

Actually ingesting craft materials like markers and erasers is even more dangerous than toddlers drawing on themselves and can put their health in jeopardy. Some markers contain aniline dyestuffs, which can be poisonous if a large amount is swallowed (3). Erasers aren’t poisonous but they can easily get stuck in a toddlers throat and compromise their ability to breathe, like many small objects (3).

Hair Strands In Socks

Another thing you should be aware of is hair in your toddler’s socks, which can result in a medical condition known as “toe-tourniquet� syndrome. This condition arises when a stray hair gets caught in a toddler’s sock and becomes tightly wound around their toe (4). If not caught in time, this occurrence can lead to infection and may even require surgery (4).

One mother from the UK experienced the severity of toe tourniquet after she found one of her hairs so tightly wrapped around her three-month-old daughter’s foot that she couldn’t loosen it (6). The mother, who goes by Gemma, took her baby girl to the hospital where she was prescribed antibiotics and had to undergo surgery to remove bits of hair from her open wound (6). Looking back, Gemma noted that the behavioural changes her daughter displayed the weekend of the toe-tourniquet should’ve been a red flag (6).

Playing With Random Objects

One last thing to look out for is household items your toddler likes to play with, especially keys. Toddlers are attracted to household items like keys because they look similar to their toys and make a great jingling sound, but they aren’t safe to play with whatsoever. Keys may contain traces of lead and tend to be pretty dirty, which means they should definitely be kept out of a child’s mouth (5). Toddlers can also cut themselves or poke themselves in the eye with a key’s sharp edges.

 

 

There are a great number of dangers in the household that can affect your toddler’s safety. The only way to ensure your child is healthy and avoid a trip to the ER is to keep a close eye on them. Read this next to learn about children’s products you should steer clear of. 

 

 

 

Sources:

(1) Diebelius, G. (2018, April 26). Girl, 4, wore elastic band for so long it became embedded in her arm. Metro. Retrieved from https://metro.co.uk/2018/04/26/girl-4-wore-elastic-band-long-became-embedded-arm-7500224/?ito=twitter

(2) LeMouse, M. (2015, July 29). Is Writing on Skin Safe? Retrieved from http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/13742/1/is-writing-on-skin-safe.html

(3) Zucker, S. (2011, November 10). Arts & Crafts and Poison Control: How to Keep Kids Safe. Retrieved from https://www.pediatricsafety.net/2011/11/arts-crafts-and-poison-control-how-to-keep-kids-safe/

(4) What is toe tourniquet – or hair tourniquet – and how can you prevent it? (2018, April 24). Retrieved from http://www.madeformums.com/news-and-gossip/dad-warns-parents-about-the-dangers-of-toe-tourniquet/40808.html

(5) Weiss, S.R. (2014). Safe or Not? 10 Household Items Toddlers Love to Play With. Retrieved from https://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/safety/toy/safe-or-not-household-items/

(6) Parry, L. (2018, April 3). Baby girl nearly loses two toes to tourniquet syndrome after single strand of mum’s hair gets tangled – leaving them purple and bilging. The Sun. Retrieved from https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/5960273/tourniquet-syndrome-hair-foot-baby-toes/

(7) Guo, D., Liu, Y.I. (2016, December 27). Adult vs baby skin. Retrieved from http://thinkskin.ca/home/2016/12/27/adult-vs-baby-skin

 

 

 

 

 

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