China mum wraps baby’s index finger to stop ‘unhygienic’ sucking, leads to tissue damage
Anxious parents follow online advice, see infant’s digit swell and become discoloured, doctors warn not to follow ‘random’ internet tips
A Chinese mother who wrapped up her baby’s finger to prevent the child from chewing it almost caused the digit to be amputated.
On July 14, anxious young parents took their 11-month-old daughter to the Hunan Children’s Hospital in central China’s Hunan province.
They did so because the baby's index finger was swollen and purple.
The mother told the doctor that she had done so for the baby, nicknamed Lele, to prevent her from chewing her finger.
She said her family believed that finger chewing was unhygienic and could negatively affect the development of the baby’s teeth.
She read online that tying the baby’s finger up woulde be effective.
She said she only wrapped her baby’s index finger “loosely”.
The family was frightened when they saw her finger the next morning.