Layers of skin grew over the rubber band.
A 4-year-old girl wore an elastic band over arm for so long that lit became embedded in her flesh, with layers of skin growing over it, The Metro is reporting.
The girl, known only by the pseudonym “Le Le,” is believed to have found an elastic band on the ground an put it on her arm, and then forgotten about it. It’s not known how long the band was on the young lady’s arm before her parents noticed something was amiss. But when the fleshy ring around her arm, just below her elbow, became too big to ignore, they took her to a doctor.
Doctors at first kept telling the parents Le Le had infection or allergies. But she didn’t respond to treatment and baffled doctors eventually started considering other possibilities.
Doctor Ye Wensong, of Children’s Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, eventually came to suspect that an elastic band had become embedded in her arm. Her parents didn’t believe it at first, but they were willing to let her stay in the hospital just to be sure. Eventually, scans revealed the doctor’s worst fears: an elastic band had, indeed, embedded in the young girl’s arm.
Le Le, from Linquan county in China’s Eastern Anhui Province, was first taken to doctors by her grandparents – who she lives with – at the beginning of the year.https://t.co/sBGkvVKrs9
— Metro (@MetroUK) April 26, 2018
Le Le underwent surgery to remove the band and is said to be recovering well.
It’s not uncommon for children to wear red necklaces or ribbons in China, where red is considered a symbol of good luck. Dr. Yensong warns parents – and especially, grandparents – to be cautious about it.
“Some elders also like to tie thin red strings around children’s necks, wrists or fingers for good luck, but the practice comes with risks. Thin strings and elastic bands can easily be concealed in the flaps of the child’s skin.”
The practice is especially risky when it comes to younger kids who are too young to explain what’s wrong when they’re uncomfortable or in pain.
“Some young kids are still too young to talk, and the band goes unnoticed by their guardians.”
Perhaps surprisingly, though, Dr. Wensong says he’s only seen a similar case in nearly 20 years in medicine.
Foreign objects becoming embedded in human skin happens more often than you would think. The humble ingrown toenail is an everyday example, according to IFL Science: when the sharp end of the toenail pierces the skin at the tip of your toe, your skin just grows around it.
Similarly, it’s not uncommon for people to get chunks of gravel embedded in their hands, elbows, or knees after falling.
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