Woman Suffers Life-Threatening Infection From Hair Tie On Wrist

A simple elastic hair tie led to a hair-raising medical problem for a woman in Lexington, Kentucky.

Audree Kopp noticed a growing bump on her wrist when she was moving into a new home three weeks ago.

"It just kept getting bigger and redder and worse," Kopp told WLKY.com.

Kopp's family doctor gave her antibiotics, but the bump continued to grow. She decided to go to the emergency room.

Dr. Amit Gupta, who treated Kopp, said she had a large abscess on the back of her wrist.

The culprit? A glittery hair tie that Kopp kept wrapped around her wrist in case of fashion emergencies.

Gupta said bacteria in the glittery hair tie got under Kopp's skin and into her pores and hair follicles, where it caused a serious infection.

“Be careful. You can’t tie all those hair ties around the wrist,” Gupta said, according to CBS Philly. “It can cause problems with the skin. It can cause infection.”

So can fitness trackers , according to toxicologist Dr. Alfred Aleguas. He said problems like Kopp's usually have a simple solution: hygiene.

"If you notice you are getting an abrasion, remove it and obviously keep it clean,” Aleguas told ABC Action News.

Kopp said she's learned that lesson and has sworn off hair ties on her wrist entirely.