Most of us are guilty of throwing a hair tie on our wrist at some point during the day for when that inevitable moment arrives when our strands have to be pulled back into some sort of ponytail situation. But this simple act could have serious health risks and if you don’t believe us, you have to watch this video.
WGAL reported the story of a Audree Kopp, a woman who developed a severe infection believed to be the result of an unassuming hair tie.
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The video, which is pretty graphic and probably shouldn’t be viewed while you’re eating lunch, explains everything, but essentially Dr. Amit Gupta, who treated Kopp, thinks the infection was the result of bacteria from the hair tie getting under the skin through pores and hair follicles. This means that your hair tie doesn’t have to cut into your wrist to cause an infection, it can seep in without you even realizing it.
Kopp recalls how the bump on her wrist kept getting bigger and bigger, and even after a round of antibiotics continued to increase in size. She finally had to have surgery to remove it.
The moral of the story? Think before you throw that hair tie around your wrist, no matter how tempting the convenience.
This story originally appeared on Mimi.