Hair tie causes potentially deadly infection

Audree Kopp says a hair tie she wore around her wrist caused a potentially deadly infection.  She noticed a bump around her wrist but didn't think much of it.

"I thought that it was a spider bite, or something else," Kopp says.  The bump continued to grow and she finally went to the doctor.  When antibiotics didn't help she ended up needing emergency surgery to drain the puss.

"They said I needed surgery and thank God I caught it in time or I could have had sepsis," Kopp says.

Doctors think bacteria was on the hair tie and got under her skin through her pores and hair follicles.

"Because it has little sharp plastic edges. Probably caused little nicks in her skin. Just like you get from shaving or bug bites or whatnot. Any breaks in the skin can set you up for infection," Dr. Christopher Belcher says.

He recommends washing the bands and avoiding  leaving them on the wrist for extended periods.

"It could have been a whole different ball game, once it gets into your bloodstream, people have been known to go into a coma, your body shuts down it could have been way worse," Dr. Belcher says.