Mom Shares Warning about Popular Bracelets after Son Develops Dangerous Infection

You’ve seen the bracelets everywhere, no doubt—cute little silicone or rubber bands in rainbow colors, often with touting uplifting or encouraging catchphrases. Kids especially love these accessories, and they seem harmless, right?

But today a mother in Dayton, Ohio is asking you to think twice before letting your kids wear the accessories after it landed her young son in the hospital with a dangerous infection.

Rebekah VanBuskirk said in a Facebook post this week that her son, Ezekiel, wore multiple bands on his ankle throughout the summer, and she didn’t think anything of it. But when he took them off a few weeks ago, the skin beneath was red and raw—just the beginning of what turned into a scary medical emergency.

Rebekah writes:

“I didn’t pay much attention to Ezekiel wearing all of these bands over the summer, but they were restricting his leg like a hair tie around your wrist, and preventing water from the pool, lake, or shower from drying underneath (and probably keeping the skin from getting cleaned in the shower). So when he took them off over a month ago, his leg was raw with some open sores. I thought we got him cleaned well and healed up, but at some point, bacteria got in and has been brewing for who knows how long in his ankle.”

By late last week, Ezekiel’s ankle started swelling painfully, and he woke up that night with a fever. His parents took him to the ER, where the news was surprising: “Doctors confirmed he had a large abscess in his fibula and septic arthritis throughout his ankle joint, and needed surgery immediately to clean out as much infection as possible.”

Cultures later showed Ezekiel had developed a staph infection, and requiring surgery, IV antibiotics, and a hospital stay. Since the infection was near his growth plate, doctors will continue monitoring him for any lingering effects on his fibula growth.