I recently watched a story on TV about a toddler swallowing a coin-sized battery and almost dying. Another child in the same TV show swallowed a magnet and no one could figure out what was making him so sick. He died at the age of 14 months and they found the magnet in his gut, but it was too late. My little girl is 13 months old, so of course I was sobbing through the whole show.
According to an article by Health News Daily, “Accidental ingestion of magnets is a growing problem among children, and parents should be aware of this risk…”
They reported, one case of an 18-month-old child who experienced five days of abdominal pain before the hospital discovered she had swallowed 10 small magnetic spheres. In the second case, an 8-year-old child who showed symptoms of appendicitis was found to have swallowed two magnetic strips, each about an inch long.
Small objects that young children swallow can usually pass through their digestive systems without causing any illness or internal damage. However, when several magnetic elements are ingested, the magnets can become attracted to each other within the child’s body, and trap soft tissues between them.
“We are particularly concerned about the widespread availability of cheap magnetic toys, where the magnetic parts could become easily detached,” said study researcher Dr. Anil Thomas George, of the Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham. “Parents should be warned of the risk of magnet ingestion, particularly in small children.”
Pass it on: Magnets in kid’s toys and adult stress relievers pose serious risks to children if swallowed.
