An 8 year old arrived this week at the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba after swallowing over 20 magnets.
After performing a colonoscopy in the pediatric emergency department, the magnets were successfully removed.
Also, experts at the hospital warn that swallowing magnets can cause a perforation in the intestine and recommend keeping foreign bodies out of the hands of children and babies.
His mother says that the boy was staying with a friend and called to say that he swallowed magnets: "He didn't know how much. We went to the pediatrician who referred us to the emergency room immediately," she says.
"In the pediatric emergency medicine department, we met Dr. Amir Mendelson, a senior doctor in the department, who sent the child for another scan and hospitalized him for further treatment and supervision."
The magnets taken out of the 8-year-old's eyes, photo: Meir Medical Center
Dr. Eyal Zipman, Director of the Children's Gastroenterology Service, explains that due to the understanding that the magnets could cause damage - and the fear of perforation of the intestine and infection in the abdominal cavity, it was decided to immediately send the child for imaging. "In the imaging, the magnets were observed in the small intestine in a place that cannot be reached without surgery," said D R. Zipman.
"It was decided that a follow-up would be done to examine their place and at some point it was found that they are not progressing on their own and a colonoscopy should be done. The magnets were found in the large intestine and were successfully removed."
According to Dr. Zipman and Dr. Mendelson: "Fortunately, the case ended peacefully and without any complications. At the same time, it is important to note that swallowing magnets by babies and children is a common problem, especially between the ages of one and three. The magnets may stick together and cause damage to the intestinal lining To the point of creating a perforation in the intestine and widespread infection in the abdominal cavity Foreign bodies must be kept away from the hands of babies and children, with an emphasis on magnets and disc batteries, which are particularly dangerous.
"The age range of children who swallow magnets after putting them out of curiosity in their mouths and sometimes inside their noses is wide. Some magnets, especially those used as office games for adults, have a particularly strong attraction and it is also important to keep them out of the reach of children and babies," concluded the doctors .
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