Toddler survives after swallowing 37 magnets
A3-year-old girl in Portland, Ore., is recovering after surgery to remove 37 magnets she had swallowed.
Oregon’s KPTV reported Payton Bushnell had complained to her parents about stomach pain. At first, Aaron and Kelli Bushnell thought it was a stomachache. But her symptoms kept up, and an X-ray at Children’s Hospital on the weekend revealed a circular grouping of magnets. The high-powered magnets, called Buckyballs, reportedly snapped together inside her, pinching Payton’s intestines and punching one hole in her stomach and three in her intestine, according to KPTV.
Payton’s parents say she may have mistaken the small metallic balls for the edible toppings used to decorate cupcakes.
“If we had any idea what those magnets could have done to our daughter’s intestines, I would have never had them in our house,” Kelli Bushnell told KPTV.
The accidental ingestion of highpowered magnets by children has been on the rise in recent years, said Kim Dulic, a spokesperson for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Most of the magnets are so small it’s difficult to notice if one or two go missing in a sofa or on the floor. People often experience flu-like symptoms within a few days of ingesting them. “The popularity of these products is growing, and it’s resulting in an increasing amount of incidents,” said Dulic. One incident was reported in 2009, seven in 2010 and 14 through October 2011. The ages of the children involved ranged from 18 months to 15 years. Eleven required surgical removal of the magnets. In response to the rise in accidental ingestions, Craig Zucker, CEO of Maxfield and Oberton, which manufactures Buckyballs, said, “Highpowered magnets, such as Buckyballs, are products for adult use only and should be kept away from all children.”