A 7-year-old boy faced a life-threatening emergency after swallowing two magnets from a children's toy, which required urgent surgery to save his life.
According to the British Daily Mail newspaper, on May 11, Naomi Rivers (35) was watching her son, Eli Gibson, as he sat watching TV at their home in Grantham, Lincolnshire, when she suddenly heard him screaming as he began choking.
She rushed to help him and discovered that he had swallowed a magnet from the "Clackster" toy, which contains large magnetic pieces.
X-ray imaging at Grantham Hospital revealed that the two magnets had stuck together inside his stomach, then moved into the small intestine where they stuck again—posing a serious threat to his internal organs.
The boy was quickly transferred by ambulance to Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he underwent emergency surgery to remove the magnets.
Authorities warned about the dangers of swallowing such strong magnets, as they can attract each other through the walls of vital organs, causing tears or life-threatening internal injuries.
Doctors initially tried to remove the magnets using laxatives, followed by an endoscopy and then laparoscopic surgery, but none were successful—forcing them to perform open surgery.
After a six-hour operation, Eli spent four days in the hospital and made a full recovery. His mother urged parents not to allow children to play with such toys, stressing the importance of raising awareness among families about the dangers of magnetic toys.
It is worth noting that the "Clackster" toy is marketed as a brain-training game, not a children’s toy, and clearly states on the box that it is intended for ages 14 and up, with a choking hazard warning.
Doctors and experts emphasize the importance of taking magnet ingestion warnings seriously, as they can cause severe complications such as perforation and intestinal blockage, requiring immediate medical intervention.
Source: Sky News Arabia