Child with intestinal obstruction after swallowing expanding beads in Chinese toys
After swallowing tiny beads in a toy with Chinese characters, a 1-year-old child vomited continuously, had abdominal pain, and was distended. At the hospital, after determining that the child had intestinal obstruction, doctors had to perform emergency surgery.
Swelling beads can increase greatly in size after exposure to water.
In recent days, there have been consecutive cases of children hospitalized due to intestinal obstruction.
The first case was a 12-month-old baby (living in Binh Phuoc) who was taken to the hospital by his family because he could not eat, vomited continuously for 2 days, could not urinate, had a distended abdomen, and had intermittent abdominal pain.
Taking medical history from the family, the doctor noted that before experiencing the above symptoms, the child had swallowed a tiny particle in a toy with Chinese characters.
Doctors took X-rays and ultrasounds and found images of intestinal obstruction but did not detect any foreign objects. After consultation, the doctors determined that if early intervention was not performed, the child would face the risk of intestinal necrosis, which would be life-threatening, so surgery was indicated.
During the surgery, the medical team discovered that the intestine above the blockage was very swollen, and at the blockage was a plastic-like, round foreign object with a diameter of 2.5 cm. The large size of the foreign object was enough to block the intestine, causing the child's bloating and vomiting.
Expanding foreign body causing intestinal obstruction in a child patient was surgically removed by a doctor.
Another case involved a 4-year-old child who had to be taken to the hospital after swallowing a popcorn. With treatment and constant monitoring, the child was fortunate to be able to expel the popcorn naturally.
Previously, at an elementary school in Tay Ninh province, 3 students were suddenly hospitalized due to symptoms of stiff arms, itching, stomachache and vomiting. This incident was also determined to be due to the children playing with and smelling the smell of popcorn.
In China, on July 6, 2018, doctors performed endoscopic surgery to remove a foreign object, a Chinese toy expanding bead about 3cm long, stuck in the intestines of a child patient.
From the above cases, the doctor recommends: “Expanding beads or expanding beads are a type of children's toy with the shape of tiny plastic beads, about 5mm in diameter and many colorful colors. Just put the expanding beads in water to soak, they will expand, can be 100 to 200 times the original size, looking very beautiful. However, if children swallow the expanding beads, it can cause intestinal obstruction or even poisoning.
To avoid similar accidents that may happen to children, parents need to pay special attention in choosing toys for their children. In case a child accidentally swallows a popcorn, even if there are no unusual symptoms, the family should still take the child to the doctor for monitoring and timely treatment to avoid intestinal obstruction and poisoning that are dangerous to the child's health and life.
