Child suffers intestinal obstruction after swallowing expanding beads from Chinese-made toy.
After swallowing tiny beads from a toy with Chinese characters on it, a one-year-old child experienced continuous vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloating. At the hospital, after determining that the child had an intestinal obstruction, doctors had to perform emergency surgery.
Expanding beads can increase in size significantly after contact with water.
Over the past few days, there have been several cases of children being hospitalized due to intestinal obstruction.
The first case involves a 12-month-old child (from Binh Phuoc province) who was brought to the hospital by family members because the child was unable to eat, had been vomiting continuously for two days, was unable to urinate, had a distended abdomen, and experienced intermittent abdominal pain.
Based on the medical history obtained from the family, the doctor noted that before experiencing the above symptoms, the child had swallowed a tiny bead from a toy with Chinese characters on it.
Doctors performed X-rays and ultrasounds, revealing signs of bowel obstruction but no foreign object. After a consultation, the doctors determined that without prompt intervention, the child faced the risk of necrosis of the obstructed bowel, which was life-threatening, and therefore recommended surgical intervention.
During the surgery, the medical team discovered that the section of intestine above the obstruction was greatly distended, and at the point of obstruction was a foreign object resembling plastic, round in shape, with a diameter of 2.5 cm. The large size of the foreign object was sufficient to completely block the intestine, causing abdominal distension and vomiting in the child.
A foreign object, a expanding bead, causing intestinal obstruction in a young patient was surgically removed.
Another case involved a 4-year-old child who had to be hospitalized after swallowing expanding beads. Through treatment and continuous monitoring, the child was fortunate enough to expel the beads naturally.
Earlier, at a primary school in Tay Ninh province, three students were unexpectedly hospitalized with symptoms including stiff, immobile hands, itching, abdominal pain, and vomiting. This incident was determined to be caused by the children playing with and inhaling the scent of expanding beads.
Meanwhile, in China, on July 6, 2018, doctors performed endoscopic surgery to remove a foreign object – a Chinese-made expanding toy bead approximately 3cm in size – that was obstructing the intestine of a young patient.
Based on the above cases, doctors advise: "Expanding beads are a type of children's toy in the form of tiny plastic beads, about 5mm in diameter and in many bright colors. Simply soaking them in water will cause them to expand, potentially 100 to 200 times their original size, making them look very attractive. However, if children swallow expanding beads, it can cause intestinal obstruction or even poisoning."
To prevent similar accidents from happening to children, parents need to pay special attention to choosing toys for their children. If a child accidentally swallows expanding beads, even without any unusual symptoms, the family should still take the child to the doctor for monitoring and timely treatment to avoid intestinal obstruction or poisoning that could endanger the child's health and life.
