We don’t know what was going through his mind. But we know what was in his stomach. According to the New Zealand Medical Journala young patient spent four critical days in Tauranga, a city in the north of the country, before doctors discovered the source of his pain. The boy admitted to swallowing between 80 and 100 neodymium magnets, each about 5×2 millimeters, a week earlier.
Magnets full of his intestine
These objects, although tiny, exerted enormous pressure inside his abdomen. Doctors discovered areas of dead cells, or necrosis, in several segments of his small intestine and colon. Each magnet stuck to the others through the various intestinal loops, causing rapid and severe damage. Faced with this situation, surgical intervention was immediately necessary, because the young patient’s vital prognosis was in jeopardy. Removing these magnets was not, however, a trivial operation: surgeons had to act with extreme caution to avoid complications such as intestinal obstruction or abdominal hernia.
© NZMJ
Magnetic power that further increases the risk
If swallowing magnets is not a common diet (fortunately), Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician, emphasizes the seriousness of this type of ingestion. Because magnets are not simple toys (which would already be bad for digestive health): their magnetic power can cause extremely rapid internal damage. When they bunch up across the different loops of the intestine, they exert such pressure that certain areas of the intestine can die, leading to what doctors call necrosis. But that’s not all:
“The attraction between the magnets can quickly create perforations in the intestinal walls, allowing bacteria into the abdomen and triggering a potentially fatal infection called peritonitis.”
Early symptoms are often misleading. Abdominal pain, vomiting or fever can easily be confused with a simple virus or food poisoning.
“The dangeremphasizes Dr. Kierzek, is that time works against the patient: a few hours can be enough for the lesions to become severe, sometimes requiring radical surgery with removal of intestinal segments.”
Magnets can also cause intestinal blockages, fistulas between different digestive segments or even sepsis, an extremely serious general infection.
A stupid gesture that could impact him for the rest of his life
In the longer term, the after-effects can be serious. Surgery can cause shortening of the digestive tract, digestive disorders, chronic pain and significant psychological impact. “The children and adolescents concerned must often benefit from prolonged medical and psychological follow-up, in order to prevent any recurrence and to manage the emotional consequences of a traumatic hospital stay.”
The attraction to magnets, a risk to be aware of
For Dr. Kierzek, prevention is essential. He reminds that any ingestion of several magnets must be considered an absolute medical emergency. Rapid intervention can save lives and limit damage. The emergency physician also insists on the fact that neodymium magnets, which are particularly powerful, should never be accessible to children and adolescents. Several countries have also banned their sale to minors for this reason. Finally, psychiatric follow-up after such an accident is crucial to understand the motivations behind the action and prevent new crises.