A 13-year-old boy was hospitalized after consuming dozens of high-powered magnets, in response to a not too long ago revealed case report within the New Zealand Medical Journal. The boy misplaced a part of his bowel because of this, medical doctors wrote.
The boy, who was not recognized within the case report, ate between 80 and 100 magnets. The “high-power” magnets have been 5×2 millimeters every, the report mentioned.
After consuming the magnets, the teenager had common stomach ache for 4 days. When he arrived on the hospital, he instructed medical doctors he had eaten the magnets a few week earlier. The hospital he was handled at was not recognized within the report.
The case report didn’t say if the boy defined why or how he ate the magnets.
New Zealand Medical Journal
Consuming a number of magnets may be extremely harmful as a result of they will clamp collectively contained in the physique and trigger organ injury or different issues. Sufferers who eat a number of magnets typically want surgical intervention, in response to the report. Excessive-powered magnets, which are sometimes bought as desktop toys for adults, are significantly dangerous. They are often 5 to 10 occasions stronger than conventional fridge magnets, CBS Information reported in 2019.
Scans confirmed that the magnets had linked into 4 chains inside the teenager’s bowel and at first of his giant gut. The quantity of magnets in his physique disrupted some imaging, the report mentioned, so medical doctors proceeded with an exploratory surgical procedure.
Through the operation, surgeons discovered the magnet chains have been inflicting strain necrosis within the bowel and enormous gut. Strain necrosis happens when tissue dies as a result of there’s an excessive amount of strain on it for an prolonged time frame. The surgeons have been capable of efficiently take away the magnets, and the boy recovered from the operation. He was discharged after eight days within the hospital, the report mentioned.
The sale of those high-powered magnets has been completely banned in New Zealand, however the prohibition is tough to implement as a result of the magnets may be simply and cheaply bought on-line, the report famous. The boy instructed medical doctors he bought the magnets on the net web site Temu.
Temu instructed CBS Information that they have been “sorry to be taught in regards to the reported incident and want the boy a full and speedy restoration.” A
Temu spokesperson instructed CBS Information Saturday that they had not been capable of independently confirm if the magnets have been purchased on the positioning.
The corporate mentioned after launching an inner evaluate that listings at present out there to ship to New Zealand are compliant with the nation’s rules.
“Whereas these merchandise are lawful to promote, they are often harmful if swallowed and we help efforts to boost public consciousness about magnet security,” the corporate mentioned.
New Zealand Medical Journal
“We take product security very critically and repeatedly monitor our platform to make sure sellers are complying with the protection rules of the markets they’re doing enterprise in,” the spokesperson mentioned Friday.
On-line retailers, together with Amazon and AliExpress, record high-powered magnets as out there to ship to New Zealand.
The U.S. Client Product Security Fee has labored to restrict the sale of high-powered magnets in the USA. In 2014, the company issued a ban on high-powered magnet units, but it surely was overturned in courtroom two years later. In September 2022, the company established a compulsory security normal for magnets. The rule units an influence restrict for any product with unfastened or separable magnets, together with these meant for functions together with leisure and stress reduction.
The CPSC additionally calls the magnets a security threat and has issued quite a few recollects for merchandise that include them.
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