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Parents issue warning after their two-year-old swallowed this item commonly found on the fridge in many households.

When Kyle McBrien came out of the bathroom to find his daughter Ella holding some of his Buckyballs – neodymium magnets,  in her hand, he quickly realised the two-year-old with a tendency for putting things in her mouth had likely swallowed some.

original-bucky-ball-cube

In fact, the toddler had managed to swallow 28 of the high-power magnets.

“It sounds as benign as humanly possible — magnets, you don’t think anything of it,” he told Colorado’s Fox News station KDVR

They rushed Ella to the hospital even before she showed any symptoms and doctors say they got to her just in time.

The magnets had all come together to form a circle in her bowel but two of the magnets were pinching the lining, which was starting to create a hole.

xray

Dr. Robert Kramer, Director of Endoscopy at Children’s Hospital Colorado was able to get to them before the hole was formed and avoided major surgery by performing a specialised endoscopy.

“In the worst cases there has been deaths associated with these,” Dr Kramer told KDVR of holes in the bowel.

The parents are now warning others about the dangers of small magnets.

Magnets are commonly found on the fridge (or kids white/chalk board) in many households. Make sure you check that they are not too small for little inquisitive people to pop in their mouth and check the backs of any alphabet magnets to make sure they are secure and not likely to become loose.

What to do if your child has swallowed a magnet:

If you think your child has swallowed a magnet, immediately seek medical attention by calling your doctor or go to the emergency department.

Swallowed magnets can stick together across intestines causing serious infections and death.

Don’t assume a swallowed magnet will pass normally.

Read more:

RECALL popular child’s construction toy
Scary reminder for all parents

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  • What a horrible experience to go through.

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  • I would have thought it was obvious to keep something that small out of reach.

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  • What a nightmare! Poor family

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  • magnets and little batteries are to be watched out for. great reminder for parents. thank god she is alright

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  • I never thought about magnets. But some are very small indeed!!


    • All little things seem to get popped into inquisitive little mouths – so many little hazards about the house and outdoors.



      • Yes! A very good idea to take them out of sight to avoid “temptation”.The results could be very tragic!!

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  • Those little magnets are just so tempting and can cause such trouble.

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  • wow what a lucky girl! its a good reminder because we all know what little people are like with sticking everything and anything in their mouths!

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  • Things that small should be kept out of reach of young kids anyway. Even if it wont kill them if they swallow it they might choke on it first.

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  • So scary, glad they were on time ! Yeah, I only use magnets on the top part of the freezer door as well, but good to be warned another time.

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  • Good to know about this! Im glad she is ok.

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  • Terrible! The main reason I keep magnets, if any at all, on the high top freezer part of the fridge and not below!

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  • Thanks for the warning as you never know!

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  • how scary!!

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  • These magnets had been banned ?? Any how why were these balls on the frig in the first place?
    Thanks for reminding us of regular frig magnets and alphabet magnets though.

    Reply

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