This story on ABC News yesterday is a good reminder that some toys that appear safe, may not be so.
ABC’s JuJu Chang reported about a boy who swallowed a magnet from a Magnetix set that caused severe intestinal perforation. 4 year old Braden Eberle managed to break free a piece of the set and swallowed it. The two magnetic pieces started to seek each other out through the intestinal wall causing the pain and impending performation. His parents had been unaware there was a recall on the set.
As reported by ABC, Dr. Sanjeev Dutta just published an article in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine about Braden’s tale. As noted in the abstract conclusion, “(i)ngestion of multiple magnets can cause minimal initial physical examination findings but result in significant complications….”
If you have any of the older Magnetix sets or any other brands with loose magnetic balls or pieces, and you have small children at home, toss the sets. The dangers are just too great. Even in products where the magnets are encased in plastic, check the products often. Kids can play rough and you want to find any pieces with cracks before the magnets break free and throw those toy parts out.
Mega Brands, the maker of Magnetix, is already working on a new set that will be safer than the current set on the market, which has the magnets enclosed in plastic. You can find more information on their plans for safety on their website.
The take home message from Braden’s story is that kids sometimes swallow things unexpectedly and that even “safe” toys can become unsafe. The best we can do is stay on top of recalls and double check our own kids toys for integrity and issues. And, get our kids to medical care at the first sign of “mommy, my tommy hurts.” Most swallowed objects do pass without much issue but magnets are a very different story. Those are a medical emergency, as Braden found out. Thankfully, he’s doing just fine.
Just had a case last month in an child – actually swallowed the magnets off of a memo board. He presented to us with a small bowel obstruction when two of the magnets had connected in the typical fashion.
Yes, this is a very dangerous toy!