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Toddlers and Magnets: A Dangerous Attraction
Why Are Some Magnetic Toys Being Recalled?
By Lisa A. Goldstein
Indeed, if a child swallows more than one magnet that fell out of a magnetic toy, initially there may not be any symptoms. If such an event goes unrecognized, a physician isn't consulted. Later – one to seven days after ingestions, or occasionally months later – the child may develop abdominal pain, vomiting, fever and other nonspecific symptoms, which could be misdiagnosed as a viral infection.
If the child aspirates a magnet, depending on the size of the magnet and size of the child's airways, it may get stuck in the larynx, causing complete obstruction and death if not dislodged, or inside the trachea, causing partial obstruction, Dr. Reznik says. Any object that ends up in the airway will become stuck as the airway narrows.
"When any object is aspirated into the respiratory tract, initially it produces a choking, gagging, coughing or wheezing episode," Dr. Reznik says. "This may be followed by a symptom-free interval during which there is little to suggest the presence of a foreign body." So, again, symptoms can easily be misdiagnosed.
The recall of one popular magnetic toy set last year was prompted by the death of one child and injury to at least 34 other children from ingestion of magnet pieces from the toy, Dr. Reznik says. More recently, Mattel voluntarily recalled a product due to two reports of magnets coming loose without any reported injuries.
Dr. Reznik describes a few cases of children harmed by these magnetic toys. In one, a 21-month-old boy died from ingesting multiple magnets from a set that his brother received as a birthday present. It was kept away from the toddler, but he might have found dislodged magnets in the carpeting of the playroom. He became ill with flu-like symptoms similar to his father's illness the preceding week. Two days later, he was taken to the ER, where he died minutes after arrival.
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