Medical News: Baby Swallows Expanding Ball

Posted by Kristi Gilbert

Parents have been getting their fill of "Watch Out For ________ " hazards lately in the news. There is a huge reason for it though. Children are still getting harmed by everyday products in the home and toys that are meant for much older children.

The latest heartbreak comes from an 8 month old girl who swallowed an expanding toy that had grown inside her twice its size within two hours.

Water Balz is a "superabsorbent polymer ball" that is advertised to "grow" in water from a marble-size to 400 times that size. When this little girl, Aunraya, swallowed the ball, the toy absorbed the liquids inside of her and completely blocked her disgestive system. There was no way for the doctors to see the ball in an X-ray. She was vomiting bile and had a distended belly. Luckily, the pediatric surgeon didn't hesitate and was able to remove the toy without complications. By the time the surgeons removed the ball, it was 3.5 centimeters round.

You can imagine how scary this situation was for this little girl's family. Someone had watched her put the ball into her mouth and was able to get her to the hospital in time for it to be removed but I, for one, will be holding off on purchasing any "growing" toys for a while.

Source

(Image: Pediatrics)

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