Did you know that magnets can kill children?

Children and magnets?

Magnets fascinate kids. I know I was when I was a child, and I still see children today having fun with them.

Over time, magnets have gotten stronger and stronger; some children’s magnetic toys are up to 10 times stronger now than they were just a few years ago. Tiny magnets, especially when enclosed in their favourite toy, often find their way into the mouths of children.

However, if a child swallows a magnet or button battery, commonly used in many children’s toys, the outcome could be fatal.

I wrote a blog about that a little while back; here is the link.

This issue extends beyond Northern Ireland, spreading across the UK and escalating at an alarming rate.

In 2019, the hospital in Belfast alone admitted 19 children, one of whom was a 3-year-old with 49 magnets.

Yes, at the time, the BBC report stated that the child needed to have 49 magnets removed from his stomach.

Three of the 19 children required major surgery to remove magnets, but not before they had caused significant damage to their intestines and other vital organs in their bodies.

Whats happening?

Since many adults today have various facial piercings, it is understandable that children would not be aware of the potential damage that a pair of magnets going through the gastrointestinal tract can cause.

This can lead to bowel perforation or intestinal blockage, which may be fatal if not promptly detected and removed.

One child recently had part of their bowel removed because magnets were ripping through the stomach wall. This craze has been rapidly spreading throughout the UK for a while.

Recent media articles say that children have been mimicking tongue and cheek piercing with magnets.

According to the media, these magnets, marketed as educational toys and banned in other countries, are regrettably easily accessible in the UK.

Why so powerful

These neodymium magnets are very different in composition from the old-style iron magnets I remembered from my childhood. Manufacturers produce these magnets by mixing iron, boron, and neodymium powders, then pressing them into various shapes to fit into the toys.

Conclusion

Everybody wants their children to enjoy their childhoods, but accidents happen. Would you know how to treat your child in an emergency first-aid situation?

Even though swallowed objects by children are familiar and usually do not cause problems during their journey through the body, you should still take the child to A&E for a check-up to ensure everything is fine.

However, with magnets and button batteries, things can become very life-threatening very quickly, and an urgent trip to A&E is required to obtain the best possible outcome.

Our paediatric first aid course is OFQUAL-regulated, Qualifications Network UK-accredited, and complies with DfE and EYFS guidelines.

This course’s learning outcomes and how to use them in a child’s emergency first aid situation will happily surprise you.