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Does Swallowing Of Staples Lead To Internal Damage In Children?

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Posted on Fri, 3 Jun 2016
Question: My 18 month old just put some open staples in his mouth. My wife immediately saw him do it an rushed over to remove them. She was able to get them out, but our concern (worst case) is that he may have swallowed two or three open staples. Should I take him to the Urgent Care or ER for X-rays?? If he did swallow a few open staples, could these calls internal damage? How worried should we be?
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Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (10 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
you need to Visit your nearest ER at the earliest....

Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXX, Welcome to HCM,

Yes I've gone through your query and certainly understand your concern,

Now open staple pins can be pretty dangerous as they tend to have two quite sharp ends, and since your not sure how many were there so better not to delay anymore and take the baby straight to the nearest ER/Urgent Care..

In the meanwhile don't give him anything orally..

Even though it's very unlikely to cause internal damage as they generally pass by the gut movements but injuries do take place and in severe cases gut mucosa can get tore off.. so better not to take any chance with the little one and rush to your nearest ER..

Please let me know how he stays later on..

Take Care
Kind Regards
Note: For further follow-up it is advisable to consult an emergency medicine specialist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr.Arnab

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Practicing since :2012

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Does Swallowing Of Staples Lead To Internal Damage In Children?

Brief Answer: you need to Visit your nearest ER at the earliest.... Detailed Answer: Dear XXXXX, Welcome to HCM, Yes I've gone through your query and certainly understand your concern, Now open staple pins can be pretty dangerous as they tend to have two quite sharp ends, and since your not sure how many were there so better not to delay anymore and take the baby straight to the nearest ER/Urgent Care.. In the meanwhile don't give him anything orally.. Even though it's very unlikely to cause internal damage as they generally pass by the gut movements but injuries do take place and in severe cases gut mucosa can get tore off.. so better not to take any chance with the little one and rush to your nearest ER.. Please let me know how he stays later on.. Take Care Kind Regards