Pune: A nine-year-old boy from Pune narrowly escaped a life-threatening medical emergency after accidentally swallowing seven magnets, a rare but extremely dangerous incident that doctors say could have turned fatal without timely intervention.
The child swallowed the magnets on 17 October 2025 while playing with toys at home. Neither he nor his parents realised what had happened at the time. Over the next few days, the boy began experiencing persistent vomiting, abdominal pain, and loss of appetite, with his condition worsening steadily.
Recalling the incident, the 9 year-old’s mother shared, “We had no idea when it happened. He was just playing like children usually do. We didn’t even realise he had swallowed magnets until he started vomiting repeatedly and completely stopped eating.”
The patient was admitted to Surya Hospitals, Pune, on 24 October 2025, nearly a week after the ingestion. The case was handled by Dr Prateek Agarwal, Consultant- Paediatric Gastroenterologist, who described the situation as extremely high-risk.
“Magnets are far more dangerous than other swallowed objects. In this case, multiple magnets of varying sizes were found inside the body of the patient, some even bigger than 2cm in diameter.” Dr Agarwal explained. “We first used an endoscope, which is a flexible camera passed through the mouth, to remove three magnets that were still in the stomach and upper intestine.
However, four magnets had already travelled deeper into the intestines and were stuck together. At that point, surgery was the only option. If we had delayed any further, these magnets could have caused holes in the intestine, severe infection, or even death.”
The remaining magnets were surgically removed, following which the child was kept under close observation. The young patient recovered well and was discharged in stable condition on 1 November 2025.
Doctors emphasise that magnet ingestion is a medical emergency. When more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attract each other across intestinal walls, leading to bowel perforation, obstruction, fistula formation, internal bleeding, sepsis, and, in rare cases, death. In this specific case, doctors also noted that he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which may have contributed to impulsive ingestion.
Worldwide, foreign-body ingestion is very common in children, especially between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. While India does not maintain a national registry for such incidents, doctors and medical researchers agree that accidental foreign-body and magnet ingestion is frequently encountered in emergency departments, especially among young children.
Medical experts urge parents to keep small magnets and magnet-based toys out of children’s reach and to seek immediate medical attention if ingestion is suspected. In cases like these, doctors stress that early intervention can mean the difference between life and death.