I am sure something of this nature has been asked many times but here is my dilemma. Our daughter, who is 23 months, swallowed a barette Saturday night. It isn't very big, just one of the children's ones...my husband thinks it was a heart shaped one that is no bigger than probably a dime, if even that big. I am sure if we would have taken her to the hospital, they would have done an xray to see where it is and tell us to watch her stools for the barette to appear. So my question is if this has happened to you, how long did it take to come out? It was plastic with no sharp edges, so I don't think it would cause any serious trouble. As of this morning there hasn't been a heart barette. Thanks in advance!
W.
Thank you for all the advice. I know kids are curious by nature, but sometimes they do things quicker than you can react..the little buggers :) So I called her doctor yesterday morning and gave her the heads up. She assured me it was nothing to worry about, unless my daughter started showing signs of discomfort, which she did not. Well low and behold, the barrette came out yesterday after I talked to the doctor. I also decided to send her doctor an email letting her know it passed. Thanks again!
You should definitely call a doctor. You did not say if it was an all plastic barrette, or if it had some metal. If it was metal, it could contain high amounts of lead - especially if it was made in China.
My now 14 year old swallowed a penny when he was about 18 months old. It took about 2 days to pass. If she starts complaining of a sore tummy take her to the hospital but other wise don't worry about it for now. If it hasn't passed in 3 days I would see the doctor to get an xray to be sure it isn't held up some place. Good luck!!!
I think I would at least call the Dr. I would be afraid that the plastic could cause a tear in her stomach or bowol linings.
W.- When my son was about 3 he was in bed. He got out of bed got a toy took the battery compartment lid off, and needless to say swallowed one of those little batteries like are used for a watch. He came out and told me what had happened, and I immediatly took him to the ER because of the kind of object. They did just what you thought they would do. They did an x-ray to see where the battery was, and told me to watch his stools. They did have me give him a childs laxitive because of the danger in having his stomach acid eat away at the battery and leaking battery acid into his system. If you are concerned about it, you can give her a laxitive. It DID cause diarreah but only for the course of the time he was taking it. I also had to do some looking through the stools b/c the ER wanted me to call after the battery had passed. It will be VERY had to see the barrette if it was that small, and you may want to do the "digging" also. From the time I gave him the laxative until the time the battery passed, was only about 5-6 hrs. Call her dr. if you are concerned and don't want to try this method, and they should be able to provide you with an alternative solution. Good luck, and I hoped this helped.
When caitlin my now 15 year old did the same thing at 3 only it was gravel. It took about 48 hours. Just start to watch for bleeding and irritation in her stomache area. Caitlin passed fine it was just a few rocks. She ate more later that sunner. Haha. Now she eats anything and has never been a picky eater.
Hi W.,
My newphew swollowed a penny when he was about a year old, nobody knew until a year later when he was having trouble breathing (thought it was a cold) When we took him to the doctor, they did an xray and found the penny had somehow lodged in the throat and skin was growing around it. They had to surgically remove it.
My advise is don't wait, go to the doctor and have the xray.
I would give your doctors office a call and ask to speak with the nurse or the doctor. Most likely they will just speak with you on the phone and let you know what to look for (signs or symptoms) in case she needs further help. I am sure they have seen this a lot in their practice.
Not necessary to panic...please don't let other moms scare you into a full blown attack! Call the doc, let them know what's up, they will tell you what to watch for. My son swallowed a paperclip...a little one that is coated in plastic. Doc said to watch for it but he doubted that I would actually 'see' it and didn't feel the need to make me dig for it. Of course, ppl will tell you every horror story, but kids are pretty resilient! Just let the doc know....
~L.
My son had once swallowed a nickel I did take him to the er and they just said it will pass in a couple days. I din't ever find it. As far as a plastic barette, my thought is that it will not come out whole the stomach acid will probably dissolve it.
W., if the other responses have not been enough incentive, let me emphasize that you should, at a minimum, call your pediatrician. Not to alarm you, but if you were concerned enough to write on here, you should contact your doctor. Good luck.
