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DD has swallowed a coin - advice please!

37 replies

FreddoBaggyMac · 23/04/2011 18:29

DD1 (aged 6) swallowed a £2 coin (!!!!!) last Saturday. We took her to A&E where they did an x ray and found it had passed to her stomach. They said that it will pass out naturally within about a week but to bring her back if it doesn't.
It still hasn't ''passed out'' and I'm feeling quite worried. DD isn't very regular in that department and has only had three poos this week (which I've had the lovely job of looking through - she very kindly did them in DS2's potty for me!!)
Does anyone have any knowledge or experience in this area? Should we take her back to A&E or leave it a bit longer? What are they likely to do if we take her back? Any advice is much appreciated!

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PrettyCandles · 27/04/2011 11:12

A £2 coin - blimey, that's big!

All of my cousin's dc have swallowed coins and marbles. With the first they went to A&E, had x-rays, etc, then waited anxiously for about a week for the dc to pass it. With the second they didn't go to A&E, just waited for the dc to pass the coin.

As long as the child is completely normal, no discomfort or bloating, not under the weather at all, then there is no need to worry. They won't be poisoned by the coin, the only concern is whether it causes a blockage or disturbance.

As my cousin puts it:

When your first child swallows coin you go to A&E, have x-rays, worry anxiously for a week, checking all poos, until it comes through.

When your second child swallows a coin you don't go to A&E, you just keep an eye on them and check their poos until it comes through.

When your third child swallows a coin you check their poo when you remember.

When your fourth child swallows a coin you dock it from their future pocket money.

Milliemuffin · 30/04/2011 22:01

Any news Freddo? xx

ChippingInLovesEasterEggs · 30/04/2011 22:06

Freddo - how is she? Are you sure she hasn't had a poo at school/friends/brownies/nana's??

FreddoBaggyMac · 12/05/2011 18:28

Thanks everyone, sorry I haven't come back to this in a while but have had a stressful few weeks! The coin didn't come out naturally and I've learned that anything over 2.5cm in diameter is very unlikely to do so (£2 coins are around 2.7cm unfortunately, I think any other coin would have been OK!)

DD went to hospital today and had an endoscopy to remove it. (That's where they put a tube down the throat and use forceps or a net to bring it back up and out). The doctors didn't want to leave it in there indefinitely as it's likely it would cause problems in the future such as a blockage or wearing away her stomach lining.Thankfully the endoscopy worked and it's out - a weight off my mind (and her stomach) Smile

The doctor advised that because the coin had been in there for a while it might be hard to remove, and they did have quite a job getting it out apparently. The next step would have been proper surgery so I'm so glad it worked today... the endoscopy was traumatic enough as she had to have a general anaesthetic and she felt terrible afterwards with a really sore tummy because of all the rooting around and was sick a few timesSad

Anyway, I am so glad our ordeal is over and I do hope this thread helps anyone in a similar situation. Basically smaller coins will usually come out naturally within a few weeks, but larger ones (£2 and poss 50p) usually won't!

OP posts:
FreddoBaggyMac · 12/05/2011 18:36

PS. Also wanted to add that the doctors advised the coin would not have caused any problem that was suddenly serious (something I was really worried about). If anyone's reading this in a similar situation we were told any problems would have been indicated by severe stomach pains, so if your DC has swallowed something and they seem fine chances are it is not currently doing them any damage and is not anything that needs to be sorted out desperately urgently.

OP posts:
PrettyCandles · 12/05/2011 19:08

Poor both of you! At least it's all over now, and hopefully your dd will have learned something from the experience Wink.

I did not know about the effect of size. So it stated in her stomach all this time? Wow!

Milliemuffin · 12/05/2011 21:21

So relieved for you all, really great news that it's all over. Hope she's feeling better soon xxx

chriscoracle · 13/07/2015 10:51

When sieving poo , is there a household chemical that dissolves it rapidly. I tried boiling water & water jet from a hose. Its proved resilient.

NightBeaver · 13/07/2015 10:58

My DS swallowed a 5p coin when he was about a year old, we took him to hospital and saw it clearly on the x-ray. We continued to sort through his poo for the next two weeks and the coin never appeared, DS showed no ill-effects. He is now 24, and presumably the 5p coin is still inside him!

JukaCross · 30/05/2024 11:30

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JukaCross · 30/05/2024 11:59

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coxesorangepippin · 01/06/2024 03:00

Madness eh op, glad you got it sorted

Kids eh

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