dd (5) swallowed a stone yesterday evening ...

[imaginaryfriend]

She's way too old to still be putting things into her mouth but yesterday she did. It was just before dinner time and it wasn't a garden stone it was a polished blue stone from the Natural History minerals shop. So it was clean and only had rounded shiny edges. I don't know exactly how big it was but I think from what dd said it was about 2cm long, 1cm wide and 1cm deep. She didn't choke on it and seemed fine apart from a bit freaked out. But today she's complained of tummy ache and feeling sick since she woke up plus she hasn't wanted to eat. She hasn't been sick at all and tonight ate a reasonable dinner.

Should I get her checked out? I phoned NHS direct yesterday evening and they said unless she developed a fever or couldn't swallow it would probably just pass through her gut...

My dd1 did this when she was 5. It passed through with no problems. Good luck!

It may pass through, but if it becomes lodged she could be in trouble, especially if it blocks the appendix. I also don't think she is going to find it fun when it comes time to expel it. Is she old enough to tell you when she thinks she has expelled it. Just keep an eye on her to make sure that it does come out.

Poor you, imaginaryfriend. It sounds as if it has gone down OK and you just need to keep an eye on her to make sure she gets rid of it, but if worried take her to A&E. Might she [apologies if this is a silly idea, but I know you share my feelings on this] be picking up on your anxiety about her possibly being sick, by saying she feels sick/not eating, etc. My dd2 definitely does this (she's also 5, btw) and likes to 'prepare me for the worst' by saying she 'might feel funny' just in case. (Dd1 is just the opposite and keeps quiet about feeling unwell until the point when she is about to ... you know ... do it!) Equally, the not eating/feeling sick might just have been shock from what she had done.

If it's any consolation dd2 swallowed her own tooth today. It came out in her popcorn while watching Ratatouille and went down with the popcorn! She was remarkably unfazed and has left a note for the tooth fairy. It says 'Dear Tooth Fairy. Today my tooth fell out but I swallowed it. love BabyBell'. She wanted to put 'Please can I have my money anyway?' but I told her that Tooth Fairies were more subtle than that and would take the hint!

Hope your dd is OK.

i swallowed a coin when i was 4, went to hospital, had x-rays etc, and was left to let it pass through my system. although my mum was told to check my erm.... well you know what , i had to go on a potty for a week until it came out. this was just to make sure it did come out and didn't get stuck again. it got stuck horizontally in my wind pipe when i swallowed it and i stopped breathing, my mum whacked me on the back and it moved just enough for me to breathe again. they were concerned that it was just going to stay there so sent us out in an ambulance and drove fast down a bumpy road a few times. when we got back, they x-rayed again and it had dropped down into my stomach.

if she's eaten tea, then thats a good sign, means its not blocking anything, but i would do the checking her poo thing, so you'll both have peace of mind when its passed through.

hth! x

Thanks everyone. I will get her to do her poos in her old potty tomorrow.

Ellhell, you might be right with the anxiety thing but I actually wasn't stressed about the stone business last night because NHS direct were so uninterested in it. Plus I phoned my brother who's a nurse.

today she seemed genuinely unwell all day but suddenly improved this evening. But yes, I've been panicking about that (quietly) all day today... I can't face there being a bug around.

DD1 did it when she was littler. NHS Direct gave me the same advice, as well as a pep talk about safety. I was highly penitent - then the lady on the other end said "Don't worry dear, my 15 year old swallowed a ring pull the other day, and she was fine!"

A ring pull! Ouch!

DD1's stone came out about 36 hours later. Be warned, you do need to have a good look. She was still in nappies and I only found it because I gave the nappy a good squeeze and felt it buried in there.

Sorry, way TMI for this time of evening!

nitnovice, luckily for me dp's on school run duty tomorrow while I'm at work so he can do the poo-checking!