Boy, 13, swallowed the high-power magnets after apparently buying them from the online retailer Temu

Left unanswered: Why would anyone intentionally swallow one magnet, let alone 100? This is like blaming Temu for someone drinking gasoline.

A 13-year-old boy in New Zealand swallowed up to 100 high-power magnets he bought online, forcing surgeons to remove tissue from his intestines, doctors said on Friday.

After suffering four days of abdominal pain, the unnamed teenager was taken to Tauranga hospital in the North Island. “He disclosed ingesting approximately 80 to 100 5x2mm high-power (neodymium) magnets about one week prior,” said a report by hospital doctors in the New Zealand Medical Journal.

The magnets, which have been banned in New Zealand since January 2013, were bought on the online shopping platform Temu, they said.

An X-ray showed the magnets had clumped together in four straight lines inside the child’s intestines. “These appeared to be in separate parts of bowel adhered together due to magnetic forces,” they said.

  • andieEnglish
    3•18 hours ago

    NZ surgeons are contractually obligated to remove up to 100 magnets per patient. beyond that it’s extra charge /j

  • @jarfil@beehaw.org
    3•1 day ago

    I can answer the “let alone 100” part: they get sold as cubes of 216, 512, 1000 tiny magnet balls, or as packs of 80, 100, 200, etc. tiny magnets.

    Why would anyone swallow them… the sale is restricted to 13+ or 18+ in most places, but some (including parents) are unaware of the dangers, and they go for like $2 for 100pcs.

    • PowderhornOPEnglish
      1•1 day ago

      Who on Earth needs 200 “refrigerator magnets” so tiny they make microSD cards look comically large?

      • @jarfil@beehaw.org
        7•1 day ago

        Me. Tiny strong magnets, are good for reasonably strong attraction at short distances. Uses so far:

        • Magnetic latches for small parts drawers (2 per drawer, 50 drawers)
        • Press-fitting a bunch, into molten plastic holes on the back of a digital thermometer (heat makes them lose strength, so the stronger they start, the better)
        • Signal for a hall effect sensor (1 sensor, n magnets)

        They should always be securely glued in place, though.

        I’ve seen people use thinner ones, inside the lid of a gift box, as a latch. Also as a magnet for a LED throwie.

        The problem, is stupidity like this:

        Science for Kids: DIY Magnetic LED Lights

        Don’t let dumb kids anywhere near them! 🤦