Tennessee 2-year-old swallows 23 magnetic beads

Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A Tennessee toddler ended up undergoing surgery when an X-ray revealed he had swallowed 23 magnetic beads.

Nikki Cooke said her son, Caiden, 2, was visiting the pediatrician when an X-ray revealed the boy had swallowed 23 magnetic beads.

Cooke said Caiden apparently swallowed the beads while visiting his grandparents.

"They can pass through the intestinal track differently and then when their magnetic force comes into the right field, boom! They attach to each other and they can be on different sides of the intestines," Dr. Harold Lovvorn, associate professor of pediatric surgery at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, told WSMV-TV.

He said the situation can lead to worse complications.

"They can trap the bowel, create holes in the bowel, and cause bowel obstruction," he said.

Caiden is recovering from surgery to remove the beads and his parents said they want to warn other families to be careful with the potentially dangerous toys.

"If you're going to buy them make sure you're ready to supervise, especially if you have smaller kids in the home or there is the possibility that smaller kids are going to be around then. It doesn't take but a few seconds," Cooke said.

A Georgia man shared an X-ray image this week showing an Apple Airpod inside her 7-year-old son's stomach. Kiera Stroud said the boy was holding one of the Bluetooth earbuds in his mouth when he accidentally swallowed it.

Doctors said the AirPod should travel naturally through the boy's digestive system and he is unlikely to require surgery.