My Grandson Swallowed a marble....need Advice

How long has it been since he swallowed it? Often times it takes 2 or 3 days for things to go through the digestive system. Does the child have a "poop" every day, or just every so often? I would suggest taking him to his regular doctor and see what he says. But the ER doctor seems to me to be taking a proper approach-if it had been somthing sharp, that would be a whole different story. It might not be easy to see in a BM (poop) if the BM is large, so you may try holding a (fairly strong) magnet over the BM and see if you feel any pull. If you do, the metal is in there, even if you can't see it.

HI R.,

Our son swallowed a quarter and it took six weeks to "come out". Not to worry...these things sometimes take time. They advised us that surgery would only be necessary if a blockage occured; we had x-rays taken about every two weeks just to make sure. Everything worked out. What goes in...has to come out:)

Hope this helps...
K.

My son swallowed a marble about a month ago. Weird; it is common.....lol. Anyway, he took a long time to poop it out. It finally came out 3 weeks ago. I would check his poop everyday. But it came out. But with it in or out he was the same. However I was glad when it finally came out. Good luck. Lisa

Are you sure he did not poop it out? My 5 year old son swallowed a marble a few months ago. The marble was not obviously seen in the poop. My husband used a strainer to scoop the poop out and then ran it under hot water. 3 days later the marble appeared. Your grandson would first need an x-ray to determine if the marble is still there. It could've come out unnoticed. If it is, try an enema. That could possibly force it out.

If it has not been two weeks yet, don't worry. After two weeks, have an x- ray and confirm the marble is still in there. If it is, take the child to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist because these are the specialist that deal with these type of situations and very rarely surgery is needed.

I worked in the field since 1990.

My kids have swallowed marbles. It passes in thir stool. I usr to have them eat a dry bagel and somehow it pushes it out!!

it is highly unlikely that he will need to have the marble "surgically" removed by incision...IF they need to do anything, it will probably be by means of a tube like a colonoscopy (from below) or endoscopy (from above) to fish out the marble....I would say be patient, wait as long as the ER doc told you to wait...and then take him to the pediatrician's office for another x-ray to see what's going on. These type of things are very common and doctors see them all the time; they know how to handle it and certainly won't do anything unnecessary.

Are you ABSOLUTELY sure that it was only ONE marble.
There was an awful episode of Grey's Anatomy, based on a true story.
If kids swallow more than one of the magnetized metal magnets they can do enormous internal damage trying to get to each other!!!

Well, I first would say, a marble being so small, I think it's possible that he already passed it and no one even knew. If this is surely not the case, try applesauce, prune juice, or any other known laxatives.

The other thing I wanted to say is that while it's wonderful that you are a concerned grandma, in the end, even though you "don't want that" as far as surgery goes, it's your daughter's choice as to what's best for her son.

When I was younger I accidentally swallowed a peice of a metal ball. It goes right through your body the only thing that happens is when your body starts to break down the metal it becomes really hard to go to the bathroom. So if he hasnt already gone since you posted this message you might try giving him some stool softner so he wont be afraid to go. Good Luck!!

How long have you waited ? My son swallowed a penny and they told us he would poop it out in a couple of days but it took about a week and a half if I remember correctly (10 years ago). I do remember digging through his poop for a long time.

How about giving him some metamucil. That stuff is very gentle, but may soften him up enough for that marble to slither its way out. Maybe... just a thought.

Are you certain it hasn't passed in his poop? I'd speak to the pediatrician about it. I'd be concerned too if it didn't pass.

if the marble is metal
u might try using a magnet
my sis once stuck a metal button up her nose and they couldnt get it out, then the genius dr used a magnet to get it out.

crazy !!!