When Children Swallow Money. . .

[Mommy to monkeys]

So one of my 3 year old twins comes up to me this afternoon (he was supposed to be resting) and says, "I eat a money. Money is yucky." Meanwhile he's drooling like crazy and clutching his throat, so I throw everyone in the car and take them to urgent care. By the time we get there he's in good spirits but the x ray reveals a big circle in his tummy! Yuck! They think it's too big to be a dime or penny. . .so probably a quarter or nickel and said if he doesn't pass it in 2-3 days that he'll need a "procedure" to remove it. Procedure?! Dear Lord, what does that mean!? Please tell me some of y'all have been through this and what to expect.

 

UPDATE IN POST #44

[ktgrok]

Yup. My 18 month old swallowed a penny. So smaller coin, but also smaller kid. It did not pass, despite everyone telling us it would. It got stuck at the end of the esophogus actually, and thank heavens he has a high pain threshold because it probably hurt stuck there like that. For 10 days. Because they said it would pass. Sigh. 

 

He had them go in with an endoscope, under sedation,and they took it out. He was at the hospital two nights, the first night because they couldn't locate someone to do it before it got late, and at that point they just kept us there to be ready for early morning procedure. And the second night because it had been there so long it was starting to perforate the esophogus so they wanted to observe him for a bit. 

 

But he came through it like a champ, and I still have the penny :)

[ktgrok]

Yup. My 18 month old swallowed a penny. So smaller coin, but also smaller kid. It did not pass, despite everyone telling us it would. It got stuck at the end of the esophogus actually, and thank heavens he has a high pain threshold because it probably hurt stuck there like that. For 10 days. Because they said it would pass. Sigh. 

 

He had them go in with an endoscope, under sedation,and they took it out. He was at the hospital two nights, the first night because they couldn't locate someone to do it before it got late, and at that point they just kept us there to be ready for early morning procedure. And the second night because it had been there so long it was starting to perforate the esophogus so they wanted to observe him for a bit. 

 

But he came through it like a champ, and I still have the penny :)

[Mommy to monkeys]

Yup. My 18 month old swallowed a penny. So smaller coin, but also smaller kid. It did not pass, despite everyone telling us it would. It got stuck at the end of the esophogus actually, and thank heavens he has a high pain threshold because it probably hurt stuck there like that. For 10 days. Because they said it would pass. Sigh. 

 

He had them go in with an endoscope, under sedation,and they took it out. He was at the hospital two nights, the first night because they couldn't locate someone to do it before it got late, and at that point they just kept us there to be ready for early morning procedure. And the second night because it had been there so long it was starting to perforate the esophogus so they wanted to observe him for a bit. 

 

But he came through it like a champ, and I still have the penny :)

That is awful. :( 

DS's coin had passed from the stomach to the intestines, so  hopefully the hard part is over? I'm a paranoid person. We'll see. 

[EKS]

I swallowed a penny when I was 5 or so.  They took an x-ray and saw that it was in my stomach.  They told my mother to look through my poop until it emerged.  Which it did in a few days.  I kept the penny for years.  TMI, I know.

[Catwoman]

Did they tell you to feed him certain kinds of foods to help it pass more easily?

[Starr]

Ds passed a nickel at one or so. It can be done. I didn't even know he had swallowed it until I found it in his diaper.

[Mommy to monkeys]

I swallowed a penny when I was 5 or so.  They took an x-ray and saw that it was in my stomach.  They told my mother to look through my poop until it emerged.  Which it did in a few days.  I kept the penny for years.  TMI, I know.

My older children are horrified that I'll be digging through his excrement. Their disgust is very amusing to me. I may save the coin simply to irk them.

 

Did they tell you to feed him certain kinds of foods to help it pass more easily?

They didn't but I did give ds grape juice and oatmeal with flax seed meal for supper. . .

[El...]

Oh no!   :grouphug: I hope it shows up on its own. 

[Mommy to monkeys]

Ds passed a nickel at one or so. It can be done. I didn't even know he had swallowed it until I found it in his diaper.

I've found many things in diapers (stickers, lady bugs etc) but never any money. Perhaps I should be grateful this is my first rodeo with swallowing coins.

[Word Nerd]

My DD coughed up the dime she choked on at 3. So scary when they do stuff like that.

 

I hope it passes easily.

[Okra]

Oh my....let us know how it goes!  I certainly hope you find it.  LOL  I know that's not a fun job.

[MomtoCandJ]

We jokingly call my youngest brother the pooping slot machine. He decided one day to "drink" the change jar under my great grandma's care... He did pass it all.

[Stacia]

:grouphug: :grouphug:

[Tanaqui]

The real fun starts when you have to check his poop. Better you than me! Poor baby, I hope this all is resolved quickly.

[SproutMamaK]

My oldest swallowed a LOONIE (Canadian $1 coin), which is a fair bit larger than a quarter. He passed it, but not without a fair bit of pain in the passing. We were pretty lucky though.

[AmandaVT]

My brother swallowed a quarter when he was little - he passed it out without any issues. Fingers crossed that your little guy has a similar experience!

[Kerileanne99]

Oh, that is frightening:( I hope all is well and that you will someday never be able to say with a straight face 'This too shall pass.'

 

ETA: we THOUGHT dd5 swallowed a penny when she was two. The doctor had me checking through her poop for 10 days before doing an X-ray. Turns out she never swallowed it! Ugh.

[Mommy to monkeys]

We jokingly call my youngest brother the pooping slot machine. He decided one day to "drink" the change jar under my great grandma's care... He did pass it all.

Oh. my. goodness. DS has a new nickname. He will henceforth be know as my little slot machine.

 

The real fun starts when you have to check his poop. Better you than me! Poor baby, I hope this all is resolved quickly.

You know, I don't even care. I'd so rather go treasure hunting (with latex gloves) than go to the ER.

 

My oldest swallowed a LOONIE (Canadian $1 coin), which is a fair bit larger than a quarter. He passed it, but not without a fair bit of pain in the passing. We were pretty lucky though.

ACK. That's good to know. I hope we are as lucky.

 

Oh, that is frightening:( I hope all is well and that you will someday never be able to say with a straight face 'This too shall pass.'

 

ETA: we THOUGHT dd5 swallowed a penny when she was two. The doctor had me checking through her poop for 10 days before doing an X-ray. Turns out she never swallowed it! Ugh.

"This too shall pass"- too funny!!

Ugh, I wonder why the doctor didn't do an x ray immediately! What a pain. . .but a hilarious story to tell at dd's wedding. 

[justasque]

Since we're homeschoolers and all, here's an article about swallowing things, which references both a book on the topic and a potential relevant field trip venue - the Mutter Museum, which holds a collection of 2,374 things retrieved from other people's innards over the course of one doctor's career.  

[beaners]

At 3 one of my girls swallowed a wing nut! She took it off her reading lamp and put it in her mouth and accidentally swallowed it. She and her sister came out to see me and said they couldn't find it in the room, and maybe she had it in her mouth, and maybe she swallowed it. A few days before they couldn't find a small toy and I heard the same story but I found the toy in their blanket, so I thought it was a weird phase where they blamed things disappearing on being eaten. This time I couldn't find it. Confirmation two days later that she had indeed swallowed it. The lamp was never reassembled.

[foxbridgeacademy]

We (I was in a mixed ages Christian School) swallowed coins (quarters too) on a dare several times when I was 6 or 7 ish. They all passed no problem. Nephew passed several pennies at once when he was 1 1/2, sister didn't even realize he'd eaten them.  

[goldberry]

My older children are horrified that I'll be digging through his excrement. Their disgust is very amusing to me.

 

Yeah, because catching vomit with our hands just isn't enough proof of motherhood...

 

Ah, the things we do... ;)

[gardenmom5]

mine passed it.  their throat hurt long after, becasue, well, it's a solid circular object that doesn't fit the esphagus very well. . . . .

[Guest]

My youngest brother swallowed a nickel. No one had any idea anything was wrong until he woke from a nap and sat up. When he would sit he couldn't breathe and when he laid down he was fine. They ended up having to get it out under sedation because when he would sit up, it was just the right size that it would flip down and cover his esophagus. My older brother swallowed many coins and they all came out just fine. :)

[Serenade]

Heck, I can't even get my kids to swallow a pill, and one of them is 15.  A coin is a major feat!  I wonder if I tell 'em that kids swallow coins and don't choke if they'll finally believe me that they won't choke on a pill.

[luuknam]

Since we're homeschoolers and all, here's an article about swallowing things, which references both a book on the topic and a potential relevant field trip venue - the Mutter Museum, which holds a collection of 2,374 things retrieved from other people's innards over the course of one doctor's career.  

 

I heard B telling C the other day that he could swallow pencils. I was actually planning on posting about that on here, as a "now we know where all those disappearing pencils go" thing.

 

That said, I'm sure it's just one of the many weird things my kids say. They haven't ever swallowed anything inedible afaik (nor have I). I haven't had to worry about keeping little things out of reach of little kids since they were 1 or so. I hope the coin comes out just fine.

[lamolina]

My son swallowed a quarter when he was 5. It took longer than they expected but he did eventually pass it. The funny thing was he also somehow discovered he could track the quarter through his body using a metal detector. So he also took himself for show and tell so his class got to hear his belly beep.

[skimomma]

As far as I know dd never ate coins.  But I used to as a kid.  Many times.  And no one knew.  I was around 4-5 years old and every time I would find a coin around the house (or anywhere else for that matter), I would eat it.  I have no idea why or what I was thinking.  I did have a mouse-shaped piggy bank that you put the coins into his mouth......  Anyway, looking back, I probably ate at least 50 coins, mostly pennies, dimes, and nickels.  Nothing ever happened.  Maybe I still have them!

[Amber in SJ]

My dd swallowed a penny around 2yo.  She was still using the little potty, so I resigned myself to looking for the penny for the next week.  2 days later I am telling the story at park day and the other moms started asking me;

 

"What did the doctor say?"

 

I thought to myself, "Why would I call the doctor?"

 

But the other moms made me feel like a bad mom (this was my first) so I called.  The advice nurse asked me,

 

"What was the date on the penny?"

 

What?  How would I know that?  She then proceeded to tell me that pennies made after a certain date had a higher zinc content that could burn a hole in my child's stomach or intestine!  By this point I was feeling like the worst parent ever.  I asked for the doctor to call me back and spent the next two hours imagining a penny sitting there burning a hole in my precious baby's stomach!  I started feeding her anything I could think of to make her go; cherries, prunes, apricots, pears.  The doctor called me back, listened to my concerns and then, without making me feel foolish, proceeded to tell me that as long as she was eating normally & her toilet habits were regular, the chances of a penny sitting somewhere long enough to burn a hole were nonexistent and that it would be very painful for the child if it were to happen and she would let us know.  He said as long as she wasn't in any pain I should just keep an eye out for the penny, just as I planned on doing.  It appeared the next day.  

 

I still miss that doctor.  

 

My second dd never swallowed anything.  Everything went right up her nose.  Dimes, dried beans, pompoms, small rocks, you name it, up her nose it went.  A whole 'other story :)

 

I will keep my fingers crossed that your coin will make an appearance soon.

 

Amber in SJ

[Mommy to monkeys]

Since we're homeschoolers and all, here's an article about swallowing things, which references both a book on the topic and a potential relevant field trip venue - the Mutter Museum, which holds a collection of 2,374 things retrieved from other people's innards over the course of one doctor's career.  

I may have nightmares about this!  :lol:

 

The lamp was never reassembled.

 

Poor lamp! It seems as though it's impossible to remove every chocking hazard from the grasps of these little ones! Toddlers are exhausting.

My son swallowed a quarter when he was 5. It took longer than they expected but he did eventually pass it. The funny thing was he also somehow discovered he could track the quarter through his body using a metal detector. So he also took himself for show and tell so his class got to hear his belly beep.

Hold the phones. I may need to go out and buy a metal detector just for this.

 

My dd swallowed a penny around 2yo.  She was still using the little potty, so I resigned myself to looking for the penny for the next week.  2 days later I am telling the story at park day and the other moms started asking me;

 

"What did the doctor say?"

 

I thought to myself, "Why would I call the doctor?"

 

But the other moms made me feel like a bad mom (this was my first) so I called.  The advice nurse asked me,

 

"What was the date on the penny?"

 

What?  How would I know that?  She then proceeded to tell me that pennies made after a certain date had a higher zinc content that could burn a hole in my child's stomach or intestine!  By this point I was feeling like the worst parent ever.  I asked for the doctor to call me back and spent the next two hours imagining a penny sitting there burning a hole in my precious baby's stomach!  I started feeding her anything I could think of to make her go; cherries, prunes, apricots, pears.  The doctor called me back, listened to my concerns and then, without making me feel foolish, proceeded to tell me that as long as she was eating normally & her toilet habits were regular, the chances of a penny sitting somewhere long enough to burn a hole were nonexistent and that it would be very painful for the child if it were to happen and she would let us know.  He said as long as she wasn't in any pain I should just keep an eye out for the penny, just as I planned on doing.  It appeared the next day.  

 

I still miss that doctor.  

 

My second dd never swallowed anything.  Everything went right up her nose.  Dimes, dried beans, pompoms, small rocks, you name it, up her nose it went.  A whole 'other story :)

 

I will keep my fingers crossed that your coin will make an appearance soon.

 

Amber in SJ

Oh my gosh! I was panicking reading this story until you got to the end! Level headed doctors make the world a better place.

 

I'm still waiting y'all. I got to do one treasure hunt today. No treasure yet. :crying:

[fdrinca]

DS swallowed a penny when he was 5. I do think the age of the child makes a difference in the ease of passing (along with coin size, of course).

 

Advice: use the little potty, get a stash of disposable gloves, and craft Popsicle-style sticks. 

 

We turned DS's penny into a magnet that's still on our refrigerator, which I thought was really weird until I saw some of these other posts. (To be fair, the digestion process had changed the penny's appearance...we all thought it was pretty cool. Bonus science lesson?)

[abba12]

Heck, I can't even get my kids to swallow a pill, and one of them is 15.  A coin is a major feat!  I wonder if I tell 'em that kids swallow coins and don't choke if they'll finally believe me that they won't choke on a pill.

 

I didn't swallow pills until I was 19, and that was ONLY because I got an unexplained pain for two weeks that had me taking three different medications, with doses of one of them being every 4 hours, and my husband all but forced me to figure out how. He started by cutting the pills into quarters and having me swallow the quarters one at a time. Tedious, but by the end of two weeks I could swallow 2 half-pills at once (but not a whole pill...), and eventually progressed to now being able to swallow those freaking huge pregnancy vitamins. 

 

I will say though, that it was a genuine gag reflex that I simply could not get over. I WANTED to swallow pills, I'd tried throughout my teenage years. It was involuntary. Starting with quarter pills helped. 

[Meriwether]

Dd12 swallowed a penny when she was almost 3. I never saw it pass, but I assume it did.

[abba12]

Is it bad I keep checking this thread for an update? Waiting for the olders reaction when you find it :P

[Annie G]

OP, please get a Hershey bar and let a piece of it melt on your hands and then walk to where your older kids are and happily announce that little one has passed the coin! And then lick your fingers.  

[Catwoman]

Is it bad I keep checking this thread for an update? Waiting for the olders reaction when you find it :P

I keep checking for an update, too!

[Word Nerd]

"What was the date on the penny?"

:lol:

[Guest]

Hey, he could begin a promising career as a Professional Regurgitater...

[Jean in Newcastle]

Hey, he could begin a promising career as a Professional Regurgitater...

Somebody's been watching AGT. . .

[Guest]

Somebody's been watching AGT. . .

 

Sort of. My kids love that show and thought that was just the most amazing act imaginable. (From what they told me, it was pretty amazing.) But I didn't watch it myself. I can't watch someone swallow and bring back assorted objects as amusement.

[Mommy to monkeys]

DS swallowed a penny when he was 5. I do think the age of the child makes a difference in the ease of passing (along with coin size, of course).

 

Advice: use the little potty, get a stash of disposable gloves, and craft Popsicle-style sticks. 

 

We turned DS's penny into a magnet that's still on our refrigerator, which I thought was really weird until I saw some of these other posts. (To be fair, the digestion process had changed the penny's appearance...we all thought it was pretty cool. Bonus science lesson?)

I don't know for certain what type of coin is in there. It will certainly be interesting to find out. A science lesson would be a plus. I intend on milking this experience for everything it's worth.

 

Is it bad I keep checking this thread for an update? Waiting for the olders reaction when you find it :p

I will definitely be back for an update when/if it passes. I was told to wait 2-3 days and then head to the hospital ER with our x-ray in hand. :( Tomorrow will be day 3. If HE doesn't "go" before about 3 or so in the afternoon, we'll have to go see what's going on.

 

OP, please get a Hershey bar and let a piece of it melt on your hands and then walk to where your older kids are and happily announce that little one has passed the coin! And then lick your fingers.  

Bahaha! This is indeed something I'd do. 

[bibiche]

Since we're homeschoolers and all, here's an article about swallowing things, which references both a book on the topic and a potential relevant field trip venue - the Mutter Museum, which holds a collection of 2,374 things retrieved from other people's innards over the course of one doctor's career.  

 

This is such a fabulous museum - absolutely worth a field trip, wherever you are. 

 

And OP, they do say a fool and his money are soon parted.  Here's to hoping it is true. ;) 

[Mommy to monkeys]

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

 

A PENNY saved is a penny earned!!!

 

It passed and "it" was a 1988 penny!!

The victim/patient was fascinated as he watched me search and exclaimed, "I pooped the money! I pooped the money!" as soon as I found it.

My older kids came running and feigned disgust although I know they were mesmerized. It is a bit like a train wreck. Hard not to look.

I'm considering putting the x ray and penny in a display complete with track lighting. . .

[Spryte]

Yay!!!!!!

[itsheresomewhere]

So glad the "deposit" came. ;)

[Catwoman]

:hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

 

Thank goodness!!!

[Stacia]

Glad it turned out to be a non-issue. Unless the little one decides that the fame & fun of pooping money is a motivation to try it again... :tongue_smilie: :lol:

 

:grouphug:

[bwdiaz]

I am not glad you had this mom experience but so glad you posted. I spend a few minutes quietly with my girls each evening in "let's talk about our day" mode. Three nights ago DD 4.5 said her imaginary red haired friend ate money in the car. I tried not to freak out but I had to use all my wits to see if DD actually did or didn't. The ability to get my kids to confess to stuff is really beyond my ken so the conversation went more like:

 

Me (thinking she's playing): Really? What kind of money was it?

DD: A pretty penny. Moo Moo (big sister 6.5) put it in my mouth.

Me: Wait, what? Did you eat the money or your red haired friend?

DD: No I didn't eat money.

Me: But you said Moo put it in your mouth?

DD: No I didn't eat it.

Me: Did you two have a penny in the car?

DD: Yes.

Me: What happened to it?

DD: We gave it to my red haired friend.

Me (a little worried): Is this a real penny or a pretend penny?

DD: A real penny but it's gone now.

Me: Where did the penny go?

DD (starting to pick up that something was wrong): Um, um, I don't know.

Me: Are you sure you didn't eat the penny?

DD: Yes. No, I didn't eat the penny.

Me (ugh ugh ugh): It could make you sick to eat money. Are you sure you didn't eat the penny?

DD: No.

Me: Tell your red hair friend that only food is for eating. No eating money.

DD (looking really concerned now): Ok. What happens if you eat money?

Me: We go to the doctor and they take pictures to see where the money is. Sometimes it comes out in your poop and sometimes they have to take it out.

DD (thinks this over and then): But no doctor if you don't eat money?

Me: Right. And you didn't eat any money right?

DD: Right. (But said in a way that really makes me think she's either not sure or this isn't the whole story.)

Me: Look, if you ate money I promise I won't get mad. Sometimes we do things by mistake, but if you ate the penny then I need to know so I can take care of you.

DD: No I didn't eat money.

Me: But Moo Moo put it in your mouth?

DD: No she didn't!

Me: {face palm}?!?!?

 

So, twenty minutes later, I get the chance to question the sister who absolutely cannot lie. She claimed she has no knowledge of the penny and never put anything in her sister's mouth.

 

I have no idea what happened but I'm glad not to be alone in inappropriate swallowing land.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

[flyingiguana]

I swallowed a penny when I was 3 (I think - could have been earlier). 

 

That was the last I ever heard of it.

 

If my mom went looking for it, she never told me about it.  I still wonder if it's there.

 

She DID put a penny in my underwear for me to find the next morning so *I* would think it came out.  So I must have been upset about it.  As I recall, it was an accident.  But if you suck on a penny all the time, it's bound to get swallowed.  I don't know why my mother encouraged such a thing.