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Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rajkot, recently removed a sharp metal pin lodged in the small intestine of a 12-year-old girl who had accidentally swallowed it. 5 Oct 2026 | 12:06 Her case highlights a parenting risk that can be easy to overlook: children do not have to be toddlers to accidentally swallow dangerous objects.
Sharp objects such as needles, pins, nails and screws can become lodged in the digestive system or puncture its lining, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ parenting resource HealthyChildren.org. Imagine your child suddenly going quiet while playing with a toy, a craft kit or a sewing box. You notice nothing unusual until hours later, when the child complains of stomach pain. There is no dramatic choking episode, no obvious injury and perhaps no one even saw what happened. But somewhere inside the digestive tract, a tiny metal object could be causing damage. The girl, from Gujarat’s Junagadh district, had persistent abdominal pain and was discharged a day after doctors removed the object through endoscopy, without major surgery. And even when a child appears fine immediately afterwards, the absence of symptoms does not always mean everything is alright. Children may swallow objects while playing, experimenting, crafting or simply holding something between their lips. Coins, sewing needles, pins, toy components, jewellery, button batteries and small magnets are among the objects that can end up in a child’s digestive tract. Button batteries and magnets present different dangers and require particular urgency. The location of the object matters, too. A swallowed object may remain in the food pipe, enter the stomach or travel farther into the intestines. In the Gujarat case, the pin was found in the duodenum, the first section of the small intestine beyond the stomach. Doctors used endoscopy to locate and remove it. However, endoscopy is not suitable for every swallowed object or every situation. Treatment depends on the object’s size, shape, location, the time since ingestion and the child’s condition.
Because it is small, the lesson for parents is simple: never assume that a swallowed object will pass naturally just. A sharp pin, a button battery and a smooth plastic bead are not the same medical problem. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test Get the latest Lifestyle News and more. Download the TOI app.