A 13-year-old boy was hospitalized after eating a large number of high-powered magrets, according to a report recently published in the New Zealand Medical Journal. The boy lost part of his pelvis as a result, doctors wrote.
The boy, who was not identified in the report, ate between 80 and 100. The “high-strength” magnets were 5×2 meters each, the report said.
After eating the magnets, the teenager had a regular stomach ache for four days. When he arrived at the hospital, he told the doctors that he had eaten magnets about a week before. The hospital where he was treated was not identified in this report.
The case report did not say that the boy explained why he ate the magnets.
New Zealand Medical Journal
Eating too many magnets can be very dangerous because they can bind together inside the body and cause organ damage or other problems. Patients who consume too many magnets often require surgical intervention, according to the report. Strong magnets, often marketed as desktop toys for adults, are particularly dangerous. It can be five to 10 times more powerful than a traditional refrigerator, CBS News reported in 2019.
The scan showed that the magnets were connected to four chains inside the teenager’s intestines and at the beginning of his large stomach. The number of magnets in his body interfered with some thinking, the report said, so doctors continued with exploratory surgery.
During the operation, the surgeons found chains of magnets that caused pressure necrosis in the intestines and large intestine. Stress Necrosis occurs when tissue dies because there is too much stress on it for a long time. Surgeons were able to successfully remove the magnets, and the boy made a full recovery. He was released after eight days in the hospital, the report said.
The sale of these powered magnets has been banned permanently in New Zealand, but the ban is difficult to enforce because the magnets can be easily bought and purchased online, the report noted. The boy told the doctors that he bought magnets from the online site tem.
Tem told CBB news that he was “sorry to read about the reported incident and wishes the boy a speedy recovery.” A
Tem’s spokesperson told CBBS News Saturday
The company said that after launching an internal review it found that the list currently available in New Zealand complies with the country’s laws.
“While these products are approved for sale, they can be dangerous if swallowed and we support efforts to raise public awareness about the safety of figures,” the company said.
New Zealand Medical Journal 
“We take product security very seriously and continuously review our platform to ensure that sellers are complying with the security laws of the markets in which they do business,” a spokesperson for the agency said on Friday.
Internet retailers, including Amazon and AliExpress, list high-strength magnets as available for shipment to New Zealand.
The US Product Safety Commission has acted to limit the sale of super-powered magnets in the United States. In 2014, the agency issued a ban on high-powered magnetic sets, but it was overturned in court two years later. In September 2022, the organization established a mandatory safety standard. The law limits the strength of any product with loose or detached magthes, including those intended for purposes including recreational and stress relief.
The CPSC is also calling magnets a safety hazard and has issued several recalls of products containing them.
