A 13-year-old boy swallowed 80–100 small magnets, requiring emergency abdominal surgery
The magnets caused severe internal injury by pulling the bowel together
Despite bans, high-powered magnets are still easy to buy online
TUESDAY, Oct. 28, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A young boy in New Zealand needed emergency surgery and lost part of his bowel after swallowing more than 80 small, high-powered magnets, according to a new case report published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.
Doctors said the boy swallowed between 80 and 100 neodymium magnets, each just a few millimeters wide. Once inside his digestive tract, the magnets clumped together and pulled sections of his bowel toward each other, causing severe internal damage.
Four days after enduring severe stomach pain, the teen sought medical care.
Scans showed that the magnets had formed four chains inside his abdomen, binding parts of the bowel together.
Surgeons performed an emergency operation to remove the magnets and the damaged tissue. The boy spent eight days recovering in the hospital before being discharged, the report stated.
New Zealand and Australia have banned sales of high-powered magnets, but experts say the products remain widely available online with few age restrictions.
The boy told doctors he bought the magnets through the online retailer Temu, though the company told CNN it could not verify the claim.
“As a precaution, we reviewed the photo of the magnets published in the Journal and checked listings of similar products on our platform. The magnets currently available are compliant with New Zealand regulations, and such products are also sold through other major online and physical retailers,” a Temu spokesperson told CNN.
“While these products are lawful to sell, they can be dangerous if swallowed and we support efforts to raise public awareness about magnet safety,” the company added.
In the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has implemented a mandatory safety standard limiting the magnetic strength of small, separable magnets used in products.
The agency has also recalled several magnet-based toys that pose ingestion risks.
More information
Children's Mercy has more on swallowed magnets.
SOURCE: CNN, Oct. 27, 2025
Experts say the case shows how even tiny magnets can cause life-threatening injuries if swallowed.
Originally published on healthday.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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