NHS wants tiny magnets banned after TikTok trend
The tiny magnetic balls are being used to fake body piercings but could be life threatening
The latest TikTok trend has led to an NHS call for tiny magnetic balls to be banned.
The magnets are being used as fake tongue piercings but the NHS want them banned after a rise in people swallowing them.
The video prank sees people placing two magnetic balls on either side of their tongue and wiggling them around to look like a real piercing.
Swallowing magnets can cause major damage to your body though, ingesting more than one magnet can be life-threatening and cause significant damage within hours, as the balls are forced together in the intestines or bowels, squeezing the tissue so that the blood supply is cut off.
At least 65 children have been admitted to hospital in England for urgent surgery in the last three years after swallowing magnets, leading the NHS to issue a patient safety alert earlier this month.
NHS wants a ban
Professor Simon Kenny, paediatric surgeon and national clinical director for children and young people at NHS England, wants the magnets – which are widely sold as creative toys – to be banned.
He said: “There is nothing fun for children or their parents about surgery to remove magnets that have been swallowed and become stuck together through different parts of the intestines, or the long-term physical problems and internal scarring that can be left behind.
“I would urge parents to be aware of the dangers associated with magnetic toys but ultimately, the only way we can prevent future incidents is to stop these items being sold altogether.”
According to the NHS, there has been a rise in hospital admissions among older children as teenagers take part in the online craze.
Unlike traditional magnets, the tiny balls, which are less than 6mm in diameter, are powerful in magnetism and can be easily swallowed.
Natasha Crookes, of the British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA), said: “The BTHA believes the law should change to classify these types of products as toys so they have to meet strict toy safety regulations.
“That would mean a change in design to ensure the magnets are covered by a casing too large to swallow.”
The NHS has urged people not to wait for symptoms if magnets are swallowed and said they should seek help at A&E immediately.