Can your child swallow a quarter?
Because mine can. Which I discovered yesterday after he came to me clutching his chest, sobbing that he had.
I was skeptical for a moment, wondering if he really knew what he was saying. Besides, he had learned long ago ago not to put money or other non-food objects in his mouth. But then I remembered that childhood lessons are often learned through experience because parental council is ignored.
I pulled out a nickel, dime, penny and quarter and asked him to point the one he had swallowed. Yes, he pointed to the quarter and it was then that I called the doctor. I assumed she would tell me it would just pass on through and to not worry, instead she told me to take him to the ER immediately.
I grabbed the baby, called the hubby and took my kids out the door. I figured the situation was not immediately life threatening so was pretty calm until my 4 year old boy looked up at me and said with tears in his eyes, “Aw miss you.”
“What do you mean you’ll miss me?” I asked
“Cause I gonna died,” he said.
Yeah. I lost it.
“You are not going to die sweetie. You’ll be ok.” I said as we both cried.
Once at the hospital the ER staff was quick and friendly. They took an x-ray of Obi Wan’s tummy and we saw the quarter sitting in his tummy (darn that I didn’t have my camera on me to show you how big it looked in his little body). He thought that was very cool.
They made us walk around for another hour to make sure the quarter could move past the sphincter (which if it didn’t we would have been transferred to another hospital to have it removed using a scope).
Thankfully, the x-ray taken an hour later showed that the quarter had moved into his intestines. Upon being discharged the nurse explained what symptoms to watch for that would tell us if it got stuck, but she reassured us that it really ought to pass through fine and get pooped out in a couple of days. Upon hearing this Obi-Wan, in his high pitched loud voice yelled, “COME OUT IN MY POOP?!?!?!?!? Oh, I gotta go poop wight now!” A chorus of laughter could be heard from patients, nurses and doctors. Yeah, that’s my boy.
I can’t tell you how thankful I am he swallowed it whole instead of choking on it. Now I suppose it’s time to clean out the couches so he’s not tempted by anymore stray coins.
:heart: 
Oh, Summer! You made me cry (literally, I was bawling here), and then you made me laugh right through the tears. I’m so glad he’s okay! And I never realized how important it would be to go to the ER with coin swallowing. I’ll remember that!
I’m so glad he was ok! My great grandmother swallowed a nickel. It was lodged in her throat for over a year. She lived on basically milk and broth. Finally there was a doctor who agreed to try and remove it. He was successful. We have the newspaper article that was written about her. I guess it was pretty amazing news in the late 1800s!
Somehow I don’t think that poop will be much fun.
is it strange that i am looking forward to your post about when you find it ???
Oh, they say the darndest things don’t they? Wow, a quarter is so big too. I’m so glad it didn’t get stuck. I guess this means he’ll be excited to use the potty all weekend, right?
What a gifted child! Mine didn’t swallow quarters, but they did stick beads and straws and other items up their noses.
Oh my! I feel your pain and anxiety. It’s amazing what kids will put in their mouths isn’t it?
Is it bad that your post made me laugh? Oh my gosh! I am glad that he’s gonna be a-ok though. Do you have to make sure the quarter passes? Cuz I’m gonna say that I think I would probably say it isn’t worth it. As long as you aren’t showing the symptoms the nurse talked about, that quarter’s being flushed. Oh my!
Oh hun! Owie!
We had Emma into the hospital the other day and they printed a copy of the x-rays for us. Just gas, but oi, was I freaked out! So glad he’s okay!
Sometimes kids really do have to learn lessons on their own.
I hope the passage isn’t too painful for him!
Oh my gosh! I’m glad he’s OK!
How scary! I’m glad he is OK! Hope everything “comes out” OK :)
holy moly that is so scary!! i’m so glad he’s okay!
Oh my gosh. I would have completely lost it when he said those words. Because, you know… what if he “knew”? I know, it went without saying and then I had to say it. Sorry.
Hope it doesn’t hurt too bad :( Poor guy!
My boy swallowed a penny…well, I thought he had just swallowed one penny. I guess since a penny isn’t as big as a quarter it wasn’t as urgent to go to the ER. The doctor told me to watch for it and if I hadn’t seen it come out within a week I needed to take him in for X-rays. That was one of the worst things…finding a penny in his poop. Well, almost a week to the day I found two pennies. To this day he still tells me that he doesn’t want me to smash his poop to find the penny…”I want it big Mommy!” Anyway, I am glad your boy is OK. What a joy! Good luck treasure hunting…latex gloves work great.
Oh my goodness! What a story! Especially the “Aw miss you”, I bet your heart stopped right there. And then the “I’m gonna poop right now!” LOL, that’s great.
I’m glad he should be okay! This was such a cute story - so glad he is going to be okay. Have a good Mother’s Day Summer - see you later - Kellan
Scary!!!! I’m so glad it turned out good and that now he has a cool story to tell. A quarter is really big.
This post scares me! I can so see Baby Boy doing this! I’m so glad that Obi Wan didn’t have to have it scoped!
What an experience!! I’m so glad that it passed the stomach alright and you didn’t need surgery. His poop comment made me laugh out loud. Little kids are so funny.
Oh, my goodness! That IS so scary, especially when the doctor says to go to the ER now, and he thinks he’s going to die. I’m glad it didn’t have to be scoped out. I had a friend (a grown woman) swallow a straight pin. That made a great story.
Mickey and I are laughing so hard we’re crying…
Buy some latex gloves, won’t you please, Dearie?
Oh my. I’m glad that it seems to be passing ok and hope that everything comes out fine on the ‘other end’. I caught Hannah with a penny in her mouth the other day, which was just crazy because I was sure that she knew better. Guess not.
There was an old joke about a kid who swallowed a quarter and a week later his father said that there was no change.
More than 55 years ago, I swallowed a metal screw that I found on the floor of our brand new Studebaker. I remember how shiny and bright it was - so shiny that I had to put it in my mouth to feel its sparkling smoothness on my tongue. I rolled it around, feeling the contrast between the shiny smooth head and the rough grooves of the threads, turning it over in my mouth, feeling its sharp point. And then I was so surprised when it disappeared. Where did it go? About this time my mother discovered me with a funny look on my face. “What did you do?” she asked. “I fwawwo de nawo” I sobbed (2 1/2-year-old speak for ‘I swallowed the nail’ - I didn’t know the word for screw but I knew it was sort of like a nail)
So we rushed off to the hospital where an xray showed the screw descending through my intestines with its head downward. The doctors told my mother to feed me oatmeal and applesauce. She had me use a little metal chamber pot so she could hear the screw clink against the metal when it came out… Which is did in a few days…
When I put it in my mouth it had been so very shiny but now it was rusty and pitted from stomach acid… My mother kept both the x-ray and the screw among other family objects (a collar from the much-loved dog who passed away in 1963, the key to my brother’s trombone case, a 12″ braid of my sister’s hair that she chopped off in a whim). When we cleaned out her house last year, it was finally time to toss them away…
So, yes, kids do swallow stuff. And, yes, they do live to tell about it!
Oh noooooooo!!!! Poor little guy! :( I attempted to swallow a penny when I was his age and ended up with it in my windpipe. A really fun ER visit for my mom…
So glad he’s OK!!
EEK!
I once did that! You must have been so scared! Awww!
I’m so happy he’s O.K.
My grandosn swallowed a quater that was meant to be spent on a gum ball, as of yet he has not passed it. He said it hurt after he swallowed it but drank some sprite and soon he felt fine, no doctor or ER visit but still praying it will be passed. We are keeping a close watch over him. Glad all your kids are ok, I feel alittle better reading your stories. Kids! Never a dull moment, but love them so much.
Debbie,
My son swallowed a quarter 11 days ago. He still did not passed it. Debbie, can you tell me if your grandson passed it out? If so, how many days did it take? I a very worried.
i am 49+ years old i swallowed a screw,i was repairng my electric stove when i took a pain killer in to drink i put the tablet on down to repair my stove took the screw in my hand went for the water and threw the screw instead of the tablet in my mouth swallow is and all to see the tablet still lying on the cupboard i did not pannick all i did is drank some laxertive hoping it will pass out some day.
My 2 year old swallow a quarter last night, except it got caught in his throat. The 10 seconds where he was not breathing were the worst 10 seconds of my life. The quarter moved down, slightly above his sternum, on the way to the emergency room. When in the waiting room of the ER, he again gagged, then vomitted and the quarter came out and rolled on the ground. This is my fifth child and I have been through surgeries, stitches, broken bones and most everything else. Nothing even comes close to the panic I had for those 10 seconds when he was gasping for air.
my 10 yr old just swallowed a quarter - I can’t believe he did this
it is beyond me how he could do this
I called the nurse she said to go to the ER - he isn’t vomiting or in pain
I hope it just passes at least he is older
Believe it or not I found your blog as I was searching for info after our 10 (yes i said TEN) year old’s trip to the ER last night for the same reason …. in his case he was trying to do a ‘gross out’ trick for his brother and sister and it backfired!
Still waiting for the POOP!!!
Certain boys just have a special gift — we have a collection of X-Rays, but this is the first one of something swallowed in the stomach …. don’t believe age will necessary instill common sense!
My 4 year daugher swallowed a dime on Wednesday night, I called the doctor, he mentioed that if the dime did not pass through her poop bring her to office for X-ray, since wednesday my daugher had only one poop and no dime yet, it seems she is afraid to go to bathroom anymore, I just gave her some prune juice hoping tonight we’ll find the dime in her poop, I feel so helpless not to be able to help her as much as I want, let ’s what happens tonight.
i recently swallowed a quarter and nickel at the same time by accident- long story, don’t ask and I’m 13
My 9 yr. old son just swallowed a quarter this past weekend and like you when he came running out to tell us,I said ‘are you sure?” and he says “yes mom,it was a quarter”but he was speaking ok and could breath ok but off to the after hours clinic we went and they sent us to the ER where we went for Xrays and there it was in his esaphagus standing up so we were admitted to see if it would move down to his belly on his own by the morning.Well the next morning back to Xray and it was still just sitting there so into operating room we went where they scoped it out.Definately has been a learning lesson,one my son will never forget,nor will his dad and I.
My 8 year old daughter swallowed a quarter 3 days ago during gym class. She didn’t have a pocket so, she put it in her mouth??!! I took her to the hospital for x rays which showed it sitting in her stomach. 3 days later, its still sitting in the same place>>> her stomach. Being a nurse, I know of all the dangers so I discussed my concerns with her pediatrician, (as well as some of the docs I work with- who by the way think it needs to be removed, since it obviously isn’t moving) Since it hasn’t moved passed the stomach into her intestines in 3 days, the likelihood of it passing is small. However there is a risk it could become lodged and cause an obstruction… NOT good! Once our pedi doc called Cincy Childrens and consulted a pedi GI doc, he changed his tune and states we should wait another week, then have her re-scanned. This doesn’t seem very prudent as it could be removed via scope (EGD), this has some risks but is nowhere near as risky as the risks associated with surgically removing it, in the event it becomes lodged in the intestines. Bottom line is that this GI doc was consulted Saturday afternoon- he was on call of course. Apparently he is unwilling to come in to work, since he’s on call at home. I find his attitude and my daughter’s pediatrician’s sudden change of opinion relating to the urgency very disturbing! Shame on these so called medical professionals for taking such a cavalier attitude regarding a child’s health. So, according to this pedi GI doc, all the docs I work with are wrong! Interesting huh? I guess on Monday, he’ll have a different attitude.