A 13-year-old boy was hospitalized after eating dozens of high-powered magnets, according to a case report recently published in the New Zealand Medical Journal. As a result, the boy lost part of his intestine, the doctors wrote.
The boy, who was not identified in the case report, ate between 80 and 100 magnets. The “high-power” magnets were 5×2 millimeters each, according to the report.
After eating the magnets, the teen had widespread abdominal pain for four days. When he arrived at the hospital, he told doctors he had eaten the magnets about a week earlier. The hospital where he was treated was not identified in the report.
The case report did not say whether the boy explained why or how he ate the magnets.
New Zealand Medical Journal
Eating multiple magnets can be incredibly dangerous because they can stick together inside the body and cause organ damage or other complications. According to the report, patients who eat multiple magnets often need surgical intervention. High-powered magnets, often sold as desk toys for adults, are particularly risky. They can be five to 10 times stronger than traditional refrigerator magnets. CBS News reported in 2019.
Scans showed that the magnets had joined together to form four chains inside the teenager’s intestine and at the beginning of his large intestine. The number of magnets in his body disrupted some images, according to the report, so doctors proceeded with exploratory surgery.
During the operation, surgeons discovered that the magnetic chains caused pressure necrosis in the intestine and large intestine. Pressure necrosis occurs when tissue dies because there is too much pressure on it for a long period of time. The surgeons were able to successfully remove the magnets and the boy recovered from the operation. He was released after eight days in the hospital, according to the report.
The sale of these high-powered magnets has been permanently banned in New Zealand, but the ban is difficult to enforce because the magnets can be easily and cheaply purchased online, the report notes. The boy told doctors he bought the magnets from the Temu online site.
Temu told CBS News that they were “sorry to learn of the reported incident and wish the child a speedy and complete recovery.” TO
Temu’s spokesperson told CBS News on Saturday that they had not been able to independently verify whether the magnets were purchased from the site.
The company said after launching an internal review that listings currently available for shipping to New Zealand comply with the country’s regulations.
“While these products are legal to sell, they can be dangerous if ingested and we support efforts to raise public awareness about the safety of magnets,” the company said.
New Zealand Medical Journal 
“We take product safety very seriously and continually monitor our platform to ensure that sellers comply with the safety regulations of the marketplaces in which they do business,” the spokesperson said Friday.
Online retailers including Amazon and AliExpress list high-powered magnets available for shipping to New Zealand.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has worked to limit the sale of high-powered magnets in the United States. In 2014, the agency banned high-powered magnet sets, but it was overturned in court two years later. In September 2022, the agency established a mandatory safety standard for magnets. The rule sets a power limit for any product with loose or separable magnets, including those intended for entertainment and stress relief purposes.
The CPSC also calls magnets a security risk and has issued numerous recalls of products containing them.
