A terrified mum has issued a warning to parents after her daughter accidentally swallowed magnets while trying out a viral TikTok trend.
Kelly Sheldon, 33, said Tia, 14, had initially stuck two magnetic balls together around her tongue at school, as part of a wildfire craze that spread on social media. The trend asks children to fix the magnets around their mouths, lips and nose to replicate the look of pierced jewellery worn by adults.
However, Kelly said her daughter Tia forgot to remove the magnets when she took a swig of water and was rushed to the hospital on the advice of NHS call handlers after they passed down her throat.
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X-rays revealed the magnets had fused together in the teen’s lower chest area, and doctors said they'd hopefully pass out of her system naturally with time. But they also told Kelly that if the magnets did separate, they could go on to “pierce” her organs, leaving the mum very "concerned" for her daughter’s health.
She said: “If the two balls separated, and one travels further than the other but finds a connection again while it’s away, it could pull the organs together and squish them. And that could easily pierce the intestine or cause a blockage. It’s very frightening.”
Kelly said she would now join with NHS bosses in calling for a full ban on the “creative toys”. She added: “I don’t think any child of any age should have a magnet. I don’t think there’s any reason for them, I just think it’s a bad idea full stop.”
Mum-of-five Kelly, from Lancashire, said Tia and her other siblings had been banned from TikTok while at home. So she was amazed to find out that her daughter had taken part in the viral trend while at school on Wednesday, October 12 after getting the magnets off a friend.
She said: “This kid had given her these magnets, and because she’s heard or seen this TikTok trend previously, Tia thought she’d try it. She’s put a silver one on the top of her tongue, and a silver one underneath her tongue, and it clamps to the tongue then and looks like a piercing.
“She’s been walking from one lesson to the other, and without thinking, she’s had a drink of water, and it’s literally just washed down. When the school rang me, I thought she’d swallowed a magnet in a maths or science lesson that morning.
“So I got to the school as soon as I could, and it was when I got there that I was given these magnets and told what happened."
Kelly said staff had been advised by ‘111’ call handlers that Tia would need immediate medical attention, so she took her to a hospital where she had body scans. She said: “We went and got an X-ray eventually, and they were in her lower chest area, touching.
“They said as they were touching, she was safe to go home. But we had to return for another x-ray the next day, in case she needed surgery. That again showed they were still in her lower chest area, but instead of upright, they were more on the side slightly.”
Kelly said the hospital had notified her of some symptoms that might indicate a worrying development in Tia’s health. But she said the youngster still wasn’t certain if the tiny balls had left her body, adding that she would only relax once she knew they had gone.
She said: “Obviously they’re quite small, little silver magnets, so to see them come out isn’t easy. But she hasn’t reported to me or her dad that she’s seen them pass yet. So I think if she hasn’t seen them, and they haven’t passed, I’m just going to have to take her back.
“I’m more than concerned, and I won’t relax for a fact until I know they’re no longer in there."
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