• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Grim photo shows why you shouldn’t swallow chewing gum

Home> Community

Published 20:42 2 Jun 2023 GMT+1

Grim photo shows why you shouldn’t swallow chewing gum

A boy was rushed to hospital after swallowing chewing gum and the pictures are just as horrendous as you can imagine.

Gregory Robinson

Gregory Robinson

We all remember being told about why you should never swallow chewing gum when we were children and it turns out there’s a very good reason why.

If you’ve ever felt tempted to ingest your chewed-up gum ball like you would regular food, think again, because it could lead to disgusting and painful consequences.

This exact situation happened to one couple who were left horrified when they discovered their five-year-old eating chewing gum.

And no, we don't mean just chewing the gum, he fully ate it and we must warn you, the pictures will make your stomach churn.

Advert

The unfortunate boy ate an entire packet of sugar-free gum, which contained around 40 pieces and he consumed each and every one.

A young boy swallowed chewing gum.
Gevangart / Alamy Stock Photo

The concerned parents were told to monitor their son’s condition after calling the poison hotline. Six hours later, the child started experiencing diarrhoea and stomach cramps.

The youngster was rushed to hospital the day after he ate the gum and was presented to the emergency department complaining of abdominal pain and diarrhoea, according to a study from JEM Reports.

Doctors at the hospital began searching for bezoars, which are inedible materials found in the gastrointestinal tract.

Led by Dr Chizite Iheonunekwu from the Cleveland Clinic Akron General, the medical team performed CT scans on the little boy’s stomach and pelvis which is when they discovered the large mass of gum in his stomach.

Advert

Doctors discussed the best way to remove the mass over the next two days while the boy remained in hospital.

Chewing gum does not remain in your stomach for seven years before being digested.
Pixabay

They decided to perform an esophagoduodenoscopy (EGD) because they were aware that the child had been ‘eating a large amount of chewing gum’.

All the pieces of gum he ate had reportedly blocked 25 percent of his stomach and gastrointestinal tract and there are graphic pictures to prove it.

The gum was finally removed when a metal tube was placed down the child’s throat and it wasn’t an easy process.

Advert

It too doctors ‘several passes’ of the EGD to get all of the gum out and the poor boy ‘complained of a sore throat’ before being sent home to recover.

Although chewing gum is designed to be chewed and not swallowed – it is in the name, after all – it is generally harmless if swallowed, according to Mayo Clinic.

Doctors were able to remove the mass of chewing gum.
Science Direct

Although folklore tells us that swallowed chewing gum sits in your stomach for seven years before it can be digested, this is far from the truth.

Our bodies cannot digest chewing gum and instead it moves relatively intact through the digestive system before being excreted in your stool.

Advert

The young boy was probably too young to understand that you have to spit the gum out after its been chewed into a tasteless ball of gunk.

With that said, don’t swallow your chewing gum... Ever!

Featured Image Credit: Alexey Emelyanov / Alamy Stock Photo Gevangart / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Health, Weird

Gregory Robinson
Gregory Robinson

Gregory is a journalist for LADbible. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, he has worked for both print and online publications and is particularly interested in TV, (pop) music and lifestyle. He loves Madonna, teen dramas from the '90s and prefers tea over coffee.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

7 hours ago
11 hours ago
15 hours ago
a day ago
  • TikTok/thevampirehellieTikTok/thevampirehellie
    7 hours ago

    Woman who is a 'real life vampire' reveals what shocking food she eats

    The diet of Hellen Schweizer - better known as Vampire Hellie - has some quite unusual elements to it

    Community
  • TikTok/brittany.willowTikTok/brittany.willow
    11 hours ago

    Woman who you've never heard of has her face tattooed on people all over the world

    Brittany Willow took to TikTok to share her reaction to the tattoos

    Community
  • American Medical AssociationAmerican Medical Association
    15 hours ago

    Identical twins shared huge impact after one used botox for 20 years and other didn’t

    Botox can have long lasting impacts

    Community
  • TikTok/EBO JesusTikTok/EBO Jesus
    a day ago

    Man builds his own Noah’s Ark as he predicts when world is set to end

    Might be time to book some swimming lessons

    Community
  • Truth about what happens to your body when you swallow chewing gum
  • The ‘doorway effect’ explains why you might forget what you were doing when you walk into a room
  • Secret code that has been around for almost 100 years revealed as telling photo goes viral
  • Dentist explains worrying reason why smokers and vapers could have gum disease without even realising