What happens if you eat legos

Therefore, a team of six paediatricians set up an experiment to see how long it would take for a Lego head to pass through their own digestive tracts. It would not have been acceptable to perform the experiment on children, said the doctors, whose findings have been published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. Three women and three men working in paediatrics swallowed Lego heads and then sifted through their bowel movements until they found the toy.

The international team of researchers kept a diary regarding how firm their stools were too, as this could have had an impact on travel time. Researchers create sustainable, biodegradable, vegan glitter in the hope of reducing plastic pollution. Clinical trials start for new Ebola vaccine developed by the University of Oxford. By the end of the experiment, the team found their FART scores varied between 1. Subscribe to our newsletter. As an adult, the most common LEGO-related injury you have to deal with is probably a sore foot caused by a stray piece you stumbled on in the dark.

But when kids are involved , you might be less worried about the injuries you can see and more concerned about them swallowing one of those plastic pieces — not least because it means spending the next few weeks taking careful note of everything else that comes out of them to make sure the LEGO emerges safely. In the name of soothing those fears, a new study published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health set out to discover how long it takes for a LEGO head to pass through a digestive system and if any risks are involved.

For insight on the research, we spoke to study co-author Dr. Although the researchers applied scientific methodologies, the study itself is not your usual totally serious medical paper. They cite an earlier study which found that coins take 3.

However, that was from , so it seemed like the time was ripe to revisit the issue with a toy that kids today are more likely to come into contact with. Most objects are fine, but something like button batteries or magnets can cause serious issues, and these will very likely need to be removed quickly — so parents must bring their kids to the emergency department.

Using children as guinea pigs was obviously not an option, so six courageous adult participants stepped up to the task.

The candidates all worked in pediatric hospital care, and were only considered eligible if they had not previously had gastrointestinal surgery… and were open to ingesting a LEGO head and then searching for it in the days afterward. Second, call your pediatrician. While the LEGO will most likely pass through their system, it could cause internal damage.

We've finally answered the burning question — how long does it take for an ingested lego head to pass? THIS is dedication to paediatrics — but it was worth it to advance science and paediatric emergency care. So how long did it take the LEGO head to make a reappearance?