5 year old boy stuck pencil in anus and needed emergency care

5-year-old boy in Ho Chi Minh City in critical condition after inserting a pencil into his anus - Photo: Provided by the hospital

On March 20, Thu Duc City Hospital (HCMC) said that a 5-year-old boy was urgently hospitalized after inserting a pencil about 8-10cm long into his anus. The incident happened at noon when the boy's mother was doing housework and heard her son complaining of pain so she took him to the hospital.

After admission, doctors determined that the baby had a foreign object in the anus but had not caused serious damage.

At 5:30 p.m. the same day, the baby was taken to the operating room and given endotracheal anesthesia.

During the procedure, the doctor discovered the tip of a pencil protruding from the anus, and removed the foreign object.

Fortunately, examination of the anal canal and rectal mucosa did not reveal significant damage.

After one day of monitoring, the abdominal ultrasound and standing abdominal X-ray results showed no abnormalities, the baby was stable and discharged from the hospital.

Dr. Huynh Tan Dat, General Surgery Department, Thu Duc City Hospital, shared that this is not a rare case. Children, especially preschool children, tend to be curious and are not aware of the dangers of putting foreign objects into their bodies.

Cases such as swallowing coins, inserting foreign objects into the nose, ears or anus all pose serious risks, can cause blockage, infection, and even be life-threatening.

Doctor Dat recommends that to avoid unfortunate accidents like the above, parents need to take some important measures by always observing their children.

Children are very active and prone to dangerous behaviors when not supervised by adults. Small, sharp, dangerous objects should be kept out of reach of children.

Especially items such as pencils, batteries, buttons, marbles, paper clips, etc. need to be stored carefully to avoid children playing with them and putting them into their bodies; educate children about the risks of putting foreign objects into their bodies.

Parents should gently explain to children to help them understand the consequences of this action, thereby raising awareness and limiting risks, and handling incidents promptly when they occur.

If you detect signs of pain in your child or self-confess that they have inserted a foreign object into their body, parents should quickly take the child to the nearest medical facility for examination and proper intervention.

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