This unsettling medical case reads like a modern parable about the intersection of curiosity, consumerism, and the unseen dangers that can accompany online shopping. In a newly published case report, physicians in New Zealand recount an extraordinary and deeply concerning incident involving a young boy who was rushed to the hospital and required emergency surgery after deliberately swallowing dozens of tiny yet extremely powerful magnets—products that, according to the report, were allegedly purchased via the popular China-based e-commerce platform Temu.
The surgeons chronicled this alarming sequence of events in the latest issue of the *New Zealand Medical Journal*, released on Friday. Their account detailed not only the bizarre circumstances surrounding the child’s condition but also the considerable medical complexity of his treatment. Although the magnets caused severe internal injury—specifically damaging portions of the boy’s intestines—the surgical team managed to extract them through a delicate operative procedure. Following intensive medical care and observation, the child eventually made enough progress to be discharged from the hospital, though not without potential future health concerns.
According to the report, the ordeal began when the boy was admitted to the hospital after four days of escalating, generalized abdominal pain. During examination, he admitted to medical staff that approximately a week before being hospitalized, he had ingested somewhere between eighty and one hundred high-powered neodymium magnets. Each magnet measured around five by two millimeters, tiny enough to be swallowed yet extraordinarily strong in magnetic force. They had been obtained through Temu, a fast-growing online marketplace known for offering inexpensive consumer goods from abroad.
Radiological imaging quickly revealed the extent of the crisis. Within the boy’s gastrointestinal tract, the magnets had not remained scattered; instead, they had attracted one another with intense force, forming four distinct linear clusters positioned throughout different segments of the intestinal tract. The consequences were devastating: these magnet clusters had created points of compression that restricted blood flow, causing necrosis—areas of dead and decaying tissue—within the intestinal walls. The surgical team promptly operated, meticulously removing both the magnets and the sections of irreversibly damaged tissue. After an intensive eight-day hospitalization, accompanied by careful monitoring of his recovery, the boy was deemed stable enough to return home.
While the immediate outcome could be deemed a success, the attending physicians expressed caution regarding the long-term prognosis. Medical literature has shown that patients who have undergone similar surgical removals of foreign magnetic materials may later experience complications such as bowel obstruction, scar-induced narrowing, or the formation of abdominal hernias, all of which could require further medical or surgical intervention.
Beyond the specifics of one child’s trauma, the report underscores a broader and increasingly urgent public health issue. Small, high-powered magnets—often sold as desk toys, DIY tools, or colorful novelty gadgets—have long been recognized as a significant ingestion risk for young children. When multiple magnets are consumed, they can attract across the loops of the intestine, leading to perforation, infection, or, in severe cases, life-threatening peritonitis. For this reason, several countries have enacted restrictions or outright bans on their sale. New Zealand itself prohibited the retail distribution of such items in 2013, acknowledging the grave threat they pose to the pediatric population. Yet, as the authors of the case study note, regulatory boundaries become far more porous in the globalized, digitized era of e-commerce. The ease with which consumers can order inexpensive items from international platforms means that dangerous products continue to reach households, sometimes evading domestic safety standards.
“This case vividly highlights not only the medical dangers associated with magnet ingestion but also the broader risks that arise from unrestricted online marketplaces that cater to children and families,” the authors concluded in their report. Their statement serves as both a cautionary tale and a call to action—a reminder that product safety oversight must extend beyond local jurisdictions to include the growing online retail ecosystem.
In response to the incident, a spokesperson for Temu issued a statement to *Gizmodo*, expressing sympathy for the child and his family while maintaining that the company had not yet verified whether the magnets implicated in the case were actually purchased through its platform. “We are deeply sorry to learn about the reported incident and sincerely wish the boy a complete and swift recovery,” the representative stated. “At this stage, we have not been able to confirm whether the magnets in question originated from Temu, nor have we identified the exact product listing.” The company indicated that an internal review was underway and that its safety compliance teams were actively examining relevant product listings. Temu pledged to remove any listings found to violate safety requirements and to take firm disciplinary action against sellers proven to have breached either the company’s platform guidelines or local safety regulations.
Importantly, Temu’s involvement points to a larger systemic issue rather than an isolated failure. The accessibility of powerful magnets through numerous online channels continues to pose an ongoing hazard. Earlier this year, for example, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission formally warned consumers against purchasing small magnetic balls marketed by the Shenzhen Xiaoju Technology company, which were distributed exclusively through Amazon. Similarly, a separate investigation carried out by the U.K. consumer advocacy organization *Which?* in December revealed that magnet-based toys, despite being classified as illegal under national safety laws, were still readily available from other digital retailers, including eBay.
Taken together, these episodes reflect the persistent gaps between regulatory intention and marketplace reality. They serve as sober reminders that even well-meaning safety bans are only as effective as the systems that enforce them—and that in an age when global commerce flows freely across borders with the click of a button, the responsibility of protecting children from hidden dangers must extend far beyond national boundaries and into the virtual storefronts that populate the modern Internet.
Sourse: https://gizmodo.com/boy-swallows-100-magnets-bought-from-temu-hospital-trip-ensues-2000676751
