Don't stick a magnet on your nose: the child's condition is very dangerous.

Two magnets can be seen in the X-ray picture of the boy's skull. On the left, the magnet is shown as two white vertical lines. In the picture on the right, the circle of the magnet is visible from the side. New England Journal of Medicine (20 17) Magnets may be dangerous toys for children-if swallowed, they will stick together, leading to body perforation and medical emergencies.

It seems to be equally applicable, even if children don't swallow magnets. Take the recent case of a 1 1 year-old boy in Cyprus as an example. He inserted two flat round magnets into his nostrils.

Magnets, one in each nostril is pulled together, and boys can't take it out. According to the case report, it was published in the New England Journal of Medicine today (65438+125 October).

Six hours after putting a magnet in his nose, the boy was taken to the emergency room. It is reported that his nose is bleeding and his pain is severe. X-ray showed that two magnets stuck together and clamped the boy's nasal septum, which is the wall separating the nasal passages between nostrils.

But doctors couldn't pry open the magnet: "The attempt to remove the magnet in the emergency room failed due to strong adhesion, the report said. It is reported that the boy was taken to the operating room to take out the magnet under anesthesia. In order to do this, the doctors used two other magnets, which were placed on both sides of the boy's nose to suck away the stuck magnets.

It is reported that the magnet tightly attracts the nasal septum, which may lead to tissue death and perforation, which means that a hole is formed in the nasal septum. In this boy's case, the magnet grazed a part of his nasal septum mucosa, exposing some cartilage below. A special barrier was set on the boy's nose to cover the exposed area for a few days after his nose healed.

Six months later, when the doctor saw the boy, his nose had completely recovered.

Originally published in the journal Life Science.