In one of the most extreme cases reported, Turkish doctors have removed 66 magnetic beads from the stomach and intestines of Berfin Nesim, a three-year-old girl, sounding renewed alarms over a global health threat affecting children worldwide.

The laparoscopic surgery, performed at Basaksehir Cam and Sakura City Hospital in Istanbul, took five hours and revealed three perforations in her stomach and two in her intestines.

It was prompted by months of misdiagnosed nausea and vomiting until an X-ray revealed the beads. Several sections of her digestive tract had fused due to the intense magnetic force.

Lead paediatric surgeon Dr Mehmet Cakmak called ingesting multiple magnets an “emergency situation”, explaining that they can attract each other through intestinal walls. 

“Surgeries like this carry very high risks. Even one delay can cause permanent harm,” he was reported as saying in the Daily Sabah.

He stressed the urgent need to ban the sale of magnetic beads as toys to prevent such incidents.

Such hazardous cases are becoming increasingly common.

Paediatricians in Pakistan are also familiar with the risks. Dr Altaf Hussain, a Karachi-based paediatrician with over 40 years of experience, says children in Pakistan frequently ingest foreign objects.

“Here too, various objects are swallowed, from coins to beads to tablets and even liquids like Dettol, kerosene, and bleach,” he told TRT World. “Each has its own complications, but coins and beads pose both respiratory and gastrointestinal risks.”

What does the research say?

Unlike many other objects, however, high-powered magnets can cause life-threatening injuries even when the child appears outwardly well.

A University of Southampton study found that around 300 children a year are hospitalised in the UK after swallowing magnetic toys, with one in ten requiring life-saving surgery, and six percent linked to social media “tongue‑piercing” challenges. 

As part of the disturbing trend, children imitate tongue piercings by placing small magnets in their mouths.

Between May 2022 and April 2023, 366 magnet ingestions were reported; 10 percent led to surgery, and seven percent suffered internal injuries.

Lead author Professor of Paediatric Surgery Nigel Hall, who works at the University and Southampton Children's Hospital, said retailers must do more to increase warnings on magnetic toy labels.

In 2021, the National Health Service, the UK’s publicly funded healthcare system, issued a warning after at least 65 children required emergency surgery for swallowing magnets over the previous three years.

Another study, covering 96 papers from 2002 to 2024, concluded that children swallowing multiple high-powered magnets face high risks like intestinal perforation, obstruction, necrosis and calls for tighter restrictions, noting that bans correspond to fewer injuries.

In addition to cases reported in Türkiye and Europe, research from Pakistan by paediatric surgeon Dr Suresh Kumar and Dr Amarah Ghani highlights the serious risks posed by magnetic bead ingestion. 

The research shows that unwitnessed swallowing of high-powered magnets often leads to severe gastrointestinal injuries, such as perforations and obstruction and is frequently diagnosed late due to subtle or absent symptoms. 

This underscores the universal challenge faced by healthcare providers in recognising and managing these dangerous cases.

Tiny magnetic balls are considerably stronger than some magnets and can be easily swallowed due to their size.

Why are magnets so dangerous

Dr Sohail Thobani, another paediatrician in Pakistan, has seen the danger firsthand. 

“My niece had to have surgery when she swallowed five of these magnets,” he told TRT World. “These should be banned.” 

He added that children who ingest multiple magnets “will almost always require surgery” and urged parents: “Don’t buy them.”

Professor Hall emphasises that having an unplanned emergency operation is traumatic for the child and family with some procedures necessitating removal of part of the bowel or requiring a stoma.

He warns other risks: Most patients appear well at first, so imaging is essential even in the absence of symptoms. Multiple magnets can clamp through intestinal walls, causing perforation, infection, and adhesions.

The harrowing case of Berfin underscores a growing global health concern: swallowing multiple high-powered magnets poses a clear and preventable danger. 

This trend, fueled by online novelty and weak regulation, demands urgent action.