Young children, in particular, are naturally curious and may intentionally put shiny objects, such as coins or button batteries, into their mouths.
A button battery, which can be a very similar size to a coin, generates hydroxide ions at the anode and causes a chemical burn in two hours.
In 2009, Avolio Luigi and Martucciello Giuseppe showed that although ingested nonmagnetic foreign bodies are likely to be passed spontaneously without consequence, ingested magnets (magnetic toys) may attract each other through children's intestinal walls and cause severe damage, such as pressure necrosis, perforation, intestinal fistulas, volvulus, and obstruction.
Sometimes foreign bodies can pass spontaneously through the gastrointestinal tract and perforate or penetrate the wall of stomach and duodenum and migrate into the pancreas.
[6] In addition to peanuts, hot dogs, grapes, and latex balloons are also serious choking hazards in children that can result in death.
A latex balloon will conform to the shape of the trachea, blocking the airway and making it difficult to expel with basic anti-choking techniques.
[8] Corneal foreign bodies are often encountered due to occupational exposure and can be prevented by instituting safety eye-wear at work place.
In the extremely rare case of retained ectopic pregnancy, this forms a lithopedion, which involves the fetus being too large to be reabsorbed, and is calcified[13] as a means of shielding the surrounding tissue from infection.
Unlike humans, dogs are susceptible to gastrointestinal obstruction due to their ability to swallow relatively large objects and pass them through the esophagus.
Symptoms of gastrointestinal obstruction include vomiting, abdominal pain often characterized by aggression, acute infection, and depression due to dehydration.
Bones or objects with sharp edges may cause tearing of the wall of the esophagus, stomach, or small intestine and lead to peritonitis.
Pennies swallowed in large numbers may cause zinc poisoning, which in dogs leads to severe gastroenteritis and hemolytic anemia.