A 13-year-old girl who copied a dangerous TikTok trend landed in the hospital for emergency surgery after she started vomiting “black stuff” and complained of bad stomach pains.
The minor took part in a challenge which shows users how to create the appearance of a tongue piercing by placing magnetic ball bearings underneath and on top of the tongue. However, she only succeeded in swallowing the beads, with 15 magnetic beads mashed amongst her internal organs.
The young girl ended up having her appendix and part of her bowel removed following the dangerous challenge.
The girl’s mother, Faye, from Rainhill in Merseyside, England, said,
“The pains got worse so I took her to Whiston Hospital. They thought it might have been her appendix at first.
“Then they ruled that out and thought it might have been gastroenteritis until she started vomiting black stuff. They did a scan and found 10 of the ball bearings. Magnetic balls were lodged in her bowel and appendix”. Faye added.
The girl was rushed in for emergency surgery at Alder Hey Children’s hospital.
Her mother said, “They had to take part of her bowel away and re-stitch it. There was one stuck in her appendix so they had to remove that.”
By the end of the surgery, medics had removed15 magnetic beads out of the girl’s organs.
She’s been left with a scar over six inches long and is still in hospital trying to recover. She won’t be able to go home for another week or two.
Speaking on her daughter’s condition, Faye added,
“I don’t know when she swallowed them because she didn’t admit at first to doing it. I think she was a bit scared of admitting what she’d done.
“Apparently she watched a TikTok video where there’s a trend that all the kids are doing at the minute.
“I haven’t actually seen it but she told me about it and a lot of other children her age have seen it.
“They put one of the beads on top of their tongue and one underneath and it makes it look like their tongue is pierced.
“And then she saw one where they put a big bead in the side of your cheek and put little beads on top of your cheek and you move it with your tongue so they move on your face. They’re magnets but because they’re so small they’re easy to swallow”.