IT is not unusual for doctors to find random objects inside people’s bodies.
Whether they are inhaled by accident, inserted for erotic pleasure or as a means to try and solve a health problem like constipation, doctors see it all.
A fully formed fly was found buzzing around someone’s intestine
Oxford AcademicA 56-year-old man had a coconut (black oval ) stuck up his rectum[/caption]
A spider and its shell were found inside someone’s ear
BMJA deodorant can was discovered in someone’s rectum[/caption]
Medics recently found a fully intact fly buzzing around a man’s intestines.
Writing in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, doctors were confused as to how to fly survived the dangerous journey through the patient’s digestive enzymes and stomach acid.
Meanwhile, a lady in Taiwan recently made the news because a live spider and its discarded outer shell were found inside her ear.
Spiders crawling inside the body are rare; those with arachnophobia will be pleased to hear.
While the person giving a home to a spider had little choice, others accidentally inhale objects, while some even purposely stick things up themselves, Professor Adam Taylor, an anatomist, from Lancaster University, said.
There are many reasons people put foreign objects up their anus
Professor Adam Taylor
While things going in the mouth represent one entry point to the body, some people lose objects at the other end, including the rectum.
“There are many reasons people put foreign objects up their anus, ranging from the more common erotic reasons to the less common constipation relief,” Prof Adam explained.
A 2021 study found the vast majority – a whopping 88 per cent – of people attending A&E with this complaint are men.
“While the reasons are diverse, they are surpassed by the variety of objects found at this end, including apples, aubergine, brush, pens, carrots, and pesticide containers,” he added.
Prof Adam said a deodorant spray can was one of the most concerning items found in someone’s rectum.
“It can become a fire hazard during surgical removal”, he wrote in The Conversation.
And one of the most “eye-watering” is a whole coconut, he added.
According to the case report in the British Journal of Surgery, the topical fruit had been stuck up a man’s rectum for two days before he visited the hospital with “absolute constipation”.
One of the biggest issues with foreign objects in the anus and rectum is they can become lodged, blocking the movement of waste out of the body and causing congestion of faeces in the intestines.
“Over time, this can cause significant stretching of the tract and runs the risk of perforating or tearing the bowels,” he explained.
These will often have to be removed by surgeons, by going in via the anus and pulling the object out, or in more severe cases, by surgically opening up the patient’s bowels.
INHALING OBJECTS
Inhaling objects is one of the most common causes of death in children under three.
Some of the most commonly inhaled objects include coins, toys or magnets, peanuts, and even hot dogs.
In one bizarre case published in Dove Press, doctors in Africa found a leech stuck in a little girl’s throat, which was later safely removed.
Sometimes, the inhaled object can go for years without getting noticed.
A postman from Preston, England, inhaled a Playmobil road cone as a child, but it was only discovered when the 47-year-old had his lungs scanned when he presented with a persistent cough.
In another odd case, a man inhaled a pea, which was in place long enough for it to begin to sprout in his respiratory tract.