Coins

Updated on September 09, 2008
J.A. asks from Anaheim, CA
21 answers

My 2 1/2 year old son apparently swallowed a penny last night (6/11) at about 7:00pm. I was making cupcakes for my niece, hubby was outside watering the plants, and (I thought) Little Man was watching Little Bear on TV. Suddenly he comes into the kitchen and tells me “Uh oh! My penny all gone.” I asked “Where’d it go?”, thinking he had maybe dropped it behind the couch. He then says “I ate it all gone!” and looks at me with a “Duh! I told you it was gone” look. I followed that response with a look of intent surprise and asked “Where was the penny before it was all gone!?” He opened his mouth and pointed at the back of his tongue.

I called my mom after this happened and she said “It will come out on its own within a couple of days. Rushing to the hospital will be hours and ER visit cost that are unnecessary, as they will tell you the same thing.” Is this correct? SHOULD I have called his doc this morning to bring him in? If not, how do I know if there is trouble? I know even I swallowed coins as a kid and I never had to have surgery or anything… But I was a bit older. I remember liking the way pennies taste, and the way that the burps would taste as it “worked its way out.” (I know, both gross AND disturbing!)

BTW, before any Moms scold me for allowing my 2 year old to have a coin… #1- He found on the floor. My husband nor I knew that anyone had dropped it. #2- He’s NEVER done anything close to this before. #3- until YOU have raised your child into the teens without them doing anything like this, you can’t judge another mother’s mistake. Sorry if I sound a little blunt, I just don’t want to get reamed for this. I already feel guilty enough for not catching him before it happened.

Thanks for any advice you can offer! ~J.

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So What Happened?

Well, at 12:53 pm today (Wed. 6/13) my son "finallized his deposit" so to say. It was a 1994 Denver mint that he had decided to "snack on" on Monday night. Thank you to all of you ladies that encouraged me and shared your own stories of "Oops! Guess I didn't catch that one!"

Hubby and I have decided that it is time for our son to have his own coin bank to drop his coins into. We plan to take him to go buy one this weekend. Then will "accidently" drop a few coins for him to "find" and run to his coin bank and put them in. Again, Thank you to all of you! ~J.

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C.S.

answers from Las Vegas on

Hi J.,
My adult daughter tells me of all the coins she swollowed as a child and I never knew. She thinks it's amazing. Those things happen! It will all be fine.

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A.W.

answers from Visalia on

You are doing the right thing and I agree kids find all the things we never knew were there. Try to relax about it.
I was so worried about it with me son a I made a game of inding things and putting them in a cool penny jar I kept up high that made a really cool sound as they fell in.
Try it it may work for you.
Good Luck. I know how stressful that kind of stuff can be, but you are doing the right thing. Just wait it out. If he does it a lot though he may be low on iron. That is what they say if you crave pennies when you are pregnant.
A.

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C.D.

answers from Sacramento on

J.,
Please just stop! My goodness if your beating yourself up over a PENNY! Just wait till its something BIG!
Ok here now that your calm>....LOL Just kidding! My little one swallowed a quarter (dont aks me how he didnt choke, cause really I dont know!) But anyways long story shot, it was 7 years ago and he is now 10 and very healthy, mom's right this time...it will come out, the good news is, you never NEED to SEE it, just leave it! the danger was gone the moment the penny got down past the airway! Now go make a big glass of tea and pray this is the worst thing he ever swallows...(it wont be) your doing great!! I know this by how upset your message was due to this 1 cent error! Its OK....if we moms had a penny everytime the children got us into hot water,,,well our live in nannys would be writting these...LOL

GOD BLESS YOU AND REMEMBER YOUR WONDERFUL!

2 moms found this helpful
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L.A.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi J.. I would give his regular pediatrician a ring, just to advise him/her what is going on. The thing about pennies is that OLD pennies do no harm, passing right through the digestive tract in 2 to 4 days. But NEW pennies, minuted after 1989 are heavily coated in zinc which is far more reactive with the stomach lining.

Now don't panic. Many children have no problem at all. And the worst that can happen, according to my reading, is a small stomach ulcer. Which of course is much more easily treated these days.

So give your doc a ring. And keep tabs on how your child feels. If he eats his food like normal and doesn't complain of a "tummy ache" you're in the clear. Just keep checking his poop to see if it has passed.

If on the other hand your child develops vomiting or complains of stomach pain, your pediatrician may advise you to bring him to the emergency room.

As an FYI, other types of coins (dimes, nickels, etc.) are less of a risk than the zinc coated pennies.

...Does you little guy call all coins "pennies". My son did at that age. You might show him some silvery coins and pennies and ask him to point to the one that looked like his.

You might get lucky and it wasn't an actual penny at all!

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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C.E.

answers from San Francisco on

My son recently did the same thing and it passed the next morning. So depending on how often he poops it should pass within the next day maybe two. If he is in diapers stil it will be easier for you to make sure it did pass. I called the nurse hotline and they said all coins smaller than quarters are okay and will pass.
We cant watch the kids every minute of every day or else they would starve and have no clean clothes to wear. Please dont feel bad, you would probably be surprised to know how many people have swallowed coins before, but nobody wants to talk about it. If it doesnt pass in the next 2 days you may want to have him checked as it may be making him constipated, but other than that you just have to wait.
Good luck
C.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

J. - first of all, thank you for your honesty. I think as moms we are scared we will be judged for not being perfect. we need to be honest in order to help each other. More times than not, there IS someone else who has gone through the same thing.
Secondly, I am one ofthose paranoid moms. i would have rushed my child to the ER to have it checked out. I am sure though like many of the other mom's said, a call to the doctor would have been enough. I am sure it will pass in a day or two (load the kid up on fiber now...LOL)
It'll be fine and something you'll laugh about later. Let us know when it passes :)

1 mom found this helpful
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C.M.

answers from San Francisco on

Your mom is right. My daughter swallowed a penny when she was about 3. I took her to the ER and they told me it would work its way out. They said to look in the stool to make sure. I wouldn't worry too much unless he starts complaining of pain then I would take him in but, most likely it will pass on it's own.

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L.K.

answers from San Diego on

My daughter at 2 swallowed a penny, I never saw it come out, but she is 27 years old today so I think she is fine. If your child did not choke on it, then the child should be just fine. Hang in there, this is only the beginning for you, lol.

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H.T.

answers from Fresno on

Your mom is right it will come out in a day or two with his poop. Just look for it when you change him. My oldest son swollowed what was called a reloading dye, yes for guns, anyhow and it came out in a few days. Guess who had to look for it? Me, and it want even mine or my fault, he left it out, lol. I think more mothers go through this then they say. None is just bold enough to tell, because they think it is irresponsible, hey things happen. Can't go around holding there hands all day long. I hate to see what my house would look like, lol.
H.

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S.A.

answers from San Francisco on

My son did this when he was about a year old and my daughter swallowed a quarter when she was about 4 or 5.
We did not run to the ER, but did follow up with our doctor, our doctor told us, the reason for coming in was for them to xray and make sure the coin did pass all the way to the stomach, if the coin was lodged somewhere on the way down, it could cause severe problems that could happen very suddenly. I would at least give you regular Dr. a call and let him know and see what they want to do.

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L.P.

answers from Sacramento on

J.,
I agree with all the other moms. I can't tell you the things that my children have done while I was "watching" them. When I was in grade school (certainly old enough to know better), a very large metal shank button fell off my navy pea jacket. I put it in my mouth (so I wouldn't lose it LOL), the bus lurched and I swallowed it. It really hurt going down. I will always remember it. But ... it reappeared and was never a problem. (I never put anything in my mouth to save it again, though.)

Hope this helps you relax a little.

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S.C.

answers from Las Vegas on

J. A...

When I was about 4 I swallowed a penny as well. I don't know why I even had one in my mouth. My mom was sitting at the dining room table talking to my grandma and I just remember her saying..."S. give me that penny before you choke!" and I told her I lost it. Well, I had it in my mouth. I don't remember it ever "working it's way out" but I haven't had any problems and never had surgery to get it out. In fact, I recently told my mother about this just for giggles. She didn't find it funny, and now that I am a mother myself, it's scary. Anyway, just a little sigh of relief for you, I am fine and perfectly healthy!

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L.F.

answers from San Diego on

Have you ever thought about becoming a writer? You should.

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E.C.

answers from Fresno on

My daughter just did this last month. I called the DR and they said as long as there is no apparent reason for alarm like respiratory distress or severe stomach ache ect..... then check the poop over the next 48 hrs. If there is no coin in stool then go get a X-ray to see if it is even in the child and see where it is if it could cause any problems. If you don't want the hastle of the ER and there is no urgent concern your pediatrician can write script for the X-ray at a urgent care or radiology clinic near by. It is scary but it is a wait and see kind of ordeal! Good Luck!!!!! I gave a huge lecture on what goes in the mouth and what doesn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Things happen no matter how excellent of a parent you may or may not be. I have seen parents who leave no stone unturned have accidents and parents who shouln't be called parents get lucky enough to have perfect kids! Sometimes I think that god has the scary stuff happen to the parents who will be responsible about the situation and leave the unparented kids alone for fear that they will recieve no care at all-I'm always finding the strangest reasonings for the strangest happenings and that is how I survive lifes little disasters!You would be a bad parent if you had no worries at all! Cheer up, it happens to all of us!

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J.P.

answers from Sacramento on

These things happen , you cant keep your eye on a little one 24/7 I have a grandson that is that age and I cant keep up with him and sure he picks things up and puts them in his mouth and he gets caught before he gets to swallow but I think that every kid has swallowed a penny or 2 and it will come out and he might just have some extra change to give you (smile)and dont feel guilty I got your back girl.

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S.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

he he he.... don't worry about it! And any mom who would scold you on this should be kicked of!!!~ Things happen especially with a two year old. At one point, I thought my daughter was a penny bank. I have no idea where she got them all but we found a few in her diapers before... my doc said not to worry... it is the larger coins that you should worry about.

Take care and write this one down in your memory book.

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K.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

Don't Worry! It will pass through. Your Mom is right!

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C.N.

answers from San Luis Obispo on

Dear J.,

Your mom was right, and stop worrying. It will come out. It just takes a while. My husband who is 81 years old now, swallowed a penny when he was a little boy, and still remembers being so happy when he searched his poop and found that it has 'passed'. His parents made him poop outside - they lived on a farm - until he found the penny. We can't do that nowadays, but you could have him poop into a container of some sort so that you can reassure yourself that it is out of his precious body. Then save the penny and put it into his memory box or book. Things happen !..you are still a good mom. Save yourself for the big worries that come later on. C. N.

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T.Q.

answers from Stockton on

Hi J.,

From personal experience with my daughter swallowing something small. I would call the Dr, and see what they say. They may want to take an ex-ray to see and make sure its not lodged somewhere. Most likely it will come out though. But better safe then sorry. Also don't worry about anyone saying anything about your son swallowing a penny. Accidents happen and as much as we watch our kids or make sure every little thing is picked up, they are kids and for some reason can find things we don't see. And they do things very quickly. Accidents happen and we just pray nothing major...

T. Q

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S.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

My daughter did the same thing at that same age. It happens! I called poison control, and they told me the same thing. It will pass on its own. Though I never saw it, so either I missed it, or she never actually swallowed it. Either way it is not a big deal don't stress. And don't be h*** o* yourself either! Have a great day!

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H.W.

answers from Las Vegas on

Hi J.:

I don't think you should worry too much. It will most likely work it's way out of his system within a few days. Give your ped. a call and let them know what happened. They will probably tell you to watch his bm's for the next few days to make sure that it comes out, and if not, then you can go from there. Not to mention the call will help put your mind at ease. Try not to stress too much about it. Good luck.

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