My 3 Yo Swallowed a Penny

Hi B....I had to respond...my son, who is almost 9, also swallowed a coin when he was younger. The dr. said do the poop check (we are campers so I only checked at home) and ended up taking him for xrays after a few weeks, just to make sure he was no longer a piggy bank. Funny thing, he also swallowed his own tooth one day eating lunch at school and didn't even notice until his friend pointed out that his tooth was gone! Your daughter will be fine...just keep an eye on her! Good luck!

I did that as a kid. They didn't do anything about it. My parents checked the poop (nice, huh?), but I think it would just be easier to get an x-ray in a couple weeks to confirm it's out.

My now 26yo fed a quarter to her younger sister at a very young age and I too was nervous but lucky enough to have had my own personal nurse. If the doc told you 2 days and it should pass...then trust him!! It will come out just as food comes out. And your child will act normal cuz she doesn't know she should feel any different. And yes....the child who ate the quarter is also alive and kickin'.....she's 24 herself. Believe me....there is worse than that that could happen. Put your seat belt on for the ride. Good luck and don't worry too much!! Trust the doc on this one!!! Mamaw J.

I swallowed a quarter when I was that age. It eventually came out and I'm fine.

My son did this when he was 2 1/2. The nurse told me that if they are breathing fine and not choking, then to just keep checking their poop. Make sure she's still eating and drinking normally, not complaining of a stomach ache, still pooping and not bleeding when she poops. They wanted me to actually check the poop to find the penny and make sure it made it out. I tried that for a while (super gross! use a plastic baggie and mush it if you have to - I would never actually touch it!), I had to put him back in diapers so I could. But I'm pretty sure he ended up passing it one day when we were out and he used the restroom! And now we're fine! I think it ended up taking a little over a week for it to come out.
Good luck!

My daughter did so as well at age three. The paramedics came since she actually vomited, then choked and stopped breathing. So, they checked her out and sent her to get a chest x-ray to make sure she didn't aspirate the coin back into her lungs. The x-ray confirmed it was in her belly, good news. We never actually saw that it passed, but she is healthy 6 years later. So, I am sure it passed at some point! Good luck.

My son also swallowed a penny at one point and it was fine. I think the danger is if it becomes lodged somewhere and causes a blockage. So you'll want to watch for stomach ache, bloating, etc., but I think that's pretty rare (based on my unofficial survey of all my friends when my son swallowed the penny!)